What’s happening in Your Town?

New Haven

East Haven

Branford

Guilford

Madison

caption

New Haven

New Haven is the Shoreline’s regional employment, economic and cultural hub—an internationally recognized center for higher learning, anchored by Yale and other world-class universities. Some 17,000 residents of the four Shoreline towns east of New Haven commute to the city for work, and several thousand New Haven residents commute to one of those Shoreline towns. A Bronze-level Bicycle-Friendly Community, New Haven has a large and growing network of bike lanes, trails and paths.

New Haven’s trail from downtown will eventually connect with the Shoreline Greenway Trail in East Haven, via New Haven’s East Shore neighborhood. Connecting the Shoreline Greenway Trail with downtown New Haven will not only facilitate recreational and commuting connections between the city and Shoreline towns. It will place the Shoreline Greenway Trail at the foot of the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway, which runs 84 miles from New Haven to Northampton, Massachusetts. Eventually, we expect the Shoreline Greenway Trail to be a significant eastward spur of the East Coast Greenway—an envisioned 2,500-mile, traffic-free trail system from Maine to Florida.

Learn more about New Haven:

City of New Haven

Bike New Haven

Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce

New Haven City Parks

Elm City Cycling

New Haven Cycling Routes

New Haven Walking Trails

East Haven

As New Haven’s immediate neighbor to the east, East Haven has the largest number of daily commuters to New Haven (about 3,500) of any eastern Shoreline town. East Haven has few public trails, and the Shoreline Greenway Trail section provides residents and visitors with a beautiful place to walk, hike, bike, stroll, wheel, cross-country ski and connect with nature in safety.

To date, approximately one mile of trail has been completed, connecting the former D.C. Moore School at Elliot Street to Short Beach Road via Pevetty Drive and scenic Farm River State Park. We are working with the Town of East Haven to identify routes west to the New Haven line while we continue to explore ways of bringing the trail eastward to Branford.

Through an innovative partnership with the East Haven Public Schools, SGT is helping the town use this trail segment to provide students with exercise and recreation, to teach them about science and nature, and to build environmental awareness.

Learn more about East Haven:

Town of East Haven

East Haven Chamber of Commerce

East Haven Cycling Routes

East Haven Walking Routes

Branford

Branford is fortunate to have had a large system of walking trails in place for many years, and that—in footprint as well as human endeavor—has provided the foundation of the Shoreline Greenway Trail in town.

Some of the people who built Branford’s early trail network catalyzed SGT’s efforts, with the result that portions of current and future Shoreline Greenway Trail follow the path laid out for these other trails—but at a width and with a surface conducive to safe biking, walking and other activities.

To date, about one half-mile of Shoreline Greenway Trail has been completed in two sections—Pine Orchard/Birch Road and Tilcon Drive. A three-quarter-mile Tabor section is expected to be finished by the end of 2017, enabling people to bike, walk, run and otherwise enjoy nearly four miles of mostly off-road trail between downtown Branford and Stony Creek village—using SGT sections, the trail in Young’s Pond Park, the Trolley Trail and two short stretches of local road.

Learn more about Branford:

Town of Branford

Branford Town Parks

The Branford Trails

Branford Cycling Routes

Branford Walking Routes

Shoreline Chamber of Commerce

Guilford

Guilford is where the vision for the Shoreline Greenway Trail took shape in 2001. This historic town has a rich network of walking & hiking trails and open space, but little that’s accessible to cyclists, wheelchairs, stroller pushers, and other users of nonmotorized vehicles.

SGT is supporting the Town of Guilford’s effort to enhance bike and pedestrian safety, access and infrastructure, while exploring ways of connecting key destinations within Guilford as well as in adjacent towns. We are helping the town explore all forms of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, including traffic calming, bike lanes, shared lanes, sidewalks and greenways. We also sponsor kids’ bike rodeos, public walks and rides, and other events to encourage people to adopt active lifestyles and to ride, walk and drive safely.

Learn more about Guilford:

Town of Guilford

Guilford Town Parks

Guilford Cycling Routes

Guilford Walking Trails

Shoreline Chamber of Commerce

Madison

The Hammonasset segment of the Shoreline Greenway Trail in Madison has been a showpiece for what’s possible since the first stretch opened in 2014. Now nearly a mile long, it is one of the most popular walking and biking trails in Connecticut—not to mention a spectacular place for bird-watching. According to data from the first two rounds of a state-sponsored census, the segment is one of the top four most-used trails in the state.

The Hammonasset trail was completed in 2016 with the opening of a 750-foot section from the west side of Hammonasset Beach State Park to local roads about a mile from downtown. Approximately one mile of contiguous trail is now open. People can walk, run, bike, stroll, wheel and cross-country ski through spectacular scenery in and adjacent to the park—and those wishing to travel between the park, downtown, Madison’s beaches and its shoreline recreational and tourist destinations can do so without using a dangerous stretch of Route 1.

With the Hammonasset section complete, we are supporting the town as it seeks locations for future trail sections that would connect key destinations within Madison as well as in adjacent towns.

Learn more about Madison:

Town of Madison

Madison Chamber of Commerce

Madison Town Parks

Madison Cycling Routes

Madison Walking Trails

Get Involved

It’s often said that the success of a project like this takes a village. We are all part of the Shoreline village, and the success of the Shoreline Greenway Trail depends on people like you.

Donate,

volunteer,

add your voice of support,

or just come on out to walk, stroll or ride!