Second Phase Of Mill River Trail Completed

“I used to work at United Way, which is right down the street,” he said. ​“There was a path to the river that I wanted to go on, but it was completely overgrown.” This bothered him: as an avid kayaker, he wanted people on the nearby land to be able to appreciate the river. 

After submitting a complaint to the SeeClickFix website, Logan look matters into his own hands. ​“A couple of friends and I started bush-hacking,” he said. ​“We were surprised to find benches underneath all the brush.”

Six years later, the asphalt path that Logan saw became part of the second phase of the Mill River Trail. On Thursday, Logan joined city officials, local nonprofit and business leaders, and volunteers to commemorate the second phase opening.

Mayor Justin Elicker (pictured) called the occasion a ​“celebration of the work done and work to come.”

“The people who worked on this project – whether city officials or volunteers – were the key to making it possible,” he said. ​“They were creative, and had a determined attitude.”

Roots Of Revival

After discovering the benches in 2014, Logan ​“had to know what was there.” While researching its history, he found prior efforts to improve the river’s accessibility. For example, the city had already established easements to guarantee public access on privately-owned land. City officials had also begun projects in the past, but they were never completed.

“We decided to build a trail that would connect East Rock Park to Criscuolo Park,” said Aicha Woods, New Haven’s City Plan director. The trail has various sections, which are funded and built separately. For example, another section on Grand Avenue is currently being built by Save the Sound.

To keep track of all the sections, the city established a master plan at the beginning of the project.

The first and second sections were constructed over the last two summers respectively. These sections are not connected. An Amtrak owned property currently blocks access between them. ​“We are planning to negotiate with Amtrak,” said Woods. ​“These rails-to-trails transformations are pretty common.”

Collaborative Effort

Local, state, and national partners helped make the trail possible.

“Most of the money came from the federal government,” said Lou Mangini, a representative for U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. ​“The FAST Act was passed in 2015 and gave funding to states for greenways. Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) received the money, and allocated it to projects.” 

Logan echoed the importance of government funding. ​“At the beginning, many people wondered if there was even value trying to build a trail by the Mill River,” he said. ​“But once we received money from DEEP, it legitimized the program and made the prospect of a trail very real.”

“Since the creation of the trail began, DEEP has given over $600,000,” added Mangini.

For the second sectiony, the New Haven Innovation Collaborative Project helped match prior funding from DEEP. The Innovation Collaborative Project received the funds from Innovative Places Program, passed by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2016.

The most crucial piece of the puzzle? Local volunteers.

“Over the last six years, we’ve probably had about 100 volunteers,” said Logan. He leads many of these groups, usually three to four people at a time. ​“There are lots of people with office jobs who’d love to work outdoors while helping their community,” said Logan.

While construction is done primarily by contractors, volunteers provide maintenance: picking up trash, removing invasive species, and planting trees. Planting is often done in conjunction with the Urban Resources Initiative.

Beyond upkeep, volunteers try to spread awareness of the trail. ​“We have people putting out flyers,” said Logan. ​“But our most important outreach is our walks.”

“People can directly appreciate the environment and history when they spend some time walking on the trail,” said Logan. ​“They’ll begin to ask questions: how was this river used by Native Americans? What’s the history of the English Station? What plants grow here? And I think that’s fantastic.”

Trail and Community

Several people at Thursday’s event spoke about the potential of the trail to humanize the Mill River Industrial district.

“There’s lots of industrial development here, but no sense of human connection” said Michael Harris of the Innovation Collaborative Project.

Local businesses feel the same. ​“We’re hoping that this trail will allow people to enjoy the district as more than a place to just work,” said John Wilson from Industrial Flow. ​“We’re happy to provide service time and supportive efforts to the trail.”

Charles Negaro works at Chabaso, a wholesale artisan bakery on James Street. ​“A lot of staff members come down here to take a break,” he said. ​“This area has always been treated as an industrial park, but hopefully this trail will make people realize it’s much more than that.”

It will ultimately be up to the community to take care of the trail.

“The infrastructure is built to last, but we also need to work to maintain the trail,” said Logan. Its importance, he said, cannot be understated. ​“This trail allows us to create a new narrative for what the Mill River means to New Haven, and to each of us.”