The Town of Southborough Trails Committee reported April 24 that paving for new parking at the Peninsula Trail is complete and that signage and bench placement to support accessible use are the next steps.

Committee chair Kat McKee said the paving work was done by asphalt engineering and that the contractor will install post-mounted handicap signage by May 6. "This is a new addition. So exciting," McKee said while showing photos of the finished lot.

The committee said one side of the paved area is striped for accessible parking, including van-accessible markings, and the opposite side contains three standard spaces. McKee told the group the lower end of the adjacent hill can accommodate three to five additional vehicles depending on how people park.

McKee said the paving counted toward the town’s cost match for a MassTrails grant. "We've made our match for the grant. Hey. We've exceeded it in a in a big way," she said; the committee said volunteer hours already submitted, together with the paving, put the match over the required level, but the specific dollar amounts and hours were not specified in the meeting.

Volunteers from the Fay School assembled five benches for committee use, four standard benches and one designed for people with mobility limitations. "They assembled all 5 of them," McKee said. The committee said the benches are made from recycled polyethylene (the presenter compared the material to that used for milk jugs) and are presently stored in the committee shed; members plan to move at least one ADA bench to the Peninsula Trail and said a second bench could be purchased if the trails budget allows.

McKee said the committee has not yet finalized interpretive signage text and that initial outreach to a contact for Native American documents and maps has not produced a connection; she said staff will begin independent research so the sign work can proceed and price estimates be obtained.

Next steps listed by the committee include installation of the handicap signs by May 6, placement of the ADA bench on the Peninsula Trail, finalization of interpretive signage content and cost estimates, and confirmation of the MassTrails match documentation at the next meeting.