Community Corner

Walk the Branford Shoreline Greenway Trail Today

Today – just days after the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the Shoreline Greenway Trail's newest trailhead in East Haven – you can walk the section of the Branford SGT.

 

The Shoreline Greenway Trail hosts a walk the first Saturday of each month, rotating through its four towns – Branford, East Haven, Guilford and Madison. You can check out a Branford section of the Shoreline Greenway Trail today with the 1st Saturday October Walk at 10 a.m. on October 6 in Branford along Tilcon Road to Totoket Road to the Stony Creek Trolley Trail – "an easy walk for the whole family, strollers welcome."

A New Trailhead

East Haven town officials, volunteers for the Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT) and many others gathered despite cloudy skies and a slight mist for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the SGT’s newest trailhead located at D.C. Moore School in East Haven. Prior to the ribbon-cutting, East Haven’s SLGT chairman Barbara Brow led a walk down the newly blazed trail.

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SGT was established in 2002 with a goal of building a 25-mile trail through the shoreline towns of East Haven, Branford, Guilford and Madison for non-motorized recreation. The new trailhead is located at Hoop Pole Road and Mansfield Grove Road in East Haven.

During the ceremony, Brow explained that 3 ½ miles of trail route have been identified in East Haven with 1 ½ miles already cleared, noting that “trail-building doesn’t happen quickly,” thanking many people for their support, volunteerism and help along the way (the full list is below).

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In addition to Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr., Senator Len Fasano and State Rep. James Albis – who all spoke at the ceremony – several other town officials were also on hand, including Interim Police Chief Brent Larrabee and Fire Chief Douglas Jackson.

Maturo, Fasano and Albis all thanked Brow and the other volunteers for their hard work with Fasano saying, “This really shows what volunteerism could do in a town” and that “Patience is a virtue, but persistence is a key and Barbara Brow has a lot of persistence.”

Albis also commended the many volunteers, saying “You should be very proud of all your hard work as East Haven has been the leader in the Shoreline Greenway Trail.”

Many Thanks

Brow thanked many volunteers during the ceremony. Her letter of thanks follows: 

East Haven Town Team members of the Shoreline Greenway Trail, Scout Master Ned Taylor and the Boy Scouts of Boy Scout Troop 401; Eagle Scouts Justin Richardson, Michael Gambardella Jr., Gino Appi and Adam Burr; Boy Scout Leaders of Troop 401 and Boy Scout Leaders and SGT members, Bill Richardson, Mike Gambardella and Brian Burr. The Boy Scouts cleared all trail segments in East Haven. We appreciate their trail clearing work and their great sense of community volunteerism.

We (EHSGT) thank the EH Town team of the SGT members for their dedication, Chairman of the Board of Directors Chip Angle, Jack Wood chair of Trail Development for SGT, SGT Board members and town team members throughout the towns of EH, Branford, Guilford and Madison. 

We thank the 2,500 families who support our vision. We thank EH residents for their support; East Haven Land Trust members and former President, Dr. Charles Schlegel, and current President Donna Maturo; Bob Petrucelli (Director of Counseling and Community Services), Mary Varunes (Family Resourse Center at D. C. Moore School); teachers, principal, and the children/students at D. C. Moore School; EH Fire Chief Doug Jackson; EH Police Chief Brent Larrabee; EH Garden Club; EH Public Works Department; the Parks Department and the Summer youths program.

We thank the EH Chamber, Mary Cacace (Director), Photographer Jennifer Higham (Chamber member and Boy Scout leader); the various news media for their consistent coverage of our trail effort; Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. for his support and approval to route our trail on town property at D. C. Moore School; Former  and present Town Council members; Art DeSorbo (Director ofAdministration and Management) who acts as a liaison between the Town and EHSGT.

We thank Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for her support of the SGT and for securing Federal Matching Grant Funds to support our vision; State Rep. James Albis and Mayor April Capone. We thank State Senator Len Fasano and all the State Legislators for securing the matching funds to satisfy the Federal Grant. And we thank Senator Len Fasano for this continuous support. We appreciate that Senator Fasano has taken a lead role to advocate for the  EHSGT.

Volunteer Opportunities

SGT is run by volunteers. To volunteer, contact the chairperson of your town's Shoreline Greenway Trail as listed below or on the SGT's website.

East Haven: Barbara Brow, Chair, 203-469-9127 or easthaven@shorelinegreenwaytrail.org

Branford: Judy Miller, Co-Chair, 203-481-3870 or branford@shorelinegreenwaytrail.org or Chet Blomquist, Co-Chair, 203-488-5640

Guilford: Milton Charlton, Chair, 203-815-9587 or guilford@shorelinegreenwaytrail.org

Madison: Ginny Raff, Chair, 203-318-9649 or madison@shorelinegreenwaytrail.org

Have you checked out any of SGT's newly cleared trails yet?


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