Around Town

‘Fantastic’ GreenLink Trail Attracts Athletes, Nature Lovers

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It has been a little less than three months since the grand opening of New Canaan’s “GreenLink” trail and “greenway,” a walkable loop that includes, Irwin Park and the Nature Center. It traverses three New Canaan Land Trust properties, allowing citizens to take full advantage of their bounty. Some say that you can’t take the GreenLink path without seeing at least one fellow resident taking a stroll, so we took it upon ourselves to peruse around and find out how people are feeling about it. Jogging down the trail, New Canaan resident Katherine Mettler said the quality path for her knees helped with running. “At some trails, like Waveny, running on the pavement can be really hard on your knees,” she said.

Around Town

SLIDESHOW: Walking the New ‘GreenLink’ Trail and ‘Greenway’ Loop in New Canaan

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The “GreenLink Trail” to open at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in New Canaan—on Earth Day, as part of the New Canaan Land Trust’s plans—creates a new, walk-able loop that advocates have been dreaming about, as well as carefully planning, for some four years. It features an attractive, footbridge-laden trail that spans wetlands off of Weed Street, and ultimately helps connect Irwin Park to the New Canaan Nature Center. That trail is the final piece of a larger, pedestrian-friendly loop that runs from downtown New Canaan, up Elm, along Weed Street and into Irwin, then back along Weed and into the woods, across a conservation easement and onto Land Trust property, then into the Nature Center’s woods, up onto Oenoke Ridge and past God’s Acre into downtown New Canaan again. The captioned slideshow above tracks my hike of the trail and that larger loop on Wednesday, with our dogs Louis, Marvin and Dexter. A few fast facts on it (time and distance can be tailored):

2.2 miles
5,656 steps
50 minutes

The hike can vary from two to three-plus miles, depending on just where you want to start downtown and whether you choose to enjoy additional trails within the Nature Center.

Government

New Canaan Land Trust, Nature Center to Open ‘GreenLink Trail’ at Earth Day Celebration

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The New Canaan Land Trust and the New Canaan Nature Center will officially open the new GreenLink Trail, a 2.5-mile walking loop that connects the nature center, downtown and Irwin Park, at an Earth Day celebration on April 22 running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Recreation Director Steve Benko announced at the Parks & Recreation Commission’s most recent meeting. The free family- (and dog-) friendly event will include “Signs of Spring” nature walks, a tree identification workshop, bird shows, a beekeeping demonstration, youth-friendly activities, food trucks and a family photo fundraiser at Irwin Park to benefit the New Canaan Garden Center, Benko said at the March 14 meeting, held in the Lapham Community Center. The GreenLink Trail crosses three of the New Canaan Land Trust’s properties and was completed with support from the New Canaan Community Foundation, he said. To make the trail safe for pedestrians, Benko told the Commission that a police officer will be hired to direct traffic at Weed Street and Wahackme Road. “It’s really a dangerous intersection and I felt really strongly about having a police officer there to help people cross,” he said.

Around Town

‘Enjoy the Fruits of New Canaan’: High Marks for New Sidewalk Connecting Elm Street to Irwin Park (That Sign, Though)

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New Canaan residents say they’re pleased with the town’s efforts and believe that it is an improvement over the narrow grass verge that had paralleled Weed Street in terms of aesthetics, use and safety. New Canaan resident Kristin Redaelli, while pushing her child in a stroller on Wednesday morning, said that the sidewalk is a major improvement. “It’s very convenient, safe for kids, and great to get to town now,” she said. “[On the grass], it was harder to push a stroller. Often times, I would have to jump on the road, and then I was a little nervous with the cars because they were going pretty fast.”

Kelly Leather, who was walking her dog, said that the sidewalk allows her to feel safer.