Civil and Municipal - Mar 2023

40 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 CT shland, Massachusetts is neither wide country roads, nor is it busy metropolitan streets. The town of more than 18,000, located in the MetroWest region of the state, is a little bit of both. Sandwiched halfway between nearby cities of Boston and Worcester, Ashland offers a unique equilibrium of rural and city life. “What we really try to focus on here is this balance of growth and open space,” says Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert. “We have made a lot of strides over the last few years to really try to expand our open space footprint, while at the same time, there’s a lot of development happening in previously developed areas.” A