Concerns over liability for the arsenic beneath the rail trail have held up plans to allow bikes on it and link it up to other trails.
“We’re still working with the legal department at CL&P on a contract agreement that needs to be signed before anything else happens,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi. “The document they sent us has language that is unacceptable to the town. …
“They’re looking to partner with us on liability coverage,” he said. “Like with any other recreational facility, we’re willing to take on some liability, but we’re not going into this with our eyes closed — we’re not going to take on any additional liability.”
Currently, people are allowed to run and walk on the trail, but not bike.
Mr. Marconi said the language pertains to the contamination that exists under the rail trail, which is owned CL&P, from the old railroad line.
“There’s no reason for anybody to be worried about it,” he said. “It’s been there for 100 years.”
He added that the trail’s steep slopes require railings, or “some form of barricade,” to prevent users from going off path and injuring themselves.
The contamination, which derives from encapsulated metal on the old railroad tracks, makes it difficult to install some of the railings.
Mr. Marconi confirmed that he was meeting with the town’s lawyer today (Thursday, April 17) to go over the most recent version of the drafted contract.
“Hopefully they will be reasonable and see nobody wants to take on that sort of liability,” he said. “The language I saw in the last contract assumes we take on that liability, and we’re not going to do that.”
Despite the delay, the town is going ahead with its multi-use trail that will connect the Recreation Center’s bike path on Danbury Road to the rail trail on Florida Hill Road.
Mr. Marconi was pleased that the project received a $1-million grant from the state to complete the construction from Danbury Road east down Farmingville Road.
“That money will be available in the 2016 fiscal year,” he said. “The only thing after that part is connecting the path to behind the transfer station, through the Great Swamp area, and up through the Schlumberger property to connect with the rail trail.”
He added that having the trail open for one group and not the other was not in the best interest of the community.
“Ninety-nine percent of towns share these facilities,” he said.
Ridgefield’s Leading Initiatives for New Connections is leading the charge to open up the rail trail to bicycles.
LINC was going to make a presentation in front of the Board of Selectmen this month, but that will be pushed back until a satisfactory contract is signed, Mr. Marconi said.
Jacqui Dowd, who is a co-chair of the Parks and Recreation LINC Committee, said in March that 15 months of research has gone into determining whether the 2.4-mile rail trail could be opened up as multi-use.
“It absolutely can be done,” she said. “Our No. 1 concern, like everybody else, is safety, and we want someone to be put in charge of establishing barriers, signage, and rails.”
Whether that person will be employed by the town or CL&P, or both, is undetermined.
Ms. Dowd said CL&P had been working on the safety issues raised by townspeople over the last several months.
She said the plan is to restore the trail back to its original 10 feet in width, which will allow more people to access it.
“It’s too big for only a small group of users,” she said. “It’s an under-used asset to the town.
“We want to make it a better place, where mothers can take their children on a stroll; a place that is wheelchair accessible,” she said. “That way everybody wins.”
In addition to connecting with the bike path in town, plans are for the rail trail to join with the five-town Norwalk River Valley Trail, which is scheduled to open its “demonstration trail” on April 26.
Mr. Marconi said last month that the deal with CL&P had to be in place before that connection is made.
The five-town, 38-mile trail will connect Ridgefield, Danbury, Wilton, Redding, and Norwalk.