RAIL TRAIL ON TRACK FOR EXTENSION
Move aims to construct safer, more convenient route to major shopping center
The state is planning to spend almost $600,000 to extend the Farmington River Trail eastward from Route 177 to the Shops at Farmington Valley, a prospect that Canton officials say will help the economy of the entire town.
The shopping center and the town haven’t worked out details of exactly where the new trail section will go, but both support the state Bond Commission’s decision late last month to pay for the work.
“We’re super excited,” said Elizabeth Ackerman, general manager of the shopping center. “It’s still conceptual. There’s a lot to work out, but will help connect Simsbury, Avon, Farmington and Canton.”
The extension will be far too short to add any significant mileage to the main trail, a roughly 10-mile paved route from Red Oak Hill Road in Farmington to Lovely Street at Route 44 in Canton.
Along the way, the trail passes through Farmington’s Unionville section, Burlington and the Collinsville section of Canton. The route largely follows the course of long-abandoned rail lines that served the Collins Co. axe factory. It’s popular with walkers, runners and cyclists, and on sunny weekend days in the summer the parking lots are frequently jammed.
The trail ends alongside Best Cleaners in Canton, where cyclists can cross Route 44 to continue on local streets another 6 miles to connect to the main Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Simsbury.
Reaching the 425,000-squarefoot shopping center is more problematic, even though it’s only about a quarter mile away.
Busy Route 44 isn’t safe for riding, but there is a sidewalk continuing from Best Cleaners to the center’s main parking lot.
The state intends to construct a safer, more convenient route. Preliminary town maps show one route would be to continue the trail across Route 177 and along Route 44 to the emergency driveway to the shopping center; it would run along the west side of Kohl’s and reach the main parking lot behind it.
“It will open up all sorts of opportunities for visitors and
residents to explore Canton all the way down to Collinsville and then down to Unionville,” First Selectman Robert Bessel said.
State Rep. Eleni Kavros Degraw, who lobbied Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration for support for the grant, agreed. The extension will benefit public health and safety, and will boost small businesses in the area, she said.
“The impact of improving this section of the greenway is that it benefits the entire Farmington Valley,” she said in a notice to constituents.
Depending on how far the trail extends behind the shopping center, it could reach Secret Lake Road. That would mean easy access to the main trail for the neighborhood south of Secret Lake Road.
The town currently has no timetable for design and construction.