Big News!! $330,000 Of Grants Awarded! Bantam, Here We COME!
Awarded $330,000 of grants led by CT DEEP RTP & Seherr-Thoss Foundations. The dream of connecting Bantam is within reach!
Dear Friends,
We have GREAT news to finally share with our Greenway community. While we are knee deep in planning and construction for the Russell Street Extension to the new trail head end at the former Shepaug Railroad station (now the Litchfield Land Trust and Litchfield Community Greenway headquarters), we have been waiting for the results of our grant writing efforts over the winter and early spring.
We are thrilled to report that we’ve been awarded nearly $330,000 of combined grants including $241,125 from the CT DEEP Recreational Trails Program, $48,000 from Seherr Thoss Foundations, $35,000 from Connecticut Community Foundation “Give-Local” and $5,000 from the Northwest Community Bank Foundation. These funds will be used to finalize design, engineering and construction for a 10,000 foot (1.9 mile) extension of the current Greenway, along the former Shepaug Railway right of way, from North Shore Road, across the Bantam River, over High Bridge Road, crossing over Bantam Lake Road and down to Stoddard Road along side the new solar field.
Like most earlier sections of the Greenway, they will utilize land owned by Eversource who remains a key partner and advocate of recreational multi-use trail development. We look forward to communicating more about these plans in the coming months as design work is completed. This project will become the boldest expansion yet for the Greenway and nearly double its length. We expect to complete some additional fundraising to accommodate trailhead parking, signage and many additional benches along the trail.
Ultimately, the Litchfield Community Greenway will become a true connector of the wider Litchfield community, tying the village centers, schools and housing of Litchfield and Bantam together by a safe, pedestrian avenue, through some of the most wonderful, scenic, natural settings the Northwest Hills can offer. Even better this will provide a connection to the longer section of the Shepaug Railway, which continues south along West Morris Road at Rumsey Hall School, down through Hidden Valley & Steep Rock Preserves and Roxbury Land Trust, an epic 22 mile journey!
We cannot thank you enough for all of your support. Please spread the news and encourage folks to join our email list which we hope to grow this year to share all of our progress. We’ll also try to do our best with some of this social media stuff this summer. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions about events, ways to get involved or next phases, send us an email at litchfieldgreenway@gmail.com or visit us at www.litchfieldcommunitygreenway.org.
We’ll see you on The Greenway!
Sincerely,
The Friends of the Litchfield Community Greenway Board of Directors
Clifford A. Cooper, President
Berta Andrulis Mette, Vice President
Chuck Conn, Secretary
Gwen Burgess, Treasurer
John Clock, Bill Jones, Jeff Pratt
