New Haven Independent: The Trail Triumphs

The Trail Triumphs

by Melinda Tuhus | May 8, 2007 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

It may be years away, but the final approved version of a new hiking/biking trail on the East Shore is being hailed on all sides as proof that hard work, good will, and helpful information can bring about good public solutions about the desired result - in this case a multi-use greenway completely separated from traffic hazards.

Final plans for the portside greenway were approved by the city’s Port Authority last Thursday night after months of passionate debate and public concern over public safety.

The concern began when greenways advocate and Fair Haven Heights resident Chris Ozyck learned that, contrary to the original land use plan, the city was proposing to create a hiking/biking trail around the perimeter of the port instead of through it on East Shore Parkway. He organized about a half-dozen walks — in the worst and best weather imaginable — to show city officials, consultants and interested members of the public how the different options stacked up. (Click here and here for past stories.)

In the wake of Thursday’s vote, Ozyck said he knew some members of the port authority board opposed his alternate proposal, while others he was unsure of. It turned out that only four showed up at the meeting, and they all voted in favor.

“This is a very good solution,” he said, especially since he learned that Connecticut Avenue (a part of East Shore Parkway where the trail will go) has a 60-foot right-of-way. That will allow for at least a five-foot separation between traffic and a ten-foot wide greenway, then five feet on the other side next to the businesses.

“It’s the best of both worlds because you have a fully functional multi-use trail next to the roadway so it feels more connected to what should be the normal path through the port than being isolated to one edge.” He’s hoping, with such a wide right-of-way, that construction will include even a wider buffer than five feet.

Ozyck credits two factors for the victory. One was the need to have a separated greenway in order to minimize liability issues. The other is that, he said, “The port needs to expand, and it’s going to expand, and they need goodwill going forward or their credibility is not very strong.”

He also credits Mike Piscitelli (wearing his City Plan hat before he moved over to become the city’s transportation chief) with doing his homework and being open to new suggestions. “He brought credibility to the process. He encouraged the commissioners to go out on the walk and had the consultant extend the process. This could’ve been something that got jammed through without there being any consideration, and I think it was his good stewardship and thinking that helped make it happen.”

For his part, Piscitelli (pictured at the top of this story) said the city is pleased with the land use plan that will move forward with specific implementation steps that allow the port authority to grow and puts the greenway where trail advocates wanted it. He said there’ll be a complete re-design of Connecticut Avenue, which will take “several” years (hopefully fewer than ten). He said the time frame partially depends on sources of funding — both from the state and from the Port Authority. He declined to hazard an estimate, saying it depends how much additional work needs to be done with the road itself.

Comments

Posted by: cedarhillresident | May 8, 2007 8:48 AM

Congrate's to all that made this happen!

Posted by: dana b | May 8, 2007 8:59 AM

Mike Piscitelli for mayor!

No, seriously folks, think about some of the talented public servants in New Haven and what great alternatives they would be to the autocratic Destefano. People like that would already know much of the business of the city and could hit the ground running.

I urge fellow readers to put names forward, so that we can all become familiar with people we might, just might, get to run for mayor this year or in the next election after that.

Posted by: Nan Bartow | May 8, 2007 10:21 AM

Congratulations to Chris Ozyck, Mike Piscitelli, the New Haven Independent, and the New Haven Register for their parts in the protection of the right of way along Connecticut Avenue which will result in the building of a multi-use, portside greenway along New Haven Harbor that is completely separated from traffic hazards.

In my opinion, New Haven must do its best to attract and retain vigorous people of all ages. Many of these people are looking for cities and towns in which to walk, roller-blade, hike, and bike along Greenways. Now that New Haven has demonstrated its willingness to complete its part in the trail system that will run from Maine to Florida along the seacoast, people, who are looking to incorporate exercise and adventure into their lives, will see our city as an inviting city of the future.

I believe that Chris Ozyck will find that many volunteers will work with him to help build this wonderful trail along New Haven Harbor.

Posted by: David Zakur | May 8, 2007 10:27 AM

Both Chris and Mike should be congratulated on this win/win solution for trail advocates and the Port Authority. New Haven has a history of great projects which stand alone. The trail will act to physically connect many of these urban attributes which will give the average person greater reason to seek out the Elm City as a place to live, not just a place to pass through. Rack one up for "Showcasing the Positive"!

Posted by: charlie | May 8, 2007 11:55 AM

Completing the trail - and the whole Harborside Greenway from one end of the city to the other - in the correct way is the most important issue facing New Haven today. With a proper trail system, there would be many fewer cars and healthier people and the city would easily be one of the best places in the world to live. The city also needs more bicycle lanes in general. I can't believe that with everything the city knows about the environment and sustainable transportation, we don't have a more functional system of non-motorized transit, including beautiful bike lanes.

If Piscitelli runs for mayor, I will be the first to donate $2,000 to his campaign.

Posted by: Esbe | May 8, 2007 2:21 PM

I love a story with a happy ending -- congrats to all.

The next step is to see this thing get built and connected to a real 'round the harbor trail, from Lighthouse Point to the West Haven beaches.

I recently walked a good part of the East Shore -- there are lots of nice sections of park and path, but they aren't all clearly connected and sometimes its not clear where to turn. Could we start with some Harbor Trail signage? That sort of thing can become a self-fulling prophecy, as folks start to ask "why does the trail end here?"

Posted by: charlie | May 8, 2007 3:01 PM

That's a great idea, ESBE! I also wonder why there isn't better signage for a trail of national significance, given that even the existing routes are wonderful (although a long way from where they could be). It's about time. Maybe BankofAmerica would sponsor it.

Posted by: Ned | May 9, 2007 9:10 AM

Once the trail is built, who is responsible for maintaining it and where does the maintenance money come from? The short section of Farmington Canal trail, in New Haven, has some major drainage problems (lack of) in spots and is often littered with broken glass, sand and miscellaneous debris. Yesterday, while riding the section of the same trail, in Hamden there was broken glass and grafitti on the trail. I can only pick up so much glass and garbage, before I'd have to buy a cargo bike... Getting the trail built is great, but are there plans to keep it attractive and maintained?

Posted by: Esbe | May 9, 2007 10:52 AM

Ned -- as for maintenance, you raise a serious issue. It seems to me that you want a public / private partnership. On one side, a "Friends of the Trail" group that organizes clean-up parties and monitors the trail for issues. Some of the folks at Elm City Cycling would show up, I am sure. On the other side, some city funding for both routine and serious maintence. If we think of these trails as part of both the park network and the transportation network, then some amount of city funding would surely be justified.

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