Study: Filling gap would create Central Connecticut loop, priority phase mapped for Middletown

Sam Gold, executive director of RiverCOG, told the steering committee that the Central Connecticut Loop Trail Study is now in public comment and recommends a priority construction phase in Middletown.

"We're right now in a public comment period," Gold said during his presentation to the regional greenways steering committee, urging members to review the study in the meeting agenda and submit feedback.

The draft study maps how filling roughly a 20-mile gap between existing trail segments could create an approximately 11-mile loop in central Connecticut by linking the Airline Trail, the Farmington Canal Trail and other existing segments. Gold described the project as both a recreational and transportation asset and said the study focuses on an 11½-mile portion connecting Portland and Cheshire through Middletown and surrounding towns.

Why it matters: the loop would link longer, already built corridors and provide safer walking and biking routes for school trips and local trips that…