Trail Construction Progress at Fox Meadow

An agreement between the developer of Fox Meadow Estates and the Westwood Planning Board will create the first-of-its-kind walking trail in Westwood. When complete, the trail will provide access between Lowell Woods and Gay Street up to the intersection of Thatcher. (For more information on Lowell Woods and other trails in Westwood, download the Take a Hike brochure from the Westwood Land Trust.)

The stonedust path was negotiated by the Planning Board as part of the Fox Meadow (formerly Captain's Crossing) Subdivision. The path will be a five foot wide section of compacted stonedust within the ten foot wide easement behind an existing stone wall. It will run along Gay Street from Thatcher to Fox Hill, and then along Fox Hill from Gay Street to Fox Meadow.

The portion of the trail along Fox Hill Street already has stonedust in place. A small parking area for 3 vehicles has been set aside on Fox Meadow Drive--where visitors will be able to take a short hike down to the old carriage road (completely overgrown with brush as of today) and enter the Lowell woods.

This portion of the trail is small, but the potential to connect the town is huge. Ben Pincus, a Westwood Boy Scout, has undertaken as his Eagle Scout project a plan to make additional connections by coordinating and cooperating with abutting residents and the Conservation Commission between Islington and Route 109. The Sheehan 5th graders in the First LEGO League won an award for their research project on potential bike and walking trails in Westwood and recently led a walk-through tour of a potential path from the Starbucks on High Street, behind the High School, through to Thatcher Street.

If these trails can be connected, we have the potential for residents to walk or bike safely between High Street and Washington Street. As anyone who has walked in Lowell Woods knows, parts of these trails are not very bike-friendly and the route is more circuitous than would be desirable for a commuter, but recreationally, they will open up miles of healthy exploration to all residents of Westwood.