nothin Mill River Trail Lands $30K Grant | New Haven Independent

Mill River Trail Lands $30K Grant

Thomas Breen file photo

The Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound has landed a $30,000 grant to help build out a new segment of the Mill River Trail connecting Grand Avenue and Criscuolo Park.

Save the Sound Ecological Communications Specialist Anthony Allen announced the new grant, awarded by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, in an email press release sent out on Thursday afternoon.

The Mill River Trail is a walking and biking path envisioned to connect Whitney Dam on Whitney Avenue and Criscuolo Park on James Street.

Read Save the Sound’s full press release below.

New Haven, CT – The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (CFGNH) has awarded $30,000 from its unrestricted Sarah M. Ferguson Fund to Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound to aid in the construction of a new segment of the Mill River Trail. In accordance with the Mill River Trail Framework Plan and the Mill River Watershed Management Plan, the new segment will connect the trail’s current terminus at Grand Avenue to Criscuolo Park at the southwestern tip of Fair Haven. Preliminary plans produced by CFE/Save the Sound include a 12,000 square foot parklet comprised of rain gardens and bioretention areas which will help prevent water pollution by diverting 2.3 million gallons of stormwater from New Haven’s combined sewer system annually.

This project will provide alternative transportation and recreation options for local residents, and make Fair Haven more resilient in the face of strong storms,” said Gwen Macdonald, director of ecological restoration at Save the Sound. We live in a city laced with beautiful and important waterways, and yet citizens and visitors alike have historically been hard-pressed to experience a real connection to these natural places. We are so grateful to the Community Foundation for their support of the Mill River Trail and the installation of green infrastructure that is both beautiful and regenerative.”

The Mill River Trail is a multi-use recreational trail planned to connect trails in New Haven’s East Rock Park to the waterfront at the confluence of the Mill and Quinnipiac Rivers, where Criscuolo Park offers spectacular views, sports facilities, and playgrounds. Construction of the first section of trail was celebrated earlier this year, following the Mill River north from Grand Avenue.

Once fully funded, the new segment will pick up at Grand and extend south along Haven, Exchange, and Mill Streets. In places, its completion will mean replacing degraded paved areas with a multi-use trail surface that would allow cyclists, walkers, and runners to enjoy a closer connection to the Mill River. The green infrastructure park will include many species of native and flowering plants that absorb and filter stormwater while beautifying what is currently a predominantly industrial area.

CFE/Save the Sound is planning a volunteer event along the new segment for the early fall, and at least one community design workshop is in planning for early 2020. Anyone interested in these opportunities can monitor our events calendar, sign up for e‑mail updates (this falls into the Habitat Restoration and Clean Water for LIS categories) and/or follow Save the Sound on Facebook.

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Learn more about the Mill River Trail and the green infrastructure planned at:

https://issuu.com/millrivertrail/docs/mrt_frameworkplan

https://www.ctenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FINAL_Mill-River-Watershed-Management-Plan_MainBody_Compressed.pdf

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