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:
* FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CLEAN-UP & INVASIVES REMOVAL
Fridays (Starting October 10), 11:45am-12:45pm
Below Audubon Street (behind Koffee)
Join us for a brief and fun lunchtime trail clean-up on the new below-grade section next to the tunnel! Unfortunately, invasive species like mugwort have taken over the original landscaping here so we will be focusing on cutting and pulling invasive plants to restore the original look and provide a better environment for local pollinators.
Don’t worry if you are not familiar with identifying invasives -- we will teach you!
We will have some tools and gloves but feel free to bring your own as well.
Meet on the Trail below the Park of the Arts (behind Koffee on Audubon).
Would you like to organize a trail cleanup and invite your friends and neighbors? Contact us (Farmingtonc...@gmail.com or 203-350-3795) and we can help get you gloves, trash bags, and whatever other support you need.
* NEW HAVEN CICLOVIA ORGANIZING MEETING
Wednesday, October 22, 5:30-7pm
Canal Dock Boathouse, 475 Long Wharf Dr., New Haven
Join us for an organizing meeting for the New Haven Ciclovia (open streets event) that will be taking place in 2026.
It has been a dream for many years to hold an Open Streets event in New Haven and we're very glad it seems to finally be happening.
* "ALL THINGS POLLINATORS" EVENT AT URBANSCAPES NATIVE PLANT NURSERY
Saturday, October 25, 10am-1pm
133 Hazel Street New Haven
Join our partner organization Community Placemaking & Engagement Network (CPEN) for a special “All Things Pollinators” celebration at the Urbanscapes Native Plant Nursery, located next to the Trail at the Newhallville Learning Corridor.
In addition to the plant sale, there will be numerous exhibitors and workshops and lots of family-friendly activities at the nursery. Come and join us at this wonderful fall event!
* SHORELINE GREENWAY TRAIL NEW HAVEN TEAM ORGANIZING MEETING
Thursday, October 30, 6pm
Lighthouse Fire Station Community Room
510 Lighthouse Road, New Haven
[There will also be a Zoom option]
Join us for an organizing meeting for the Shoreline Greenway Trail, which is a fantastic trail that will eventually run between New Haven Madison. There are plans under development to create a new segment from the East Haven town line to downtown New Haven and connecting to the Farmington Canal and East Coast Greenway at Long Wharf.
Help Us Strengthen the Connection Between New Haven and the Shoreline Greenway Trail
Let's formalize our Shoreline Greenway Trail Town Team for the Elm City metro area. We are organizing so community members who use our New Haven urban trail and bike network have better access to the Shoreline.
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Completing the Shoreline Greenway Trail in New Haven is a critical step forward in building a network of interconnected greenways in New Haven with the Farmington Canal as the spine. Hope you can make it!
* ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE BIKE RIDE
Saturday, November 1, 9:30am
Meet at the William Lanson Statue (Lock Street)
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.
In addition to peeping beautiful fall foliage, we will also be narrating some of the historic and cultural sites along the route. Meet at the William Lanson Statue (Lock Street) at 9:30am for a prompt departure. There is parking available on the street or in the Yale Health building garage.
Please bring a helmet. Rain cancels.
RSVP on Facebook here (and please share the invite to your networks).
* WORLD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR ROAD TRAFFIC VICTIMS
Sunday, November 16, 1pm
Walnut Hill Park, New Britain
Join us for this powerful annual event commemorating victims of traffic violence around the state of Connecticut.
RSVP and share the Facebook event here.
* Trail Map Update: Need Your Trail Pictures!
We are in the process of updating our printed trail maps for the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which have not been updated for 5 years despite many changes to the Trail including new segments in New Haven. We will also be incorporating new photos into the map. Do you have great pictures of the Trail, and people using it, that you think we should consider putting onto the cover or back of the map? Please send us your best pics! * 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 at 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
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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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