May 14, 2025 — A Boy Scout’s pavilion plan, a $1 million trail-design grant and a sidewalk audit that could reshape school commutes headlined Wednesday night’s Farmington Bike Advisory Committee meeting. (📺 Watch the full meeting)
Boy Scout Project Hits Planning Fast Lane
- Seth, a Farmington High School Scout, is refining a trail-side pavilion proposal after the committee priced concrete pads and ADA widths.
- Once scope is final, Seth faces the Town Plan & Zoning Commission—typically a unanimous green light.
Pocket-Park Model Gains Traction
- Members urged adding five-foot hard-surface buffers so riders “aren’t ankle-deep in mud,” as Neil put it.
- ADA guidance has inched to 42.5 inches for wheelchair clearance, per the newest AASHTO draft.
Trail Events & Clinics Calendar
- Farmington Valley Trails Council flagged:
- Ride the East — Willimantic, this Saturday.
- Ride the State — June 28, New Haven-to-Hartford (140 riders signed).
- Member Appreciation Ride (late May) and October 3 Connecticut Trails Symposium.
- Bike Walk Farmington to host pop-up safety clinics with Central Wheel mechanics; dates will hit town social feeds.
$1 Million Rec Trails Grant Moves Forward
- Draft RFP for engineering the long-stalled Route 4 river-bridge connector will publish by early June.
- Stakeholder meetings will bring in Hill-Stead Museum and the Farmington Historical Society—key landholders along the tight corridor loaded with utility conflicts and steep grades.
Website Revamp (Minus the Robot)
- Committee will delete an “AI-generated” intro paragraph before unveiling its new public site featuring survey results, League of American Bicyclists scorecards and Carolyn’s three-page summary.
Invasives vs. Volunteers
- Mary, a soon-to-certify Master Gardener, offered to tackle knotweed and bittersweet near Unionville. Manual removal preferred; herbicides discouraged near wetlands.
- Discussion veered into fence repair on the Canal Trail—rotting rails are being swapped with milled pine, though members lobbied for less fence, not more cattle-chutes.
Naming the Parking Lots
The committee floated a hybrid scheme—location first, memorial plaque second:
- Farmington River Lot (Route 4)
- Oak Ridge Lot (New Britain Ave.)
- Coppermine Lot (Coppermine Rd.)
Memorial benches for late community cyclists Matt Moskowitz and Dave Hoyle are under consideration.
Safe Routes to School: Curriculum Before Concrete
- Bridget (BoE curriculum) and Dan (Safe Routes CT) will mesh fourth-grade helmet units with PE classes.
- Micro-grants will fund fleet bikes and lesson materials.
- Sidewalk inventory—13 miles under review—will feed future walk-audit timing.
Road-Work Rundown
- Burlington Road resurfacing: first segment paved by May 21; full job wrapped by late June.
- Meadow Road potholes logged again; a full saw-cut fix now likely.
Sponsor Shout-Out (with Bite)
Need a place to store your tandem, unicycle or that stationary bike you swore you’d use? Farmington Storage has museum-grade air (seriously, ask the mummies) and enough room for Bruce Donald’s entire sign collection. Swing by 155 Scott Swamp Rd. or dial 860-777-4001—tell ’em Jack sent you and maybe they’ll bubble-wrap your ego free of charge. 📦😉
About the Author ☕
Jack Beckett drinks his coffee strong enough to strip paint—usually at 5 a.m. while decoding municipal acronyms. When not prowling committee meetings, he curates The Farmington Mercury’s labyrinth of hyperlinks and hunts for the town’s next great punch-line.
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