Groundbreaking of NRVT's Wilton Demonstration Trail

Written by Leslie Yager
Ground was broken Thursday morning on the first phase of the 8-mile Wilton Loop, which will ultimately be part of the 38-mile Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT).

Construction equipment sat at the ready as local officials gathered at the half-mile demonstration trail entrance at Gaylord Drive North, opposite the Commuter Lot on Rt. 7.

According to NRVT's Pat Sesto, 14 months ago, several towns set modest goals.

In Danbury, Sesto said the goal was to get permission to put trails within the park. "We got that permission," she said. "For Ridgefield the goal was to make the rail trails bike accessible, which is underway..."

Sesto said Norwalk had done great work.

"They are looking at the missing link which will connect the only existing part of the NRVT – a one mile section ending in Union Park – and connect that to a piece that goes behind CL&P. They already have the funding to do the design study and I believe the capital budget they have the funding to actually build it."

Sen. Toni Boucher, Rep. Gail Lavielle, Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marcon, Redding Selectman Natalie Ketcham, and Wilton First Selectman Bill Brennan all presented remarks at Thursday's groundbreaking.

Brennan, who described himself as a mountain biker with his own interest in the trails, said, "We often get little remarks from the state about regional cooperation. But, this is the best example of regional cooperation of neighboring towns to make something happen without the state's involvement"

Boucher said that not only would students be able to take classes on the trail, but that it would serve as "a place for refuge away from the incredibly hurried pace that technology has brought us to."

"We live here in the enchanted forest. And it's absolutely magic," said State Rep. Lavielle.  "...It's almost waving a magic wand. The trail is going to turn it into something that everybody can enjoy. The manmade touch will be almost imperceptible."

Redding Selectman Natalie Ketcham, remarked "Redding is very proud to be part of this," adding that she was impressed that the project "moved from paper to reality in 14 months."

Rudy Marcon, First Selectman of Ridgefield, said his town is in the beginning stages of a bike trail that will start out at the Parks and Recreation Center. "We recently installed a $150,000 bridge over one of the rivers that will eventually connect all the way down to the Norwalk River Valley Trail," he said. "It's a wonderful goal and great dream."

Chris Edwards whose marketing agency is providing services for NRVT talked about multiplier effects of social networking and the time children spend social networking. He suggested some of that time be shifted to time spent on the trails. 

"We have not met our funding goals," said Edwards. "I need each and every one of you to ask yourself, your businesses and your partners, 'What have we done for The Loop?'"

Timber & Stone, LLC's Josh Ryan whose East Calais, Vermont-based business includes experts in building and maintaining recreational trails, was eager to get the project started.

Ryan, who lives "off-the-grid" in Vermont said that the best trails are the ones that look like they've existed for decades even when they're new.

"By Thanksgiving there will be a decent amount to walk," said Ryan, who added that the demonstration section should be done by late January.

"It's like Florida down here compared to Vermont," Ryan said optimistically of work conditions in Wilton. "We can work in this but there is a breaking point when the temperature and the precipitation where you do more harm than good, so we'll shut down before doing more harm than good."

Patricia Sesto of NRVT said, "Building the first half mile of a 38-mile trail leaves us a really long way to go, but that is not something that is daunting to us."

Sesto thanked Jesse and Betsy Fink for their $125,000 challenge grant.
"They understood the need to get this early financial backing so that people would understand that this was real," Sesto said. She also thanked the Jansen Family for a $50,000 contribution, among a dozen others who provided cash donations, as well as in-kind services.

For more information on the project, check out the NRVT website.