BLAZING A NEW TRAIL
Fairfield County bike group proposes 5-mile trail system for the Terre Haute property on the Bethel-Danbury border
BETHEL — A five-mile trail system that would expand local recreation opportunities is proposed for the Terre Haute property on the Bethel-Danbury border.
The Fairfield County chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association looks to construct five machine-built trails, accessible from the Turnage Lane cul-de-sac in Bethel’s Clarke Business Park, with one extending to Long Ridge Road in Danbury.
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said he thinks it’s “a great idea.”
“We have talked for more than a decade in town about improving recreational opportunities, specifically in the Terre Haute
area, among other places,” he said. “A trail system of this nature, I think, is a marvelous idea.”
The idea is to create more outdoor recreation opportunities in town, and extend the Ives Trail Greenway that runs through Bethel, Danbury, Redding and Ridgefield, according to Bethel resident and NEMBA member Michaela Lawlor, who presented the proposed trail system to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.
She said there would be five, roughly four-foot-wide paths with varying degrees of traversing difficulty, including one “cross-country-style” trail that connects to the southeast section of the Ives Trail Greenway.
Creating more opportunities for outdoor recreation in town would come with social, health and safety benefits, Lawlor said.
“A social impact would be that it improves upon life in general (by giving) people something to do with friends or family,” she said. “A public health aspect (is that) it encourages a healthy and active lifestyle — and hand-in-hand with that comes public safety.”
Lawlor said the proposed trail system would also make Bethel the first municipality in Fairfield County to have machinebuilt trails, which could “bring a big draw of people” to town and have economic benefits.
Knickerbocker said he sees that potential, too.
“I see this trail system as being a very attractive thing not only for residents who are avid mountain bikers and hikers, but the region,” he said. “I think it's a great opportunity for economic growth.”
Although there's no set timeline for the trail project, Lawlor said it would be great to get town approvals within the next year while work is underway to generate funding so NEMBA can break ground on the project a year from now.
With approval from the town and money raised for the project, Lawlor said NEMBA's next steps would be to hire a trail-building company to survey the land, then build the first set of trails.
“You can do a phase buildout so it's not all at once,” she said.
Lawlor said the projected cost to complete about two-thirds of the project is around $250,000.
“Our beginning goal would be to raise about that much so we can pay for the planning and first and second phase of the buildout,” she said.
In addition to collecting donations, Lawlor said a number of grants are available for trail projects — including ones through NEMBA, as well as the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — that would be sought.
To move forward, Knickerbocker said the project needs to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions, and get a referral from Planning and Zoning.
After that, he said the Board of Selectmen can vote.
The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to forward the project proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review and the referral, as well as to the Inland Wetlands, Parks and Recreation and Economic Development commissions for comments.