Waveny saw thousands of trail walkers on a weekly basis for one month this fall, according to new data compiled by a membership organization that helps area towns collaborate in areas such as transportation, housing and open space.
Captured Oct. 23 to Nov. 20 on a pedestrian trail counter in Waveny near the Merritt Parkway, the figures show daily averages of about 300 to 800 people in the popular park, according to a report from the Western Connecticut Council of Governments or ‘WestCOG.’
Cited by Recreation Director at the Dec. 9 meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission, the data show spikes from about 4 to 5 p.m. daily and significantly higher foot traffic on weekends.
“You can see we had a very high use on an almost daily basis on the trails, and the comment we got from the person form WestCOG who had the study [was] that trails at Waveny probably some of the highest use of any trails in Fairfield County,” Benko told members of the Commission at the meeting, held via videoconference.
“The park is being heavily used,” he said. “We are getting a lot of activity. A lot of people walking the trails getting fresh air. It’s a good thing.”
The comments came during a general update from Benko, and follow his observation that Waveny has become the “destination park in Fairfield County.”
WestCOG contacted town officials midsummer saying they were surveying all trails and recreational area in the county, Benko said. The counter itself did not go unnoticed, he said.
“There was a couple of people questioned—there was what looked like a deer counter or some kind of a camera on a back trail at Waveny,” Benko said.
The week of Oct. 19 saw the trail counter register more than 5,000 passing walkers, according to the datain WestCOG’s “Trail Usage Report,” obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request.