DIGHTON — Trails Committee Chair Jeff Carvalho, members of the Dighton Trails Committee, and Town Administrator Michael Mullen are excited to announce that the Town of Dighton has been awarded a $74,000 MassTrails grant.
The grant award, one of 68 grants totaling $11 million, was announced by Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper, and Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo in a ceremony attended by Town Administrator Mullen in Billerica on Wednesday, June 14.
Across Massachusetts, these projects will expand and connect the state’s network of off-road, shared-use pathways and trails to use for recreation, exercise, and environmentally friendly commuting.
The grant will be used to fund the design, engineering and permitting of accessible trailheads at Dighton’s Town Hall Complex for the Taunton River Trails project.
Specific tasks that will be funded by the grant include topographic survey, archaeological assessment, subsurface soil investigations, schematic and permitting-level design plans and permitting.
With Dighton’s Town Hall Complex abutting the Taunton River Trail (TRT), the area provides an appealing, publicly accessible connection opportunity to the planned Taunton River Trail and related planned improvements to Sweets Knoll State Park. Anticipated project efforts seek to complement ongoing TRT design and permitting processes underway by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Horsley Witten Group.
“This grant award reflects the tremendous partnership that exists between Dighton town officials, the Dighton Trails Committee, DCR, and countless state and regional partners to achieve the longstanding vision for the Taunton River Trails project in Dighton. Importantly the grant also comes as a direct result of the community engagement and public feedback that continues to define the project’s vision,” added Town Administrator Mullen. “We’re thrilled to continue moving the ball forward on this exciting project.”
The project trailhead and connections will be within the town-owned property at 979 Somerset Ave. The trailhead will be located at the end of an existing paved driveway on the eastern side of the parcel and the proposed connection will be on the northern side of the parcel. Both the trailhead and the connection will connect to DCR’s right-of-way and the proposed shared-use path.
The location is currently home to a public walking track and two playgrounds, and is the hub for many Dighton community-oriented activities. Envisioning the area to include trailheads as part of the Taunton River Trail project is a natural fit.
The trail will help provide accessibility for all users to the Taunton River Trail by providing an ADA-accessible parking lot and path connections. The short distance to the trailhead parking lot, which is less than 100 feet, will benefit seniors and children as well as those in wheelchairs or who use other assisting animals or devices. The Town Hall parcel has several amenities for the community, including a playground, field, track and fitness area, and the town believes that these additional connections will enhance the opportunities for all persons to access open space.
There currently is no accessible access from the Town Hall property to DCR’s right-of-way. This project will facilitate a new, small parking area with handicapped spaces and short, accessible path connections that can be used by populations with limited mobility as well as those with strollers. The longer permeable pathway (500 feet) will be accessible as well. This project will meet all state and federal accessibility requirements.
The Town of Dighton proposes to first design an accessible trailhead with five paved parking spaces, wayfinding signage and stormwater management to provide safe and accessible access for users to the Taunton River Trail. There will be a 100-foot permeable path connection, made of stabilized soil or stone dust, from the parking lot to DCR’s right-of-way; currently, DCR’s consultants are proposing a short boardwalk over an existing swale to connect to the Taunton River Trail shared-use path.
The second design is an accessible, permeable 500-foot path that would extend from the Town Hall parking lot closer to Somerset Avenue to the northeast corner of the town’s parcel. This path would provide additional access for users from Town Hall and the Town Hall parking area, which can serve as a potential overflow parking lot. The design layout and format will be coordinated with the other trailheads currently being designed by DCR’s consultants.
The Town of Dighton is working with its consultants, Horsley Witten Group, Inc. and Pare Corporation, to evaluate potential on- and off-road connections from DCR’s 2-mile portion of the Taunton River Trail to the borders of the City of Taunton and the Town of Somerset.
The Dighton community has strongly supported the trail project since it was first proposed.
The project has received consistent support from the Dighton Trails Committee and the Dighton Board of Selectmen and various regional stakeholder groups, including the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) and the Taunton River Stewardship Council.
“I want to thank the Dighton community for their continued support of this project,” said Trails Committee Chair Carvalho. “Each of the public meetings hosted by the Department of Conservation and Recreation in conjunction with Dighton town officials have been well-attended and supported. Public input and feedback from these meetings has shaped the project to focus on the design and permitting of trailheads at the Dighton Town Hall Campus.”
The project presents a unique opportunity to bring access from the Town of Dighton’s property to a proposed 2-mile section of the Taunton River Trail, which will allow users to enjoy the natural beauty of the woods and resource areas of the right-of-way and of Sweets Knoll State Park. The trailhead and connections will provide an additional opportunity to expand active and passive recreation.
Additional information about the MassTrails program and this announcement can be found here.
Additional information about the Taunton River Trails project can be found here.
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