Wayland commission backs museum grant bid, weighs in on rail trail design

WAYLAND — March 6, 2023 — Wayland Historical Commission backs museum preservation grant, pushes Mass DOT to protect rail trail artifacts. The commission voted unanimously Monday to send a letter supporting the Wayland Museum and Historical Society's Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund application, which would pay for floor plans, elevations and a structural analysis of the museum building. Member R. Richard Conard reported on the March 2 design hearing for the Mass DOT rail trail extension to East Sudbury, an 80-percent-federally-funded project not slated for construction until 2027, and circulated a draft comment letter urging the state to mark the turntable pit, engine house site and a concrete crossing-circuit post on construction plans. On house plaques, members rejected a Waltham vendor's PVC ovals, with Ann Gordon saying the commission should "be consistent" with wood markers already on historic homes. The panel has $430.66 left in its current budget.