Needham conservation commission seeks $100,000 for townwide trail signage, restarts steward program

The Town of Needham Conservation Commission on a virtual meeting described a plan to upgrade signage and restart a volunteer stewardship program for the town’s 11 trail sites, with an estimated project cost of about $100,000 and a Community Preservation Committee funding recommendation pending a Town Meeting vote.

Conservation Commission Chair Dave Harrer said the commission and the conservation department have “been putting together a project for past several months to do some improvements to the town wide trails and signage on the trails,” and that the project application has been approved by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and will be considered by Town Meeting on Monday.

The project would replace or add entrance signs, kiosks, trailhead and intersection signs, waymarkers on trees, interpretive panels and updated maps for most sites — concentrating work at Ridge Hill and the Town Forest — and would also fund select trail repairs such as bog walks, steps and small footbridges. Harrer said, “The total estimate is about a hundred thousand dollars.”

Why it matters: Improved signs and…