Recreation Path - community effort

An article in the CtPost of Aug4 illustrates the volunteer efforts and community enthusiasm for the RecPath. It is of particular note, and in advance of the PZC decision on Aug5 to release funds toward the cause, that the area in the vicinity of HuntWoods shows significant involvement.

Sometimes the CtPost links go stale, so I offer the text for future reference:
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10088628

KATE RAMUNNI
SHELTON — An initiative by the Conservation Commission's Trails Committee to extend the city's Recreation Path through Lane Street is becoming a true community effort.
Committee members Terry Gallagher and Bill Dyer were surprised recently when their appearance before the Inland Wetlands Commission resulted in an offer from one commission member to help with the project.

Organizations such as the Girl Scouts have already put sweat equity into the project by cleaning up the targeted area.

Dyer told the wetlands commission that their goal is to make the 8-foot-wide gravel path accessible to both the handicapped and bicyclists. There are wetlands, including the Mean Brook, in that area, which is why the Trails Committee members appeared before the commission.

Two years ago, the Trails Committee and the Shelton Land Trust constructed a boardwalk there, Gallagher said, and the goal now is to extend that by about 8 feet. His daughter's Girl Scout troop spent time there pulling garbage out of the brook, Gallagher said.

Landscape architect James Swift also donated his time and talent to the project, Dyer said, as did surveyor Tracy Lewis.

The land where the trail will be extended is owned by the city and the land trust, he said.
Lane Street is one of the city's designated scenic roads and is lined with sugar maples, Gallagher said, and the work will take that into account and cause as little disruption as possible.
Wetlands commissioner Randy Szkola, who is a contractor, said he would be willing to lend his equipment and time to the project to help move boulders that need to be repositioned near the path.

"That was nice. We went there with our plans and came out with an offer of help," Conservation Commission Chairman Tom Harbinson said.

The Recreation Path has grown over the years and now spans from downtown to Huntington Center. The work is part of a larger project to widen the trail and make it more accessible.
"We want to make it accessible to bicycles and baby carriages," Dyer said.

Dyer and Harbinson recently went before the Planning and Zoning Commission to request using the Huntington Woods Trust Fund to pay for a portion of the $150,000 cost of the first phase. Developer Monty Blakeman established the $60,000 fund eight years ago when he built the Huntington Woods subdivision to be used for improvements in and around that area.

No decision has been made yet as to whether the funds will be allocated for the project.