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Shoreline Greenway Trail Proposal to Come Before Guilford BOS

With almost all state permits for the project in hand, the first Guilford section of the Shoreline Greenway Trail linking Hammonasset State Park in Madison and Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven is just a handful of town approvals away from breaking ground.

The Shoreline Greenway Trail is a planned, 25-mile continuous path designed for cyclists, walkers, and hikers. The first section of the trail in Guilford will be 0.7 miles long and will link East River Bridge to the junction of Boston Street and Route 1. The project now will go before the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) before construction can begin.

While the trail is moving forward, there was some confusion at a recent PZC meeting on Sept. 7 after the trail proposal was taken off that meeting’s agenda. First Selectman Joe Mazza said it was an issue of the project needing BOS approval before it goes to PZC.

“It needs a referral under Connecticut Statute 824 from the legislative body,” he said. “We have not given that referral yet, so they kind of jumped the gun. There is no issue with the project itself—it was just an administrative issue.”

Mazza said the trail will appear at an upcoming BOS meeting, possibly on Monday, Sept. 19.

“I can’t speak for the rest of the board, but I can’t see any problem with the board approving the project,” he said.

Trail organizers have been working with town engineering officials to obtain state approval, as the trail will be on state property. Guilford Town Team Co-Chair Milton Charlton said the collaboration has been productive.

“We are very grateful for the town’s commitment to seeing this project go forward,” he said. “The project proposes to build on a state right-of-way along Route 1, and much of the funding will come from the federal government. As with all projects involving the federal, state, and local governments, there are many boxes to check and steps to complete, so this project has been germinating for several years, but we are nearing the final stages.”

Final approval is expected from the state soon. After appearing before the BOS, Charlton said the plan will go before PZC to ensure it meets Coastal Area Management (CAM) policies.

“All town projects require review by the PZC to assure conformity with the state’s CAM policies,” he said. “The application was not for a permit, but simply for CAM approval.”

While the administrative error may have slowed down the process a bit, Charlton said he hopes it will not impact the long-term timeline.

“I can’t predict how long it will take to complete the necessary steps and to resubmit the application for CAM approval, so I can’t yet foresee whether the timeline for initiating this section of the trail will be set back,” he said. “Hopefully, it will not be.”