Above: Trails along the Wachusett Aqueduct in Southborough could be connect to open space throughout the region
If the MetroWest Regional Collaborative has anything to do with it, one day you might be able to walk through nature all the way from Southborough to Wellesley.
The organization which supports nine Metrowest communities, including Southborough, is pulling together data on open space in each of its member towns and mapping it out as part of a regional plan. Executive Director Bruce Leish told Selectmen this week they’re looking at how the open spaces fit together.
“What we’re trying to get at is connectivity between open space and trails across the nine towns and the surrounding towns,” Leish said.
As part of the connectivity plan, the regional planning group is looking not only at conservation land, but also things like MWRA-owned land and power line rights of way. “Any way you can create connectivity through Metrowest,” he said.
In addition to seeing what connections exist between open space today, Leish said they also wants to identify “parcels of conservation interest” that could help create additional connections in the future.
You’ll have a chance to weigh in on the open space connectivity plan at a public hearing in Southborough on December 14 at Cordaville Hall (Senior Center). The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. If you’re not able to make that meeting, there will be another one on the project at at the Wayland Town Building on December 13 at 6:00 pm.
