The Bike Cellar in Simsbury sees a boom in customers looking to buy a bicycle over the summer months every year.
The bicycle shop, located at 532 Hopmeadow St., sits just off the Farmington Canal Greenway, a popular biking and walking trail that extends from the Connecticut shoreline up to Massachusetts. The shop estimates that many of its customers are looking for bikes to use on the popular pedestrian bike trail.
“If I think of the average person coming in, 60 to 70% of them are purchasing bikes that can be used on the rail trail,” said Walter Rochefort III, the owner of the Bicycle Cellar. “I don’t ride my road bike on the road anymore because I’ve been hit twice. Once they put in the rail trail, it’s a great avenue to safely get out and bike. Safety is a big part of cycling and people want to be safe.”
The Bike Cellar is just one of hundreds of businesses that see an economic benefit from the Farmington Canal Greenway. A new study shows that a completed greenway could generate up to $60 million annually once it’s finished.
The popular bike and walking trail, a 55-mile route through Connecticut that runs along former railroad tracks, stretches from New Haven up to Granby and through Massachusetts into Northampton. After years of delays, the Connecticut section is estimated to be fully completed by 2030, according to a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The entire New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway, which is commonly referred to as “the rail trail,” is 81 miles total in length.
A new report by Cambridge Econometrics, an economic consultant group, shows that a completed greenway will significantly boost economic development for communities along the trail. Existing trail users are estimated to support 166 jobs that pay $9.3 million in earnings and generate $16.7 million in value, according to the report. A completed greenway could support 351 to 582 jobs, earning $20 to $33.5 million in wages and generating $35 to $60 million in value.
Last year, greenway users currently generated an estimated $15.1 million alone on food, accommodation, retail and other items, according to the study.
“The current trail segments attract an estimated 800,000 users each year. The two future scenarios estimate trail usage at corridors that are not yet developed. The low scenario estimates a continuous trail would attract 1.3 million users each year, while the high scenario estimates 1.6 million users annually,” according to the study.
“These trail users spend money on food, accommodation, retail and other items, benefitting local businesses and the overall economy,” the study says. “In total, existing trail users spend an estimated $15.1 million each year while users of a completed trail are estimated to spend $32.0 to $53.8 million annually.”
The consultant group uses a holistic input-output model to assess potential economic impact using indicators like employment, income and business growth. The study also takes into account a “low and high” scenario, which gives both a conservative short term model of five years after completion and a 10-year model showing more growth.
Once fully developed, the greenway will be a continuous corridor for walking, running and biking with connections to urban districts, town centers, neighborhoods and natural landscapes, according to the study. Current gaps in the trail include 5.3 miles in Plainville; 0.7 miles in Southington; 1.5 miles in New Haven’ 3.9 miles in Southampton, Massachusetts; and 4.8 miles in Westfield, Massachusetts, officials said.
The Massachusetts segment is slated to be completed by the early 2030s, while the Plainville and Southington sections in Connecticut have a 2030 completion date, according to a spokesperson with DEEP. The New Haven segment should be completed in late 2026. The entire route is expected to be completed within the next five years, allowing for unimpeded access from New Haven to Northampton.
“For decades, these trail corridors have been envisioned, planned and advocated for, yet they remain incomplete. Each year the trails remain unfinished represents a missed opportunity for the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut,” the study says.
“Communities, businesses and residents are forgoing the significant economic benefits that completed off-road trails can bring, from increased tourism and local spending to job and business growth.”
The consultant firm showed that, in a 2019 study, property value premiums went up 3 to 5% when located near a multi-modal pedestrian trail, according to the study. These property value benefits also generate additional tax revenues for local municipalities.
The firm said their work took into account stakeholder interviews with local businesses along the existing trail corridors, and that “each of these cafes, bakeries, bike shops, and fitness facilities, along with countless other businesses, benefits from (and in some cases relies on) the existing NHNCG corridors that pass by their respective establishments.”
Further, the report notes, marketing, promotion, and “user-friendly travel packages are essential to realize the full economic development potential of a long-distance multi-use trail. As noted throughout this report, the largest economic impact of trail users comes from out-of-town visitors, in particular visits that include overnight stays with more substantial spending on food, restaurants, retail, and accommodations (hotels, inns, campsites).”
“There are many examples of how bike and longer-distance shared use paths can be marketed and promoted, but a successful campaign generally consists of both a strong website and social media presence, along with organized and easily searchable travel packages,” it notes. “Sometimes known as inn to inn, these trips allow visitors to bike the trail for multiple days with organized overnight stays at inns near the trail and travel logistics to safely move their luggage.”
If the completed NHNCG were connected to the Merritt Parkway/Route 15 shared use path corridor, it would enhance the economic impacts of both trail segments, the report notes. “The 130-mile continuous path could attract an estimated 3.0 to 3.8 million user days each year, generating $104.9 to $163.2 million in direct spending,” it says.
That direct spending would support “845 to 1,417 jobs in Connecticut and Massachusetts earning $48.1 to $81.8 million in wages and generating $86.7 to $147.4 million in value added and $165.5 to $280.2 million in output.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].
RevContent Feed
860-261-4405
Service Areas
