Trailblazers Clear Way For A Mill River Path

Fish swim in it, birds nest by its banks, and soon even pedestrians may be able to walk comfortably along the shore of an historic city river.

“The Mill River is a hidden gem in New Haven,” said J.R. Logan, a passionate advocate for building a Mill River Trail, a six-foot-wide stone-dust path which is in the early stages of planning. ​“Rivers are the reason cities settled where they did — forgetting them is folly.”

Although no finished plan exists, the City Plan department has made preliminary models of a trail connecting Fair Haven to East Rock Park along the Mill River. The city applied for a state Recreational Trail Grant this month to fund the building of a sturdy and robust trail.

Grant money or no, citizens are determined to build the trail, and have already cleared large swaths of the area. A group called the Mill River Advocates, funded through the Mill River Watershed Association, gathered this past Wednesday evening on the trail and then at the 370 James St. complex to brainstorm ways to make headway with the trail construction.

If the city does not receive grant money, Logan said, the trail will be more ​“Lo-Fi.”

The city does not have a lot of money to spend on the Mill River Trail, Logan added. It is paying for new signs, but without grant money, its part in the trail construction will be small. Even Logan, the project’s literal trailblazer, said the trail might not be completed for years.

Because of the 1993 Coastal Management Act, properties bordering water must provide recreational easements to the city. The city does not own the land by the Mill River, but has the right of way to build a trail.

One such property owner is Radiall, a French electrical parts manufacturer. Radiall owns three lots with easements by the Mill River, and is responsible for the upkeep of those easements, said Vice President of Operations Bill Neale. 

But Radiall is the exception, not the rule, in maintaining easements. The city has not enforced many of the maintenance agreements with property owners, even though the agreements are recorded on land records, said City Plan Project Manager Anne Hartjen. This has let many easements become overgrown and dirty. Hartjen said she would prefer collaborating with these property owners than disciplining them for disregarding the agreements.

As more employees move to the nearby 370 James St. office building, the demand for a trail has increased, said Logan (pictured). At the meeting, people said the trail should have bicycle access and a place to dock kayaks and canoes. They also expressed concern over factory pollution in the Mill River, which is a murky brown hue. The new preferred developer to rebuild 470 James St. right along the trail has promised to connect it to the river and the trail, with kayaking and an outdoor beer garden/ bistro.

“The littering in our waterways is really bad,” East Rocker Rob Rock said Wednesday night, adding that the city has been serious about cracking down on illegal dumping in parks.

“A lot of people who work in this building spend a lot of their time walking around the parking lot. Can’t we give them something better?” asked Hartjen.

The river, 17 miles long, was home to the city’s first mill in 1642 and Eli Whitney’s factory a century later. The trail was the brainchild of Alder Tom Holahan, a longtime champion of connecting the city’s trails and parks. This was the last project he was working on before he passed away in 2007.

City Plan wants to build two trails, one to the north and one to the south. The northern trail, 12 feet wide, would connect Ralph Walker Rink with the Connecticut Department of Transportation office to the south. The proposed Mill River Trail, which appears on Google Maps, is three quarters of a mile and, with the riverbank segments, forms a loop with John Murphy Drive and Grand Avenue.

These two trails, with a pricetag of $361,500, would connect the Mill River Trail to East Rock Park. City Plan intern Jacob Heydorn-Gorski cited three similar trail projects — in Chicago, Austin, and Philadelphia — that created a cohesive identity, showcased public art, and increased nearby real estate. But without the $89,626 that City Plan estimates the Mill River Trail will cost, residents thought of ways to get the job done themselves.

One suggestion: to employ a Mill River Trail Park Program similar to the East Rock Park Program which pays high school students to clean and maintain the park. Logan said the meeting was a way to build support in the community and find volunteers to help build the trail. Invasive plants like Japanese Knotweed need to be cleared, and path’s steep slopes need to be made safe.

“Generating interest is only going to occur when people feel safe and comfortable on a trail,” said Robert Narracci (pictured), who lives in East Rock. “[The Mill River Trail] is a weird space, but it’s an interesting space.”