Selectmen Agree to Apply for Trail Study, Design Grant

The Board of Selectmen agreed Wednesday to allow town staff to join Simsbury in applying for a federal Surface Transportation Program Urban Grant to fund a feasibility study and preliminary design for continuation of the Farmington River Trail.

The grant would cover 80 percent of the costs, which Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner estimates would be about $100,000. Canton would probably pay a little more than half of the $20,000 since about 1.25 miles of the two-mile section is in town.

Selectmen did have some questions about the grant. David Gilchrist Jr. questioned the cost.

Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner said the costs do include some preliminary design, which would also put the town in a better position to receive further funding. 

He also said the trail section is a complicated one. It is part of the Farmington River Trail Loop, designed to connect back to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail portion of the East Coast Greenway in Simsbury and Farmington.

However, much of the old railroad bed in the section north of Route 44 is privately owned and some residents have even built houses on it, officials said.

So the options become more complicated, Skinner said and could involve use of some of the bed, a trail along the roadway, utilizing state, town and privately owned property in the area or a combination of those options.

"It's not going to be the traditional trail we've had in other places in town," Skinner said.

Selectman Stephen Roberto said he understood it may take specialized expertise to sort out the issues but asked if staff had looked at it and seen any "fatal flaws."

Skinner then summoned town planner Neil Pade, who was at the for another meeting.

"I think there is some problem solving that's going to occur," Pade told selectmen, later adding, " I certainly don't think there are any fatal flaws. I think it's quite doable."

Pade also adressed other questions such as alternate routes. He said professionals in the two towns and trail enthusiasts have discussed the issue and determined it was the shortest and most plausible route. He also said it is already the designated path and a state bicycle route.

Already bicyclists use the route but a safe trail for kids and families would be a boon to the area, and those who use the trail, he said.

He said his instinct was that a trail on the side of the roadway may be the solution. Selectmen had questions on such a system, such as safety and the potential for issues, such as plowing, should a barrier be constructed between the car lane and path.

Pade said those are the types of issues that would be explored in the study.

At the begginning of the meeting, Gary Miller, Farmington Valley Trails Council member and Chamber of Commerce president, advocated for the study.

While health and recreation are great by-products of the trail, the funding for trail sections has been from tranportation monies, he said. The trail does provide links to local businesses, and the new section would be another key component, Miller said.

"I think we have to keep transportation at the forefront," he said.

Should the town get the grant, selectmen would still have to accept it.