Stratford Greenway Opens Saturday

The grand opening of the Stratford Greenway Linear Park will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10 a.m. at the DeLuca Field entry, Main Street in Stratford.

Mayor John A. Harkins will be among the speakers, as the town takes a first step in the revitalization along the town's waterfront.

Waterfront Revitalization Project

What is the Stratford Greenway project? In 2003-2004, the town's Planning Commission updated their Plan of Conservation and Development. The committee's recommendation was to establish a linear waterfront park on the Hunter Haven property as the site for a Greenway (bikeway/walkway) as a central element of a waterfront revitalization effort.

The Greenway Committee grew out of the Planning Commission's planning efforts and started out as an ad hoc planning committee that helped the Planning Commission to develop the Waterfront Vision Plan in 2004.

The town will complete the construction of the Hunter Haven Waterfront Linear Park and Greenway Project in 2012. It is an important first step in revitalizing the waterfront.

This will enable Stratford to restore a significant wetland area that will provide an important educational feature as part of that Greenway project. This is a good way to increase the public's awareness of the environmental value of the Housatonic River and Long Island Sound.

The first phase is the construction of a pathway and seating area. The Pathway will start at the Birdseye Street boat launch and extend to a central seating area. The seating area will include sections of the bikeway and walkway that will ultimately extend throughout this site.

There will be benches facing the lower Housatonic River, Long Island Sound and Nells Island in Milford; bike racks, lighting and planting areas. Access to the seating area will be from Main Street next to DeLuca ball field. It will be open to all of Stratford.