Weld unanimously rejects gate at trails

WELD – Townspeople voted overwhelmingly not to allow a gate at the end of a road leading to trails to the top of Tumbledown and Little Jackson mountains in western Maine. Tuesday night’s 102-0 vote was followed by applause.

A timber company owned by L.L. Bean granddaughter Linda Bean Folkers asked that the town put up the gate. The company, Lake Webb Woods Maine LLC, was concerned about trash left at the end of the seasonal dirt road that provides access to the hiking trails.

Townspeople said they were worried about losing access to the trails.

Lake Webb Woods, which owns property on both sides of the road, did not intend to bar access to the trails by hikers. But the gate would require people to park nearly a mile away from the start of the trails.