Westport Bike Committee Announces PAR Group Win, Hears Greenway Opposition

WESTPORT — May 28, 2026 — Westport Bike and Walking Path Committee spotlights $280,000 greenway grant and growing community pushback. At the May 28 meeting, Chair Gail Rodericks announced that PAR Group had been awarded an engineering contract — part of a three-municipality $280,000 Mass Trails Grant — to advance the Northern Scenic Green Route connecting Westport, Dartmouth, and New Bedford to 25 percent design. The contract covers aerial surveying as part of a feasibility study, but Rodericks reported that a Dartmouth Pathways Committee meeting earlier in the week drew roughly 150 residents, most of them opposed, amid social media claims that the project would trigger eminent domain takings and destroy stone walls. "What we want is people to get engaged and get information," Rodericks told the committee. The committee also reported a $499,800 LEAP Complete Streets grant secured with help from the bike group, a $6,906 Mass Trails award for the Watuppa Connector project, and a second grant application pending for 2026. All five members present indicated they would seek reappointment before the June 30 sunset of their terms.