Conservation Commission continues rail trail ramp hearing, issues Feeley Fields order

SUDBURY — May 11, 2026 — Sudbury Conservation Commission sends MassDOT rail trail ramp design back for revision. The commission on May 11 continued MassDOT's request to amend the order of conditions for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail to June 15, citing the loss of OARS- and Sudbury Foundation-funded plantings along the path. Fuss & O'Neill scientist Megan Wojtek presented a south-facing switchback eight to 10 feet wide that would cause 1,905 square feet of permanent buffer-zone impacts and remove four mature trees. Conservation Coordinator Lori Capone said canopy loss would kill plantings beyond those directly removed: "the plantings that won't be directly removed with this will then die because the conditions have changed." Interim Rail Trails Coordinator Marsha Rasmussen said the town must respond to the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board by June 21. The commission also closed and approved an order of conditions for the Feeley Fields softball reconstruction at 200 Raymond Road, presented by Kyle Rowan of Gale Associates, adding a perpetuity condition limiting irrigation to drought periods.