Dighton’s Trails Committee Awarded Taunton River Stewardship Council Grant

DIGHTON —  Trails Commission Chairman Jeff Carvalho is pleased to announce that the Dighton’s Trails Committee was awarded a $40,000 grant from the Taunton River Stewardship Council.

The $40,000 grant awarded to the Trails Committee by the Taunton River Stewardship Council will be used to fund a feasibility study.

The project was originally to be funded by the Town following a successful vote at Special Town Meeting last November. The subsequent grant made it possible to save taxpayer money by using the grant instead.

With the feasibility study, the committee looks to provide viable options and initial concepts to connect the future 2-mile Department of Conservation and Recreation Sweets Knoll rail trail to the fabric of Dighton and its surrounding communities. Options for connection include on- and off-road trails north across the Three Mile River to the City of Taunton and south along the waterfront to the Town of Somerset.

The concepts that are identified from the feasibility study will be used to pursue additional grants to support the implementation of the connections.

Full funding for this project was provided by a grant from the Taunton River Stewardship Council, stewards of the federally designated Wild & Scenic Taunton River.

“We are extremely grateful to have received grant funding in support of our feasibility study and would like to thank the Taunton River Stewardship Council and Bill Napolitano for their partnership,” Chairman Carvalho said. “With the approval of this grant funding, the Dighton Trails Committee will be able to conduct a feasibility study to assist us in developing our trails in town while saving Dighton’s taxpayers’ money.” 

The project is part of the larger regional effort to connect the Dighton community to the South Coast Bikeway Alliance’s South Coast Bikeway network to the south in Somerset and the Taunton Pathway Committee’s ongoing trail network in Taunton. It also supports the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District’s (SRPEDD) Taunton River Trails vision for a 22+ mile multi-modal trail network throughout the region.

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