The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Plan to merge trail systems proposed
TorringTon >> The Planning and Zoning Commission is preparing to present plans for an expansion of the trail system that could potentially link the trails to New York and Massachusetts.
The plans were researched and designed by Justin Lentz, an intern in the department from Harwinton, under the supervision of zoning and wetlands enforcement officer Kim Barbieri. A public presentation for the Torrington Trails Network, which is based at the YMCA and aims to develop and interconnected trail system, is scheduled for July 30 at 6 p.m. at City Hall room 215.
On Wednesday, Barbieri outlined preliminary plans that suggest connecting the existing Sue Grossman Greenway that runs through the northeast corner of Torrington’s city limits. The plans would extended the trail into the downtown area to intersect with the Naugatuck River Greenway. The Naugatuck River Greenway is still being planned and would extend from Route 118 in Harwinton north to the Stillwater dam. Plans for the Naugatuck River Greenway were first presented in 2004, Barb- ieri said. All existing trails are maintained by the city’s parks and recreation department.
The long-term goal of the trails is to extend the Grossman Greenway through Thomaston in the south and connect to Massachusetts in the north through other trails. The Naugatuck River Greenway would also extend in the north beyond the Stillwater dam and into trails traveling northwest to New York.
Barbieri said creating loops between the two trails gives people a chance to spend more time on the trails that loop back into downtown. The trails would open up options for people.
“Torrington now becomes the area where a really great idea for the Naugatuck River Greenway can actually branch and get us out into a regional aspect,” Barbieri said. “It really becomes a jumping-off point.”
Barbieri said the Grossman Greenway follows old rail lines down Winsted road, and stop at Harris Drive. The Grossman Greenway is about threemiles long. A greenway is a multi-recreational use, paved trail with no motor vehicles allowed, Barbieri said.
The gap between where the Grossman Greenway ends and the proposed Naugatuck River Greenway crosses is about three miles. The gap is where Lentz has been focusing his work, Barbieri said.
“We saw this gap as a situation of, what would happen if we connected this,” Barbieri said.
Barbieri said she was contacted by Lentz, a fifth-year student majoring in landscape architecture at Philadelphia University, about interning for their planning and zoning department in December.
Lentz looked at how the Grossman Greenway could be extended along the rail line down Winsted Road. The trail would cross Newfield Road behind K-Mart, through downtown. Some of the proposed trail areas would overlap with existing train rails, which Barbieri said the city is making a push to reuse through downtown. It’s possible to keep both, she said.
“We would be looking at from where it crosses the river south to what they call a rails and trail greenway, which means that it’s paved greenway but you do it allowing a full rail to actually function,” Barbieri said.
Most the trails would be standalone trails. Barbieri said Lentz used a GPS camera, which he used to photo- graph trails and asses their condition. The information was then used to create a map of the trails that will be shown during the formal presentation. Barbieri said she will be presenting the plans to the Litchfield Council of Elected Officials later in the fall.
“It’s always good to practice presenting,” Lentz said about his upcoming presentation. He said he’s done similar presentations previously at his school.
Some of the potential challenges for the trails are developing a section of the trail near the shopping area near Newfield road, Barbieri said, where the space is narrow. The acquisition of land and access to the trails may also pose challenges.
Judy Bekasi is a member of the Torrington Trails Network. Bekasi said the group is looking forward to seeing the plans. The network is an eightmember group that is part of the YMCA, and is made up of volunteers.
Interns usually don’t conduct the type of work Lentz has developed, Barbieri said.
“It’s just great having an intern that we have that’s confident in this type of arena, that with very little oversight on my part, he was able to do this,” Barbieri said. “He’s done an outstanding job.”