Progress of the Trail:
In the summer of 2016, Mayor Gronbach established the (5) person Bike & Trails Committee to focus on moving this project forward, among other things. For the Agenda and Minutes of this committee go to: Bike & Trails Committee. The committee worked with planning firm Milone & MacBroomvto help with designing and planning the remaining 8 miles of proposed trail.
All the Way to Brookfield
In 2017, thanks to funding authorized by Mayor David Gronbach and the New Milford Town Council, the planning firm of Milone & MacBroom was engaged by the Town’s Bike & Trails Committee to determine how to extend the existing 5 mile trail from it’s southern trailhead on Boardman Rd through our historic downtown and onward to the Brookfield Town Line (We hope that our trail will link up with Brookfield’s Still River Greenway at this location).
Public Forum Meeting, March 20, 2018
Milone & MacBroom presented the first draft of the Preliminary Engineering Routing study at a Public Forum meeting hosted by the Town’s Bike & Trails Committee on March 20, 2018 at 7 pm in the E.Paul Martin Room at Town Hall. Input was sought from the community and stakeholders to help craft a final version.
Milone & MacBroom Preliminary Engineering Report and Archaeological Study
The latest version of the Milone and MacBroom study, updated after the Public Forum meeting, along with their Archaeological Study can be viewed by clicking here. (Please note that Phases identified in the study do not represent the order with which they will be built).
New Milford River Trail Association’s original map (for comparison purposes (different from Milone & MacBroom study) Our thanks to the New Milford Public Works Department for creating this for us).
New Milford River Trail- Overall Conceptual Map-2016
Bike & Trails Committee II
In the summer of 2018, Town Council established a (9) person Bike & Trails Committee II. Their mission statement includes providing a safe and enjoyable place for people of all ages to ride a bicycle, running and walking-friendly areas and shall assist and advise the Town for the betterment of the community at large in regards to the needs and desires of the community for such recreational trails, the plans for maintenance of existing trails and bicycle safe roadways, and the design, development and maintenance of a contiguous Greenway from New Milford to Brookfield. (reference Town Council Minutes August 14, 2018). Town Council also adopted the concept of the Preliminary Engineering Report of Milone and MacBroom.
The new Bike & Trails Committee II did marketing research and started exploring funding options.
Connecticut Recreational Trails Grant:
In January, 2019, the Town of New Milford received $180,500 of $574,000 requested from a CT DEEP Recreational Trails Grant. The money awarded is specifically for designing Phase I, Boardman Road to the entrance of MedInstill. It needs to be used by September, 2021.
Public Forum Meeting, February 7, 2019:
Tom O’Brien, Chairman of the New Milford Bike & Trails Committee II led a presentation on the Milone and MacBroom Preliminary Engineering report. Feedback from participants was solicited by committee member Bill Baker and responses recorded by fellow committee members. A video recording of the meeting is available here.
Survey:
A survey was conducted in March of 2019 by the Bike & Trails Committee II to ensure various sections and features of the Milone and MacBroom Preliminary Engineering report of June, 2018 meet the needs of user groups.
CT Recreational Trails Grant
In December of 2020, Milone & MacBroom was hired by the town to do the design phase of the New Milford River Trail in the MedInstill section of trail, as specified in the CT Recreational Trails Grant.
Greenway Committee:
In December, 2020, Town Council agreed to establish a new temporary (5) member Greenway Committee whose sole focus is to focus on expanding the New Milford River Trail.
