BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)– The MassTrails Grant program will be providing funds for dozens of trail improvements to municipalities across the state. The grants will assist the construction, maintenance, and improvements for a variety of public trails including hiking trails, bikeways, and shared-use paths.
The MassTrails Grant Program supports projects that build public-private partnerships to maintain and improve existing trails and construct new ones across the state. This year’s projects will help communities address trail drainage, develop new trails, expand universal access, support the construction of boardwalks and bridges, design and install new signage, acquire new land for trails, and expand and maintain biking trails.
This year’s MassTrails Grant projects are located in the following municipalities: Adams, Arlington, Athol, Barre, Becket, Belchertown, Bernardston, Brewster, Buckland, Colrain, East Boston, Easton, Everett, Fall River, Foxborough, Franklin, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Granville, Great Barrington, Hardwick, Harvard, Hawley, Haydenville, Holden, Hubbardston, Lakeville, Lawrence, Lee, Leicester, Lenox, Leyden, Malden, Medford, Medway, Middleton, North Adams, North Brookfield, Northampton, Norwell, Orange, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Sandisfield, Sandwich, Savoy, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Springfield, Sturbridge, Sunderland, Templeton, Ware, Washington, Westborough, Westfield, Westford, Williamsburg, Windsor, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester, Wrentham. For a full list and brief description of each of the 52 projects receiving funding, please visit the MassTrails Grants webpage.
“We’ve seen an explosion of interest in the great outdoors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with residents and families across the Commonwealth exploring our parks, trail networks, and open spaces,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “These MassTrails projects are just one example of the significant investments that could be made to expand and improve access to outdoor recreation and open space through the Administration’s federal ARPA spending proposal, especially for residents in communities hit hard by the pandemic.”
The MassTrails Grant Program is funded through the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) capital budget, and from the motor fuel excise tax on off-road vehicles, including ATVs and snowmobiles, which is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Surface Transportation Act, in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
