Letter: Much has changed since Rt. 30 plan approval

Much has changed since Rt. 30 plan approval

While the Route 30 bike lane was a terrific idea, a lot has changed. We approved it twice at Town Meeting on a significantly different proposal. A 5-foot sidewalk for the length of Route 30 sounded fine. Five feet is not a big deal.

By allowing the commonwealth in, the project has exploded both in scope and price. We included the commonwealth so that they would bear most of the cost, not because we needed to do so by law. They, unfortunately, have significantly changed the scope to conform with their regulations. The proposal is now MUCH different, requiring a path that is demonstrably wider to accommodate two-way bike traffic; not an easily shared sidewalk.

What this evolving proposal does is unacceptable because of the increased width of the road plus the path. It will require destroying many dozens of large, healthy trees to accommodate these unnecessary regulations. Pair this idea with another looming Route 30 expansion (the Weston Whopper) and the end result is catastrophic. This would dramatically change the rural nature of our town.

Why just “for” Route 30? What about Routes 20 and 117?

The current proposal will permanently impair Weston life. Route 30 would be a road that looks and behaves more like Route 9 than a country route that gets busy at rush hour. Asking the commonwealth to pay for it seemed right but it appears to have been ill-conceived. We will end up paying a much larger price for a project much larger than we need. Commonwealth subsidies are funded by our taxes, too.

This issue needs further review. It should come back to Town Meeting in the fall. The original approvals no longer apply. Let’s find a way to return to the 5-foot idea without the Commonwealth’s helpful funding and onerous regulations.

Drew Tamoney, Cliff Road