Rec Path Construction Progressing

Barry Mucci of Mucci Excavation is building the Huntington Center Entrance of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path this week (see location map). He's about half way through with grading and placing processed aggregate on the 800 linear feet from Lane St. to the boardwalk at the Shelton Land Trust Meadow, where it will connect with a portion of the Rec Path that was completed a few years ago by the Land Trust.
Here's a picture of Paul Labourie from the Shelton Parks and Recreation Department dropping off some processed aggregate for the Rec Path base. Paul was doing a really good job backing in the truck on a curve with limited access at Lane Street. This is a very tight entrance due to trees and wetlands, so Barry and the Parks & Rec guys have to work carefully in the narrow corridor.

And here's a picture of Barry with his dozer. Mr. Mucci is kindly volunteering some of his time as a contractor to build this stretch of the RecPath. It is a cooperative effort with the Conservation Commission buying the materials and the Parks and Recreation Department handling the deliveries. Barry & the Parks & Rec crew teamed up to remove a few trees so the Rec Path and construction vehicles could get in to the site. The tree clearing is limited to minimize disturbance - see the red maple behind Barry that is being saved as part of the wetland buffer.


Trails volunteers cleared a lot of invasive species and briers along the meadow's edge earlier this spring using hand labor. The Parks & Rec crew then came in and chipped up the brush. Some Eagle Scouts are scheduled to build a sign kiosk at the entrance after all this construction is done, and the Scouts are currently improving the portion of the Rec Path through the Huntington Woods Subdivision (Wesley Drive). This portion of the Rec Path is being built without a multi-million dollar grant, but with a lot of effort from the community it is coming together.

It seems to take forever, but it should be worth it. The Huntington Center end of the Rec Path with then be handicapped-accessible, bikeable, and an attractive gateway to the Shelton Lakes Greenway, similar to the entrance at Pine Lake.