Dear Friend of the Farmington Canal Greenway,
We wanted to wish you a happy autumn and provide you with a few important updates about exciting events and developments related to the Farmington Canal in New Haven:
* DOWNTOWN TUNNEL RE-OPENED AFTER CLOSURE
Thank you for your patience while the tunnel between Temple Street and Whitney Avenue was repaired. As you may know, the tunnel was closed temporarily due to a cable that had become detached from the ceiling, but after about two weeks' closure it has now been fully re-opened.
Thanks to the City for having this issue addressed (relatively) promptly. Please report any issues that you notice along the Trail to us, and to the City, which you can do on SeeClickFix.com.
* CT TRAIL SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 3 - REGISTER AND ATTEND OUR PANEL!
We hope you can join us on Friday, October 3 at the annual CT Trail Symposium organized by the CT Greenways Council. Our partner, the Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trail Association, is one of the sponsors. In the afternoon we will be organizing a panel discussion on "Building Out a Network of Urban Greenways: Challenges, Lessons and Opportunities from New Haven" -- it should be a great discussion with some of the leading advocates and public officials working on greenway projects in New Haven.
If you would like to attend but you need financial support to be able to do so, we have some scholarships available -- please contact us.
* ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE BIKE RIDE, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1, 9:30AM, MEET AT THE LEARNING CORRIDOR (HAZEL/SHELTON)
Join us for our annual fall foliage bike ride on the Trail -- our favorite time of the year for a ride! We will be biking at a leisurely pace, about 7mph, for about 12-14 miles in total.
We will be narrating some of the historic and cultural sites along the route. Meet at the Learning Corridor (133 Hazel Street) at 9:30am for a prompt departure. Please bring a helmet. Rain cancels.
RSVP on Facebook here (and please share the invite with your networks).
* CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING ON RAISED CROSSINGS PROJECT -- POSSIBLE DISRUPTIONS TO TRAIL USERS
We wanted to let you know that a really cool joint New Haven / Hamden project to install new raised crossings for most of the at-grade intersections of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in New Haven and southern Hamden is finally proceeding after a long delay and construction will begin very shortly. This will make some of the most hazardous trail intersections -- e.g. at Division & Goodrich Streets -- much safer. The project will also correct an ongoing problem with unsafe bollard design/configuration at some intersections.
We have heard that the assigned contractor was given a "Notice to Proceed" on September 20 but we are not sure when the actual construction will begin. We believe that the initial construction will be at Munson Street in New Haven. There may be possible temporary disruptions for trail users -- please follow all posted signage and thank you in advance for your cooperation.
 
You can always sign up for our newsletter for construction status updates on FCHT and FCHT-related projects in New Haven, which we share whenever we get them. Please also check us out on social media for timely updates. We will always provide you the most accurate information that is available. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as this project progresses!
* MORE EXCITING NEWS: NEXT PHASE OF STATE STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT IS PROGRESSING QUICKLY
As you may know, New Haven has already brought three new segments of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and East Coast Greenway online just this year, including the tunnel and below-grade section, the one-block segment along Grove Street between Orange and State, and the Water Street cycle-track extension (between Olive and State).
[New trail segment recently completed on Grove Street.]
All of this is very exciting. But an even larger and more significant segment is expected to come online in 2026 when the next phase of the State Street Reconstruction Project is completed, which is likely to happen next summer.
By creating a new cycle-track on the east side of State Street, the State Street Reconstruction Project will provide a fully protected greenway route through downtown New Haven, which has been our goal for many years. Thank you as always for your support and advocacy which has helped to make this possible.
* TRAIL CLEAN-UPS - ONGOING
If you use the trail regularly, we want you to get involved with keeping it in good shape! One of our new volunteers, Kat W., recently took the initiative of organizing a clean-up on the Newhallville section a few weeks ago (see below), and may be organizing another cleanup later this month. We are also hoping to work with some of our Yale partners to sponsor a series of lunchtime cleanups on the trail in the coming weeks and months, particularly focused on removing invasive species that have taken over the landscaping in the new below-grade section. We are also ironing out the details of a new "Adopt-A-Trail-Section" program for businesses/employers as well as a Trail Ambassador program. Stay tuned for details!
[Recent trail clean-up.]
Would you like to organize a trail cleanup and invite your friends and neighbors? Contact us and we can help get you gloves, trash bags, and whatever other support you need.
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As always, thank you for your ongoing support. Hope to see you out on the Trail very soon!
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