HADLEY — Improvements to public recreational trails that extend from the Connecticut River to the peak of Mount Warner could be paid for through a state grant.
To begin this process, which will include both a design and work phase, the Select Board recently agreed to submit an application to MassTrails, a program that supports projects for shared-use pathways in Massachusetts.
Patty Gambarini, principal environmental planner for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, told the board that the idea is to enhance trail linkages by working with both Kestrel Land Trust and the Trustees for Reservations, both of which own land in that section of town.
The trails that would be improved include the Connecticut River Scenic Byway, which begins at the kayak and canoe boat ramp on state Department of Conservation and Recreation land between Huntington Road and Route 47 and continues northeast across land owned by Kestrel and others to Mount Warner Road. There, the byway connects to the two-mile loop Salamander Trail, which brings hikers onto the Trustees of Reservations’s 160-acre Mount Warner Reservation, and through the reservation’s woods to the Mount Warner summit.
Gambarini said current alignment of the trails and their connections are problematic, as hikers coming from the byway are directed to walk on a narrow 200-yard section of Mount Warner Road, with ledges, steep slopes, and ditches at the edge of the road, and then use, through an easement, the town’s access road to the municipal water tanks.
The access road also has a gate to keep vehicles out, with one sign stating that people are entering a public drinking water supply and no trespassing is allowed, but another saying that the trail leads to Mount Warner’s summit via the Salamander Trail.
“The signage is really confusing there,” Gambarini said.
Gambarini said the study would determine whether hikers could use an old snowmobile trail that is within 20 yards from where the byway trail enters Mount Warner Road and whether a small parking area on Mount Warner Road near the byway trail should be built.
The board’s letter, signed by Chairwoman Joyce Chunglo, states that the town is joining PVPC to explore potential connections: “We specifically support elements of the project that include exploration of a potential walking path along Route 47, a crosswalk at Mount Warner Road to promote safe crossing to the Trustees’ property, and formalization of a pull-off parking area on Mount Warner Road.”
Before the vote, Select Board member David Fill said his only concern was whether applying for MassTrails funding would tie the town’s hands, observing that the Norwottuck Rail Trail, owned by the state, has been off-limits for needed town maintenance and improvement projects.
Select Board member John Waskiewicz said he has continued concerns about people walking near the town’s water supply, arguing that it could jeopardize public safety.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
