Greenwich Selectmen Endorse New Route For East Coast Greenway

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Selectmen on Thursday unanimously endorsed a plan to shift Greenwich's route of the East Coast Greenway.

The East Coast Greenway Alliance, the nonprofit that manages the system, must now grant final approval.

The ECG is a walking and biking route that stretches 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida. The path is for non-motorized users for recreation, and it also stops at points of interest.

Much of the overall route, where possible, is located on protected pathways, and where not possible, on existing streets.

This was the board's second reading of the agenda item. First Selectman Fred Camillo, Selectwoman Lauren Rabin and Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan said they didn't receive any negative feedback from the community over the last two weeks.

Michael Kiselak, a traffic engineer from the Greenwich Department of Public Works, went before the selectmen last month to present the new route option.

The department had studied three different options in conjunction with the Geenwich Bicycle Task Force and Pedal Greenwich, a bike coalition in town, but settled on the route that provided optimal safety and comfortability for users.

The new route, if finally approved, would come in on Shore Road and go up Sound Beach Avenue through Old Greenwich. Then it would turn left if you're going northbound onto West End Avenue and continue from there onto Riverside Avenue. The route would eventually go up past the Riverside Train Station and onto U.S. 1.

The request to modify Greenwich's route came after Stamford expressed a desire to modify its section. Greenwich wanted to follow suit so there's continuity and a more comfortable path for users, Kiselak said.

DPW said Stamford wants to move its starting point from Brownhouse Road to Shore Road.

Vin DeMarco, one of the leaders on the bicycle task force, said he has seen community support for the new route.