RecPath Production - Week #1

End of Week #1

The Contractors have installed the RecPath base at Rt. 108 at The White House, and staked the route from there to Oak Valley Road.

The Rt. 108 entry at Nells Rock Road looks good. The 8 foot wide Recreation Path is designed to be walkable, bikable, and handicapped accessible. The road millings are the base and will be topped with a finer crushed stone surface. A small parking lot will also be added at the White House that will serve the RecPath, and the new Dog Park that is nearby.

The Contractor has amassed a small fleet of construction equipment over by Oak Valley Road and are constructing the path from there toward the White House while the staked-out route is being fine tuned. A lot of the machinery is smaller to work around trees and boulders and minimize disturbance.

The RecPath will wind thru the woods with a maximum 8% grade (rising or falling 8 feet per 100 feet of run) to provide handicapped access. This design standard creates some grading challenges, but it's important, because it allows everybody to explore the Shelton Lakes Greenway, regardless of their age or physical situation. It'll also make for a nice path for baby carriages and kids on bikes.

You may also see some stakes on the other end of the RecPath from the Land Trust Meadow out through the Huntington Woods Subdivision past Crabapple Drive. Portions of that route may change a bit, but that will be the next section to construct after the stretch from Rt. 108 to Oak Valley Road is done.

But, if anybody is fretting about the loss of "real" hiking trails in Shelton, join us next Saturday at the Indian Well parking lot near The Maples for our trail work party on the new extension of the Paugussett Trail. We'll introduce you to some fun climbing.