Boxborough Select Board Approves Tree Removal, Directs Complete Streets Policy Revision

BOXBOROUGH -- July 13, 2026, Boxborough Select Board advances Complete Streets revival and clears two hazard trees in 4-0 votes. The board voted 4-0 Monday to approve removal of six diseased spruce trees at the Old Town Center intersection of Hill Road and Middle Road and a large maple at 333 Depot Road, at an estimated combined removal cost of roughly $6,300, with stump grinding and replanting costs still to be determined and funding to come through a reserve fund transfer. Town Planner Alec Wade told the board that the town's 2018 Complete Streets policy, specifically its requirement for a committee that no longer exists, is the sole obstacle blocking Boxborough from applying for up to $1 million per funding cycle from MassDOT's multimodal transportation grant program, saying "this policy is the only thing standing in the way." A neighborhood working group on Liberty Square Road has gathered responses from approximately 120 households with near-unanimous support for pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and Wade flagged an August 9 application deadline for the current funding cycle. The board also voted 4-0 to renew a three-year intermunicipal agreement with Littleton Community Television at a lower cost than the expiring deal, declared old recreation playground equipment surplus for DPW disposal, and directed staff to return with a proposed fee schedule for large transfer station items, including mattresses, currently costing the town approximately $18 each to dispose of.