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SIMSBURY — A new trail connecting Bloomfield to Simsbury marks one step closer to establishing a trail network throughout the Hartford region and connectivity along the East Coast.
Bridging about a 1-mile gap from Bloomfield to the village of Tariffville in Simsbury, the recently completed multi-use trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile walking and biking route spanning Maine to Florida.
Connecticut is home to 200 miles of the trail, with the route currently 54 percent completed in the state. The new section's opening will allow the East Coast Greenway Alliance to re-sign the Greenway's travel route through Simsbury Center once again, continuing south through the center of Bloomfield and eventually into Hartford.
Located along Route 189, this new trail is part of the “Hartford connector,” which ultimately would connect the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail with the state capitol, said Bruce Donald, the East Coast Greenway Alliance’s Southern New England Manager.
Around a million people use the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail every year, Donald said. And for decades, that corridor has been recognized as necessary to connect to Hartford.
The goal is for it to become a commuter corridor through more trail connections across the region, connecting the city of Hartford to its surrounding towns and working to complete the state's East Coast Greenway route, he said.
Throughout Connecticut, the Greenway combines multiple local trails, but in the gaps between long-distance trails, bicyclists and pedestrians make connections on the road, which can be dangerous.
While the Bloomfield-Tariffville segment has been years in the making, the specific route was partly initiated because of safety issues, as bicyclists previously needed to scale a steep hill along a cliff.
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"We knew we had to go there because, you know, nobody should be on Route 189. It's incredibly dangerous," Donald said. "So we kind of knew the trail was gonna go there."
A cyclist death on Route 189 in 2014 led to more conversations surrounding what changes needed to happen in order to make the route accessible for pedestrians.
“That was one of the impetuses to get this trail built,” Donald said.
Now, pedestrians and cyclists alike, as well as those using ADA-compliant uses like electric wheelchairs and e-bikes, can enjoy the 12-foot wide asphalt trail that goes straight to the center of Tariffville.
From Tariffville, where there are also newly added bike racks and a parking area, the trail goes along Route 189 and loops upward to the end of the Bloomfield Greenway, which goes just under two miles farther to Old St Andrews Episcopal Church.
The Bloomfield and Tariffville project cost around $2.71 million, Donald said, and was funded through state bonding. Construction began November 2022, and it was opened to the public last month.
And as the state works to further improve connectivity across the region, another phase of the Bloomfield-Simsbury trail is already in the works, which would go west from the Tariffville Center to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. That section, which would be about 1.6 miles, is in the initial planning stages, Donald said.
The goal is that once the other phase is built, as well as one more trail portion in East Hartford, they’ll have finished connectors to Hartford by potentially 2027, he said.
With every new Greenway link, it limits the need for road travel, in turn making sustainable, non-motorized transportation more accessible for various communities. So, while the East Coast Greenway spans from Maine to Florida, incremental efforts between towns like Simsbury and Bloomfield are vital in working towards interconnected communities across the state.
"This plan is a regional plan," Donald said.
And as gaps in long-distance trails are filled, cities and towns see dramatic growth in local economies and community activity, Donald said.
Economic development and tourism is a critical component of the benefits of these trails, which are used not only by local residents, but by people from all throughout the region, bringing in money that would not otherwise be in that municipality, Donald said.
“I'm convinced this is going to transform Tariffville,” he said.
These segments are also a huge amenity for the community, he added, fostering social interaction and a sense of community across the towns that these trails bring together.
"These trails become kind of the central meeting place for a community,” Donald said. "Everybody loves these trails, and they're hugely used."
Currently, the East Coast Greenway Alliance has 18 fully-funded projects in the state of Connecticut through 2027, Donald said, totaling just under $100 million in allocated or currently funded money. But with all of the money that these trails bring into these local economies, the projects end up paying for themselves.
And the state's trail infrastructure could see even more expansion and improvement, as the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced on Dec. 11 that it is making $10 million available to improve Connecticut’s recreational trail infrastructure, the largest funding round in the history of the Recreational Trails Grant program since it was established in 1997.
Donald estimates that by 2027, the Alliance's 18 current projects alone would bring Connecticut's Greenway to 64% complete.
"In the Northeast, we are getting the East Coast Greenway done," he said. "And it's really exciting."