John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons

A new segment of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in New Haven is set to open this spring. This 1.5-mile segment — phase four of a five-phase plan to improve the trail — will link Temple Street and the Yale campus with downtown New Haven.

The trail runs 56 miles from New Haven to Massachusetts, and is part of the larger East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile trail from Florida to Maine.

Lisa Fernandez, president of the Farmington Canal Rail to Trail Association, said that the trail is the “crown jewel” and the “spine” of the Connecticut trail system.

Fernandez explained that the money for the trail’s expansion was secured in 2010, and the design for it was approved in 2013.

According to Executive Director of the City Planning Department Laura Brown, city planners are meeting this week with Mayor Justin Elicker to finalize a date for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new segment of the trail.

“It connects a lot of Connecticut history,”  Brown explained, “going through the center of the state from New Haven, which is certainly the cultural capital of the state and then going north to the statehouse in Hartford and over to Massachusetts.”

Bruce Donald, the East Coast Greenway’s Southern New England manager and the chairman of the Connecticut Greenways Council, cannot wait to cut the ribbon on this trail, especially because this phase of the development of the trail has been delayed.

Donald said the first meeting about this phase of construction was over 20 years ago. Brown clarified that delays to the expansion’s implementation can be attributed to an effort to ensure the trail is fully ready for use when opened to the public. 

“This is the nature of development in a city,” Brown said, adding that “there is a lot of history and existing buildings and infrastructure,” which can be difficult with construction.

According to Donald, New Haveners and Yalies use the trail primarily to commute to class and to work. City planners estimate that commuters account for 50 percent of trail traffic.

These trails aren’t for the “spandex” crowd, Donald joked, or for the cyclists on “six thousand dollar bikes” — “they’re for everyone.” New Haven commuters rely on this trail to get to work and school, he explained, and they will get to enjoy the extension of the trail and improvements to the infrastructure as soon as it’s open.

For Aaron Goode, the founder of the New Haven Friends of the Farmington Canal Greenway, a trail is not “just a place where people can do recreation. It’s also a place where they can … learn about history and can see interesting art, art, murals, potentially public art.”

The city has already installed placards in the Temple Street tunnel displaying historical information about the history of New Haven’s canals and railroads, which have been transformed into a greenway.

“I think it’s going to be something really special when people are going to really treasure it and appreciate it the way they do the Highline in New York,” Goode said. Fernandez said the Greenway, when completed this spring, will be Connecticut’s “Lowline,” a Highline but with tunnels.

A trail should be accessible for recreation and commuting and the “aesthetic experience” is a bonus, but Donald believes safety on the trail is imperative. He explained that having a safe walking space in downtown will help reduce pedestrian and bicycle deaths in New Haven.

“It’s a big deal for the university,” Donald said. The trail will connect the existing Temple Street tunnel and the Canal Dock Boathouse. Orange and State Streets and Union Station will be more accessible via this route.

Fernandez emphasized that the trail is also invaluable for commuters from Hampton and Cheshire, as well as other suburbs outside New Haven.

Brown says the new segment is nearing completion and will be available before the “spring biking season.”

“I’m confident that this will be a lasting piece of infrastructure and added value for residents when it opens up. It’s been worth the wait,” Brown said. 

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail is currently accessible from the School of Engineering on Hillhouse Avenue and Benjamin Franklin and Pauli Murray colleges.

Correction, April 8: The article has been updated to clarify the location of the new segment.