President’s Letter
Fall has come to the Farmington Valley and with it a sense of satisfaction that things continue to move forward for the trail system. While no large projects were finished in 2012, a few smaller ones have, and many have been set in motion.
The incredibly successful Farmington River Trail (FRT) has had sections in service since 1996. The last piece from Collinsville Center was completed up to Route 44 two years ago. It was greeted with much fanfare including a visit and opening speech by CT Governor Dannel P. Malloy. The Town of Burlington is aware of the serious deteriora-tion of the trail in their town, and we are glad to report that they are the recipient of a grant of $250,000 to help defray the costs of root remediation, cutting back the shoul-ders, regrading and repaving. There is every chance that there will be a shortfall in this funding, and the FVTC stands ready to help the town if needed. As soon as I have more information I will post it on the Website.
Completion of the rest of the FRT north will be more troublesome. The railroad right of way has unfortunately been mostly lost north of Route 44 in northern Canton and Sims-bury. Acquisition of land to build out the trail will be piecemeal, with connections to parcels of Town-owned open space creating a somewhat patchwork trail. Recently, Konover Corp. has graciously offered to build out the FRT at its new CVS site on Law-ton Road and RT 44 in Canton, providing for a 500’ gateway to the northern part of the loop trail across a very active Route 44. We salute them as model corporate citizens for their willingness to take on this work. The Church of Latter Day Saints that abuts this brand new trail directly to the north is in negotiations with the Town to build the trail on their parcel, extending the FRT further toward the Simsbury town line.
