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Apr 1994
The Merritt Parkway, a limited-access expressway, stretches 37.5 miles from the Connecticut/New York border along lower Fairfield County until it connects with the Wilbur Cross Parkway at the Housatonic River. Most people experience its beauty through the windshield of their car as they travel at high speeds past gently rolling hills, dramatic rock outcrops and forests that, in the springtime, are dotted with the blossoms of cherry, dogwood and mountain laurel. As commuters travel along, they pass under many historic bridges, each with a distinctive design, ranging from abstract art deco patterns and pilgrim and Native American motifs in cast concrete, to vines and flowers in wrought metal.
This study of a trail system along the Merritt Parkway is part of an effort to get people to pull over, turn off their engines and, eventually, leave their cars at home in order to enjoy the naturalistic beauty and historic charm of this important cultural resource and transportation corridor. It is also part of an ongoing effort by Regional Plan Association to protect and link regional open spaces through the creation of a network of greenways. Such a trail would provide a multitude of benefits including recreation and commuting opportunities. Encouraging alternative forms of transportation is particularly important in densely populated Fairfield County, whose residents suffer from the third worst air quality in the nation.
When the Merritt Parkway was constructed by the Connecticut Highway Department (now the Connecticut Department of Transportation) a swath of land approximately 300 feet wide was purchased. For the most part, the Merritt Parkway was constructed in the northern one-third or one-half of the right-of-way, leaving the southern part free of development.
Despite the numerous rock outcrops one observes while driving along the Merritt Parkway, much of the undeveloped portion of the land along the right-of-way is level to gently sloping, making it suitable for a pedestrian and/or bicycle trail. Because the existing road uses only a portion of the three-hundred foot right-of-way, a trail would be surrounded by a wide buffer, allowing continued privacy for neighborhood residents, and presenting minimal conflicts with possible future improvements to the Parkway.
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