Plainville Greenway Alliance

Now that I have your attention, this really is the title of a recent article in the NYTimes about how motorists get away with murder, literally. But, before your blood pressure gets too high thinking about this sorry fact, read the article right through to the end; especially the end (click  here ). We cyclists bear great responsibility in how others perceive us. We are often our own worst enemy, blowing through stop signs and red lights with reckless abandon. So, if we want motorists and police to respect us and take us seriously as road users, we need to "ride different".

It's been more than 4 years since the Town completed the Master Plan Trail Study, but little has happened in that time. There are lots of reasons, none of them very good. But now is the time to act, while the political and funding climate still favors closing the gaps. Read here about Plainville's latest efforts to start closing the 4 mile gap here in town.

For each of the last three years, a small group of cyclists has been riding for one week on the East Coast Greenway, this summer from Hartford to Philadelphia. Click  here  to view a short YouTube video of this ride.  The ECG passes just beneath the Big Gray Bridge (George Washington) and right next to the Little Red Lighthouse in NYC.   

Just found on the web: a short, but very positive opinion by the Courant publisher about closing the gap here in Plainville. Click here to view.

They are smiling because they probably know something is up. Something that has been a long time coming here in Connecticut - full scale official recognition of and support for the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (FCHT) by State planners and transportation officials. These happy cyclists, posing on the Flower Bridge over the Farmington River in Simsbury, are using the trail to travel from Hartford to New Haven today at the start of a weeklong journey to Philadelphia. They are using the part of the FCHT that is designated as a portion of the East Coast Greenway from Simsbury to New Haven. Much of their journey will be on-road, especially the 9.1 mile gap from Farmington thru Plainville to Southington. But that will change in the future as we advocates working with State and local officials find new and creative ways to complete this jewel of a trail that, when complete, will be 80 miles long and connect with the incredible trail system in and around Nort

Our Town Cyclists parade through downtown to promote trail By KAITLYN NAPLES   STAFF WRITER   About 30 bike riders joined Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Dan Esty in a 56-mile ride from New Haven to Southwick, Mass., two Saturdays ago, to promote the Farmington Canal  Heritage Trail.  “This is a great day to highlight the partnerships between government and town,” Esty said outside of Plainville’s Municipal Center where the riders stopped for a quick break in  their journey.  Mark Swanson, a member of Plainville’s Bicycle Friendly Committee, said he was happy to see the ride happening.  “It is exciting and nice to see the trail getting support from the state level,” Swanson said before joining the other riders. “This has been taking years and  years” to complete.  The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, which runs from Florida to Maine. However, there are gaps along the way. In Connecticut