Fuller Brook Executive Summary - Town of Wellesley

Fuller Brook Park Preservation Project
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Path
Options explored for the Fuller Brook path include width,
surface, alignment, and grade changes to meet universal
access standards.
Width
The path width varies enormously along the length of the Park,
from a 12” wide beaten footpath to areas that exceed 12’ in
width. The 2009 Preservation Master Plan recommended a
consistent 8’ wide path throughout the Park. Based on public
input, several path widths 4’, 5’, 6’, 8’ and 10’ were explored
generally related to the degree of access and use they afforded.
Collapsed concrete liners in Fuller Brook, Segment 1.
Sediment in Caroline Brook, Segment 4.
Upland flooding
Options considered to mitigate seasonal flooding in areas where
the active floodplain extends into the portions of the Park where
the path is located, include the development of vegetated
detention areas such as wet meadows, bioswales, and rain
gardens.
Park Boundary
Fuller Brook Park has an irregular boundary that is largely
adjacent to residential properties. In many places, this ambiguity
means that park users cannot tell where the edge of the Park is
and private land begins, so that much of the Park is unusable.
There are also a few instances where abutters have
inadvertently landscaped or added fences within the park
boundary. Options to address the ambiguity of the park
boundary should be developed in concert with adjacent
landowners and may vary depending on specific site conditions.
Three alternatives for the delineation of the park boundary were
considered: granite boundary markers, buffer planting, and splitrail
fence.
Surface
Path surface also varies for each segment and often within each
segment. Existing surfaces included dirt, gravel, bituminous
concrete, wood chips and synthetic boardwalk. Alternative path
surfaces considered and evaluated for Fuller Brook Park
included wood chips, gravel/crushed stone, stonedust, stabilized
soft surface, bituminous concrete (standard, permeable, rolled
stone), and boardwalk.
Universal Access
A few existing areas along the path exceed the recommended
grade for universal access (5%), most of which relate to the
slopes approaching street crossings. However, with the
exception of the bituminous path in Segment 2, most of the path
in the Park does not meet current universal design standards for
slip-resistant surfaces. Since one of the design criteria for Phase
2 is improving universal access, the alternatives considered a
range of access from no change to full compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Narrow section of dirt path in Fuller Brook Park, Segment 4. This is an
example of a path that does not meet universal access standards due
to width and surface material.
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