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A Short History of the TTC- Kick Start - In the spring of 2010, the Trumbull Trails Coalition (TTC) was born. Mark Lurie, President of CTNEMBA and Rich Coffey, the then Pequonnock Valley NEMBA Park Rep, spearheaded an effort to start a trail care program at the park. The Valley was an extremely popular place to mountain bike in Connecticut. The terrain had the best of everything: roots, rocks, granite cliffs, and a beautiful scenic river with a rock-hardened shoreline. Sadly thru years of neglect, poorly conceived trails were popping up everywhere and erosion in the park was rampant. In addition, firepits and indiscriminate tree cutting could be found scattered throughout the park. As this photo of the old main kiosk epitomized, the Valley was in need of some long overdue TLC. Mark thought up the name Trumbull Trails Coalition as an all inclusive coalition of a variety of park users, bikers, hikers, etc. and we scheduled a walk through with the DEEP Land Manager in March of that year to get his understanding and blessing on a trail care plan for the park. - Mapping the Trails - Mapping the entire park and revising the blazing system to simplify perception of main north/south trail system was the first and foremost task. Mark's extensive GPS tracking data was reformatted into easy-to-read quality maps and later, a multi-layered user-driven interactive map was built and posted by Rich. These maps can be found at the Pequonnock Valley site. A new blaze color was officially approved and added (the Yellow Trail) and a few Trail Maintenance (TM) sessions ensued. - First Year: Rough Road -
At that juncture, a joint walk through with the DEEP and Town helped cement a new more active relationship between the Town and State to facilitate working together to improve the overall condition of the park. The Town agreed to assist the TTC with materials and gave their blessing for the efforts we had spearheaded. - Following Year Successes - The next year, as promised, the Town stepped in to assist. In late spring and summer, the Town added a gravel roadbed across a marshy area in the old lakebed. Work on the Red Trail was revisited by the TTC as a joint effort with local freeriders. In addition, wet, eroded areas around various spots in the park (North Bridge to White Trail Connector, etc.) were successfully converted to more sustainable solutions. Near the end of the year, with FC NEMBA's help, a berm was even added on the Red Trail. Despite our successful cooperative efforts, sadly little progress was made in
Vandalism continued, the berm was wrecked and firepits still smoldered. - 2012 - As the stalwarts of the TTC crew either moved away or had babies and/or other family responsibilities that kept them away; participation ebbed in scheduled TM sessions. There was plenty of smaller ongoing work to be done (knicks for drainage, trail trimming, etc.) and fortunately—with interested local riders advice and assistance—we were able to build a boardwalk in the center of the park. With the Town's generous help and the expert assistance by professional carpenter's who volunteered on the FCNEMBA crew, it all came together on an especially miserable rainy day. By midday, a major improvement was completed on one of the most highly trafficked trails used by ALL park users (hikers as well as bikers, etc.). Hurricane Sandy took its toll in late October and—although volunteers came out of the woodwork to clean up the damage to the park in an unprecedented way—the north bridge was in such sorry shape the DEEP and Town were called in to assess the damage. The park community had hopes that the original builders might resurface and fix it. There are liability issues if the Town or DEEP replace it. Too bad the laws seem to work against the community at times... (sigh) Vandalism continued as sadly a kiosk on the White Trail—built by a local Boy Scout—was smashed and later tossed into the river. - Ending - As indicated in this story, each year it became increasingly apparent that local riders and concerned and interested local park users and townsfolk need to step up to the plate and manage park stewardship. Yours truly, Rich Coffey, has tried to keep the spirit alive but (1) being from Stamford and (2) tasked with a 12-hour work day door-to-door to NYC, I could no longer effectively manage this on a volunteer basis. Fortunately, as of Dec 2012, a local rider has volunteered to led the stewardship effort for the biking community. I will be transitioning my efforts in the months to come but still hope to assist from the sidelines in the future. -Future Hopes - Realistically it was time to retire the TTC - the name never lived up to its potential. What is still needed to make this a successful effort is a true coalition of park users—not just the mountain bikers, but hikers, local casual park users and concerned/knowledgeable townsfolk perhaps whose sons and daughters may frequent the park. As First Selectman Timothy Herbst said:
Adios... (Dec 2012) Rich Coffey | FCNEMBA Regional Trails Rep | Pequonnock River Valley State Park |
