| On the Map: New Bike Route is Part of East Coast Greenway By Hal Brown Wending its way along the shore and through tree tunnels in affluent neighborhoods as well as industrial sections from Greenwich to New Haven, the recently mapped Southwest Connecticut Bicycle Route is a study in the contrasts that prevail in Fairfield County. The 60-mile path is part of a trail system the East Coast Greenway Alliance is stitching together from locally maintained state and municipal trails from Maine to Florida. Backers promote it as an urban alternative to the backcountry Appalachian Trail. The southwestern Connecticut portion is one of nine pieces of the East Coast Greenway designated in the state so far. In New Haven the route picks up the Freedom Trail to hook up with the Farmington Canal Greenway. Plans call for the canal greenway eventually to reach Northhampton, Mass. Greenwich resident Franklin Bloomer, the founder and chairman of Greenwich Safe Cycling, a bicycle advocacy group, laid out the Fairfield County route after joining the board of the Connecticut committee for the alliance. "I ride my bike to Guilford every Thanksgiving to attend Thanksgiving dinner. That's how I came to understand the route, the best way to get up there," he said. "I think the route is a really interesting ride," Bloomer said. "There are a few places where you come out on busy roads, but for the most part they are roads that parallel the busy highways and get you out to quiet places that overlook the Sound. It goes through some very beautiful areas." The Southport Historic District and an optional scenic route that hugs the Sound in Westport are highlights of the trail. In Norwalk, the path follows Route 136 from East Norwalk through Rowayton into Darien. The southwestern Connecticut trail is an interim route, said Eric Weis, a spokesman for the alliance at its national office in Wakefield, R.I. The group is trying to keep the trail off the roadway, although the portion through Fairfield County is on streets and highways. "We wanted to go ahead and develop this route from the New York line to New Haven because it looks as though it's going to be quite a few years before real solid off-road opportunities spanning that distance become available," Weis said. "We selected this route because it's scenically significant, historically significant, and because we believe, in addition to those factors, that it's just about the safest route available between New Haven and the New York line." The Greenway Alliance says the trail is not meant for every one, it requires a certain amount of expertise. "It is designed for adults with a driver's license and several years of cycling experience," says a disclaimer on the map. "Few of the roads chosen have special provision for cyclists." Karen Votava, executive director of the group said the alliance can't guarantee everyone's safety on the road. The greenway map also shows an alternative route the alliance is working out along the Merritt Parkway. "The Merritt has a continuous 150-foot strip on the south side," Bloomer said. "It was put in for possible expansion or alternative trail use when it was designed." Bloomer, however, thinks the trail closer to the coast might be more interesting. The coastal route also was designed to take advantage of railroad facilities. It is close to most Metro-North Railroad stations and goes through Amtrak stations. Bloomer said Amtrak has an arrangement with the alliance to allow cyclists to take their bikes, unboxed, on the trains and get off at various points. Metro-North also allows bicycles on its trains now, as long as the cyclists have permits and do not travel during the peak hours in the morning and late afternoon. This part of Connecticut, Bloomer said, "has been a tough nut to crack" as far as achieving the alliance's goal to keep the trail off roadways. "The on-road route is to connect the bits of off-road route that already exist so it is possible today to do a through ride along the East Coast Greenway," Bloomer said. "To the extent that off-road routes can be created there will be a lot of other users such as Rollerbladers, walkers and hikers and the disabled, who are significant users of this type of trail because it allows them to get out in the greenery." Overall, about 9 percent of the East Coast Greenway is complete, said Weis. The proposed "spine" of the trail system is 2,600 miles from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Fla. Weis said the alliance hopes to add about 100 miles of trail this year, bringing the percentage to 10. With optional scenic routes and such, Weis said, the system will total about 3,000 miles. A map of the bike route, including mileage, points of interest and railroad links, can be viewed online at the alliance Web site, www.greenway.org, and ordered through the site or by telephone at 1-401-789-4625. |
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