Plainville Greenway Alliance

This is a plan of the proposed Avon Village Center, a large scale development of the area currently known as Avon Park North that was the former site of the Ensign Bickford Co., an old line manufacturer of products for the mining industry and through which runs the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. The trail route will be slightly altered and is shown in this plan as the dotted red line. It still crosses Route 44 through the existing tunnel beneath that busy road, and enters the new Center as shown in the lower left corner of the plan, winding on-road behind the Avon Police Department, and onto Ensign Drive as at present. The slight alteration occurs at the point where the trail leaves Ensign Drive and circles around a new feature before rejoining the road at Fisher Drive, and then to the at-grade crossing of Route 10 in the upper right corner of the plan. This development will consist of a mixed use of residences, offices, retail shops (and, I hope, a coffee shop and an ice cream ...

  This is a sketch of how an on-road bike lane should intersect with a railroad track crossing the road at a severe angle, as is the case on the proposed route of the multi-use trail at East Main St. (CT Rte. 372) here in Plainville. Such a feature allows the cyclist to cross the tracks at, or nearly at, a right angle with two important benefits: prevents the cyclist from having to swerve into the travel lane to make the crossing. prevents the possibility of getting a front wheel caught between the rail and the pavement if riding straight across and being thrown from the bicycle (this happened to me a few years ago, fortunately when the road was not very busy, because I wound up in the travel portion where cars would normally be on a busy day). This sketch has been shared with the Town Engineering staff, but they have no jurisdiction over a State road, so it was suggested that this be brought to the attention of CT Department of Transportation (CTDOT). I did this recentl...

This is a sketch showing revisions to the streetscape improvements proposed by the Town for the intersection of West Main and Pierce Streets. Construction is scheduled to begin after Memorial Day, so the Bike Friendly Community committee reviewed the plans and suggested the changes shown in red. The basic idea behind these changes is to make the intersection where cyclists using the trail will make an important turn on the on-road portion safer to do so. The crosswalk was moved to the west side of the intersection and pinched down by the "bump outs" on either side so as to slow motor vehicle traffic. Also proposed, but not likely to be included in the construction of the improvements, is the sloped area on either side of the crosswalk, (essentially a "speed hump")  that would physically alert motorists to a change in road conditions (the presence of cyclists). The sharrows and Share the Road signs also alert motorists to this change. A similar treatment is prop...

This booklet, available online here , is a very helpful one for any cyclist, young or old, experienced or not, for riding on the road with traffic. Many would-be cyclists say they are afraid to ride on the road, and who could blame them with increased traffic and the threat of distracted drivers. But , that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do it. In fact, one of the best ways to make roads safer for cyclists is to have more cyclists on the road, exercising all their rights to do so, and faithfully following all the rules of the road, thereby helping motorists to learn what to expect from cyclists. You can order your own hard copy from Rubel Bike Maps here .

What a great painting! It portrays a group of cyclists who meet on Wednesday mornings for a regular ride. The cursive writing is a little hard to read, but it says: "... at Messerschmidt Pond. The Wednesday Group has the best people for support and camaraderie. We had three flats today!" It was painted by Madeline Favre in 2008, and a copy presented to one of our longtime and faithful members, Judy Chatfield, who rides with this group as often as she can. It's no wonder she enjoys this group. Thanks, Judy.

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.