The design work for a new section of the Derby Greenway will probably be completed by spring, city officials said.
The third phase of the Greenway would stretch the walking trail across the Naugatuck River, at roughly the spot where it meets the Housatonic River.
The trail would run parallel to railroad tracks along Route 34, stretching toward Orange.
It officially opened June 25, 2006 and has proved to be a wildly popular passive recreation spot in the area.
The latest phase of the trail is expensive. The city has a grant of roughly $1.3 million.
It looks like that money will get the bridge built — but it is probably not enough money to take the trail all the way to the Orange town line.
“Our issue right now is that it requires bridging the Naugatuck River,” said Jack Walsh, chairman of the Derby Parks and Recreation Commission. “The bridge is going to be quite expensive. The question is ‘Once we get across, how much money do we have left to actually build the trail’?”
Walsh is pragmatic about the trail’s extension toward Orange.
“It’s not a terribly big problem, because once we’re across, we could do 50 yards a year. We could gradually build it up,” Walsh said.
When construction will start is not known. Walsh said the city is dealing with the state Department of Transportation. The nearby railroad tracks present a new set of permitting challenges.
“There are also lots of issues dealing with the railroad,” Walsh said. “It’s not a simple thing. For example, last time around, it was about five years from the time the city received notice of the money until actual construction started (on the Derby Greenway). Look at Ansonia. They’re going through it now.”
Sheila O’Malley, Derby’s Director of Economic Development, said the city’s design team has received feedback on the trail’s design from the state DOT.
“There are certain things that we need to tweak in the design. Our consultants are moving forward with that,” O’Malley said.
“We’ll finalize the design in the springtime, I’m sure, or before then,” she said.
O’Sullivan’s Island
O’Malley met earlier this month to chat with the Parks and Recreation Commission about recreation projects.
One item — O’Sullivan’s Island (actually a peninsula). The land, which is next to the Derby Greenway, at the spot where the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers meet, has undergone a transformation in the last few years, thanks to a federally-funded clean-up.
What was once an eyesore is now a scenic field with freshly-planted trees (see video from July 2009).
There are plans in the works to extend the Derby Greenway by installing a loop around the peninsula. There is also grant money available to improve a boat launch. There are also plans to have a field of some kind there.
O’Malley said Mayor Anthony Staffieri has suggested creating a small beach on the land.
Walsh pointed out O’Sullivan’s Island is the only public access point to the two rivers in Derby.
“It doesn’t lend itself to many things, because it’s in a flood plain. It floods there more often than you would think,” Walsh said. “At times it could be under three to four feet of water, so you’re not going to go out there and put in permanent structures. Put, for passive recreation, it works. It gives you better access to the rivers, and it will extend the greenway by creating another scenic loop,” he said.
The Derby Parks and Recreation Commission meets the second Monday of each month at Derby City Hall.
