Paul Bass Photo
Martin Torresquintero stuck a sign in the ground to mark the launch of Edgewood Park’s newest trail.
Once completed — at this week’s end, weather permitting — the “Orange Trail” will also include this footbridge.
On Friday, Torresquintero and new Ranger Elizabeth Kaplan (pictured) were hard at work clearing the path, which will eventually run along the east bank of the West River from the Edgewood Park bridge past the park’s Middle Bridge …
… on behind the dog run to the skate park and Coogan Pavilion. They are following up on work volunteers of the Friends of Edgewood Park have been doing along the path for years. Along with volunteers from Youth at Work, the Friends began clearing knotweed and adding wood chips to parts of it so people could walk there, said Friends Green Team Stephanie FitzGerald. Former Ranger Joe Milone cleared a path from the Mid Bridge to the skate park, FitzGerald said; the Friends Green Team and URL Youth at Work “cleaned and laid down wood chips” and has continued clearing.
For weeks Torresquintero and Kaplan have been doing similar clearing and clean-ups along paths in East Rock, Lighthouse, Bishop Woods, and West Rock parks, readying oases for Covid-19 lockdown-weary New Haveners ready to roam free in safe nature spots. Back in Edgewood Park, on the west side of the river, they also repaired this boardwalk, which had been damaged by flooding. They removed dumped asphalt that had created a dam. “We don’t want asphalt on the wetland” anyway, Torresquintero said. “It leaches chemicals.”
Thank you to the Park employees and volunteers who are creating new trails and improving existing ones in the parks. The more people who use the parks, the safer they become for all of us (as long as you wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart.) How about teaming up with the State to improve and repair the West Rock park trails and visitor's parking, attractions and other areas in it that need attention? It is a huge park with lots of space and not very many visitors, if it had public toilets, trash cans and picnic tables, nicer parking areas and well marked trails with a map on sign boards at the entrances it could be a good alternative to the overcrowding at other local more popular parks.