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Westford hears Littleton Road pedestrian-and-bike plan; pilot project proposed for Robbins Road
Summary
Consultants presented a Littleton Road pedestrian and bicycle plan that proposes the Nashoba Greenway and a 25% pilot design for a shared-use path at Robbins Road; commissioners and residents pressed for clarity on winter use, maintenance, wetlands tradeoffs and how new housing will affect car travel and transit access.
A consultant told the Westford Conservation Commission on June 24 that a new Littleton Road pedestrian-and-bicycle plan seeks to knit recent MBTA Communities rezoning into a safer, more continuous network of sidewalks, bike routes and community spaces.
Nate Burgess, a landscape architect with Dodson & Flinker, said the plan’s deliverables include a connections map for the study area, a 25% design for a pilot site at Robbins Road, conceptual site plans for development parcels and guidance for the Planning Board on review of projects arising from MBTA community zoning. “This project is really an outgrowth of the MBTA Communities Overlay District planning process,” Burgess said, adding that the team has interviewed property owners, run focus groups and held public workshops.
Why it matters: the plan aims to coordinate public investment and private development so that new multi‑family housing connects to transit, trails and neighborhood amenities rather than isolate pedestrians and bicyclists.
The presentation highlighted a proposed Nashoba Greenway, a corridor connection to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail along an historic rail alignment; Burgess cautioned the corridor faces wetlands constraints south of Littleton Road but said feasibility work has received grant funding. The Robbins Road pilot would provide a shared-use path connecting Bell-Westford apartments to Littleton Road and would include a 25% design package for town review.
Residents and commissioners raised significant practical concerns. A commission member said, “From December till March, most of the trails are impassable,” pressing whether the design accounts for winter conditions and year‑round commuting needs. Public commenter Eric Lashaine asked who will pay for lighting, maintenance and whether the routes will serve school runs, commutes and shopping trips.
Burgess said the team included recommendations for lighting, maintenance planning and stormwater design in the pilot and that the plan promotes multiple parallel connections so users can choose routes if some trails are seasonally impassable. He also said the plan recommends identifying likely commuter routes to show how trails could link to transit access points.
Commissioners also pressed on mode share assumptions, asking how many residents of new developments might commute by transit versus driving. Burgess acknowledged uncertainty in precise mode share and said follow‑up mapping and design work will clarify which connections are most likely to serve commuters.
The presentation cited several active grant awards and TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) funding that the town can use to advance portions of the plan, including pedestrian improvements in the Powers Road area and an expanded TIP design to the west of Powers Road.
What’s next: the consultant said a final report will be prepared in the coming week to incorporate public comments; commissioners encouraged continued outreach and requested clearer on‑the‑ground mapping of protected parcels, easements and assumed trail corridors before the planning board uses the guidance for project review.
