Home Care In Tariffville, CT

Planners are deciding how to best connect the Bloomfield Greenway to the roughly 50-mile Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, part of a longer-term plan to link Hartford and East Hartford to Connecticut’s premier bikeway and paved walking path.

Trail developers this month hosted Hartford, Bloomfield, Simsbury and East Hartford residents at informational meetings about the plan that could change the face of bicycle commuting in central Connecticut for decades.

As contractors complete a multipurpose trail link from Bloomfield into Simsbury’s Tariffville section, the next step is to figure out how to continue it to meet the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which runs north-south about a mile to a mile to the west.

There is no simple and available east-west path, though, and designing the route requires accounting for private properties, high-traffic public roads, the Farmington River, steep changes in elevation and more.

So at information meetings this month, the Capitol Region Council of Governments is inviting residents to put forward ideas. The next sessions are April 18 at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Keney Park Pond House, 323 Edgewood St., Hartford, followed by April 26 at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Alvin and Beatrice Wood Human Services Center, 330 Park Ave., Bloomfield.

Planners from VHB, a consultant for CRCOG, are narrowing down more than a dozen options.

“It needs to be off road and connect to local amenities. We want it to be well designed and attractive so people use it,” said Mark Jewell, a senior planner with VHB. Affordability is also a concern, he said, since construction is largely funded through federal and state grants.

Currently the Bloomfield Greenway starts at Day Hill Road and runs mostly along Route 189. Contractors are extending it northward along Route 189 into Simsbury’s Tafiffville section, where it will end just short of the Farmington River crossing and just a couple of blocks east of Tariffville Elementary School.

Continuing it farther west to reach the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail is more problematic. Planners have already created and rejected options that would require two new bridges over the Farmington River, wetlands encroachment at Tariffville Park or long, winding routes that backtrack into East Granby.

Some of the options they’re still considering would connect to the Tariffville Park entrance, then either follow an old railbed southwest toward the main trail or pursue a different route toward the southwest.

At a public meeting in his town, Simsbury Public Works Director Tom Roy emphasized that the ultimate solution must work for a variety of users.

“This is a multipurpose trail for walkers, cyclists, joggers, runners, dog walkers,” Roy said. “It’s meant to be a multipurpose trail, its not specifically for bikers or walkers. It’s for everybody.”

Consultants have done about 95 percent of the design work on a connector from the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to Simsbury’s Curtiss Park, a large recreation area on the opposite side of the Farmington River. So one option for the Bloomfield connection would be designing a trail link between Curtiss Park and Route 189 in Tariffville, where the Bloomfield Greenway will end after this year’s construction, Roy said.

Before construction bids go out, planners want to hear from walkers, cyclists, homeowners along the route and others about their reactions to various options.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis praised Roy, CRCOG and the East Coast Greenway leadership for progress.

“They have been working hard to connect Bloomfield to Tariffville to Curtiss Park to Route 10, to connect everybody together so we can bike and walk and get places from here to there,” Mackstutis said.

Roy said the bike trail system serves a variety of needs.

“The East Coast Greenway brings people to Simsbury. When they come to Simsbury to ride, they come with money to shop, to buy coffee, they come with money to go to restaurants,” Roy said.

Bruce Donald, regional manager for the East Coast Greenway Alliance, said the long-term goal is an active transportation corridor for the region, a local amenity, and a source of economic development.

“The stated intention 30 years ago was to be the urban Appalachian Trail to go through the cities and connect the population centers,” he said. “This was always called the Hartford Connector. That’s really what is it, we’re connecting the capital city and so much more.”

Donald’s organization envisions linking the Airline Trail and other smaller trails on the eastern end of the state to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which links about 15 towns between New Haven and Suffield. A s a connector the Greater Hartford would open extensive commuting, riding and hiking options.

SIMSBURY, CT — Memorial Day weekend is only a few weeks away, and Simsbury's Metacomet Post 1926, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post 84 have several events planned.

The annual Memorial Day parades in Simsbury and Tariffville will return on Monday, May 30, and veterans will once again speak to students at Simsbury High School.

Here's a timeline of how the groups plan to mark the holiday:

Thursday, May 19

For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, veterans will speak to classes at Simsbury High School for the school's Veteran History Day.

Saturday, May 21

Members of Metacomet Post 1926 and American Legion Post 84, along with Simsbury Scout Troops 76B, 76G, 175 and 1175, will place American flags at the graves of military veterans in Simsbury's Center Cemetery and Tariffville's St. Bernard's Cemetery. The town provides the flags.

Friday-Sunday, May 20-22

The VFW will hold its annual Buddy Poppy Drive outside Fitzgerald's Foods (710 Hopmeadow St.) from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Volunteers will sell red cloth poppies, a symbol from World War I that is typically worn in a lapel (In 1914, American soldiers were engaged in a battle in Flanders Field, where poppies grew.)

Proceeds benefit veterans in need and programs that assist them around Farmington Valley, and anyone wishing to donate can make a check out to Simsbury VFW Post 1926 (with "Poppy Drive" on the memo line of the check) and mail it to:

Simsbury VFW Post 1926 P.O. Box 211 Simsbury, CT 06070

Monday, May 30

The two traditional Memorial Day parades will take place: Tariffville in the morning and Simsbury Center in the afternoon.

The first parade will begin at 9 a.m. from Winthrop Street in Tariffville and will end at St. Bernard Cemetery. Following the parade, a guest speaker will address the crowd and Taps will be played to honor the veterans buried there.

In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. inside Trinity Episcopal Church (11 Church St., Tariffville).

The second parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Owens Brook Boulevard and will end across from the Simsbury Library at Jim Gallagher Way. Following the parade, a ceremony will take place at the Simsbury Veterans Memorial (at the driveway entrance to the Simsbury Library, 725 Hopmeadow St.)

In case of inclement weather, a ceremony will take place at 1:30pm inside Eno Memorial Hall (754 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury).

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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."

Simsbury voters passed the town and Board of Education budgets on May 16, but that doesn’t mean everyone is happy with the $121.7 million spending plan, an increase of 6.44%, and a new mill rate of 31.82.

The town operations budget of $31.7 million passed by a 785-484 vote. The BOE budget of $81.6 million passed, 746-524.

Revaluation assessments, which were done last fall, were already an unpleasant surprise, and the mill rates will compound that pain, affecting many.

“These increases will lower property values, increase rents, and financially impact the business community,” said resident Joan Coe, at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on May 23. “There definitely will be sticker shock, when the town tax [bills] are received by the taxpayers. These increases are unsustainable.”

Sarah Nielsen, executive director of the Simsbury Main Street Partnership, said her office has received an “unprecedented number of complaints” from businesses over the revaluation.

“They’ve already felt the cost of goods that have increased, the cost of utilities that have increased, they’ve suffered COVID losses, they’ve lost tenants, and now the reval has made things harder,” Nielsen said. “They’re feeling the pressure, because people are going to move out of Simsbury. We’re talking about millions of dollars.”

Nielsen said some property assessments have doubled, causing some businesses to begin lawsuits against the town.

“Something has to be done before the town spends all your money… to fight these battles,” Nielsen said. “We’re pricing Simsbury so high that people are going to move their businesses to another town.”

David Richmond, a resident who also owns several business properties in town, said costs are being passed along to renters.

“The increasing assessments force us to raise rents,” he said. “In this marketplace, we have increased maintenance costs, increased utility costs, paint, everything has gone up. So now when you increase assessments, you force us to increase our rents.”

Richmond said that for one of his properties, if put on the market for the assessed rate, would not sell.

“People aren’t buying office buildings in Simsbury today,” he said. “It’s very difficult.”

Steve Antonio said he was shocked when he received his assessment.

“The town assessor is saying that commercial properties increased 35.1% in value over the previous 60 months,” Antonio said, adding that there are many ways to value commercial property, but that comparable sales value, or what a business could be sold for, is the benchmark, and that his research concluded that increase to be 4.4%.

“As a result, we are shouldering more of the burden of operating the town we love,” Antonio said. “We are also being forced to sue ourselves, in as much as we are the Town of Simsbury.”

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis said the town could talk to the finance director to see what can be done.

Selectman Chris Peterson said he was impressed with the business community speaking out.

“I realize how much I am part of your eco-system,” Peterson said, adding that he makes a point to support local businesses.

“I don’t think anyone up here wants to not respond to your requests, to the depth that we can,” he said. “I think that we want nothing other than to avoid something that is inequitable, embarrassing, and unnecessary.”

For more information, visit www.simsbury-ct.gov.

The town is awaiting FEMA to update its flood plain maps to see if the proposed site in Tarriffville is now longer in a flood area.

Patch Staff

SIMSBURY, CT — The town's recreation department is in a pickle ... make that a pickleball pickle regarding a planned expansion this year of pickleball court offerings.

And, as a result, local officials say they will have to postpone plans to add pickleball courts at Tariffville Park this season.

The situation came out of the Simsbury Board of Selectmen's budget workshop meeting March 11, as Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation Director Tom Tyburski spoke before selectmen to discuss budgetary requests for next fiscal year.

During those talks, the pickleball pickle came about.

Pickleball is the popular variant of tennis that is played on a smaller court using specially-made paddles for the sport as opposed to a tennis racquet.

Find out what's happening in Simsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Its popularity is increasing as the game is seen as good exercise for those less athletically inclined but still seeking a vigorous workout, nonetheless.

But, according to Simsbury First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis, plans to expand Tariffville Park's pickleball offerings have hit a roadblock, at least for this year.

That's because current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps place the proposed location in the park — located at Simsbury's Main Street extension in Tariffville — directly in a floodway.

It means, according to Mackstutis, the town cannot build pickleball courts where it wants to, for now.

The town is waiting for FEMA to update its flood maps this year, she said in a report to selectmen earlier this week.

"We've been saying that we would have them, potentially, next spring but chances are fairly nil that that's going to happen," Mackstutis said.

David W. Bush, the chairman of the Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission, said FEMA's latest updates likely will place the pickleball site out of a flood plain.

Once those maps are done, then Simsbury can proceed.

"Unfortunately, we're waiting for the federal government," Bush said at Saturday's budget workshop. "It really looks promising that its going to be next year."

He said if the town forged on trying to build before the maps come out, then it would have to spend $50,000 to $60,000 on hydraulic studies, making the delay a more fiscally prudent move.

To compensate for the pickleball pickle, Tyburski said he's adding stripes at the tennis courts at Simsbury Farms Park at 100 Old Farms Road to give pickleball players more places to play.

Tyburski said the flood mapping issue is, actually, impacting other proposed projects at Tarriffville Park.

"We're in a holding pattern, as you know, about the flood mapping there," Tyburski said before selectmen at the March 10 workshop. "As soon as that gets settled we'll be having pickleball courts, a new playground, a new pavilion over there."

"It was kind of a kick in the teeth to get that bad news, but in the long term, we'll have picklball courts," Tyburski said later in the meeting. "It's just we have to be a little more patient."

For more information on Tarriffville Park, click on this link.

For more information on Simsbury Farms Park, click on this link.

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