Plainville Greenway Alliance

This may look like a photo of trail work in one of the more progressive states somewhere west of Connecticut, but it is actually of the new tunnel being built on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail/East Coast Greenway under Skiff St. in Hamden. If you have never ridden this section, the trail currently goes up a short, steep incline to the street, then crosses busy Skiff St. at grade via a button activated traffic signal. It was never pleasant, or easy, or all that safe, but this tunnel will correct all that. How could something like this happen in a place like Hamden, and why not something akin to it here, like bridges over Northwest Drive or, even bigger, over Route 6 in Farmington? It can happen here, if there is the will for it amongst the citizens of Plainville and Farmington that will get the politicians and the DOT moving in this direction. I have been told, by those with more experience with local trail building than I have, that to include a bridge in the trail design guarant

It was a beautiful day for a ribbon cutting and the Governor was relishing this opportunity to not wear a tie. He absolutely refused to dress like a cyclist. But, he had high praise for Canton's efforts to continue the trail from Collinsville to this point near the intersection of Routes 177 and 44, just around the corner from the "Shoppes at Farmington Valley" (or, what I like to call, "the Rape of Canton"). While he did not exactly promise funding would continue to be available in the future, he certainly gets the principle that "if we build it, they will come". He also acknowledged the tremendous opportunity the trails offer to our sedentary society for physical activity and the resulting healthy living benefits. A good time was had by all. Give this section a try, if you haven't already.