Springfield seeks grant to expand Toonerville Trail

The popularity of the Toonerville Trail has led the town of Springfield down the path to expansion. The Springfield Select Board this week approved a state grant application to help pay for the extension, which would bring the trail head to Bridge Street, and the EdgarMay Health and Recreation Center.


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Springfield pursuing $455K trail extension

The Springfield Selectboard approved on Thursday a grant application that would help fund a 3,250-foot, $455,513 extension of the Toonerville Trail, a popular walking and recreation trail that runs along the Black River.

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Photo by Len Emery The Springfield Terminal Railway right-of-way shown to the left of the abandoned J&L shop is slated for improvement Published July 10, 2016 in the Times Argus Springfield seeks state grant to expand Toonerville Trail By SUSAN SMALLHEER SPRINGFIELD — The popularity of the Toonerville Trail has led the town of Springfield down the path to expansion. The Springfield Select Board this week approved a state grant application to help pay for the extension, which would bring the trail head to Bridge Street, and the EdgarMay Health and Recreation Center. Town Manager Tom Yennerell said that he had been encouraged by the Agency of Transportation to apply for the grant, which would cover 80 percent of the cost of the $455,500 project. The extension would run 3,250 feet from Bridge Street, in back of Jones & Lamson Machine Tool Co. along the Black River, to the existing start of the three-mile trail, which is south of the Jones Center. Since it was opened 17 years ago, the Toonerville Trail has been heavily used by the community, whether it is for walking, in-line skating, skiing, running or bicycle riding. It follows the Black River to the Connecticut River, passing through Goulds Mills. The trail was named after the Toonerville Train, which was the nickname of the popular trolley which linked Springfield to neighboring Charlestown, New Hampshire. The current path followed the original train tracks. The trolley, whose formal name was the Springfield Electric Railway, ceased operation in 1947. A freight train, the Springfield Terminal Railway, ceased running freight on the rail lines in 1984, according to the Springfield Trail Guide. The original trail was championed by Springfield Trails and Greenways. Yennerell said the town already had 10 percent of the local match requires for the project, and the Select Board approved committing to spend the remaining $45,000 needed. The local contribution is $91,000, he said. Yennerell said the town would need to apply for a variance from the Agency of Natural Resources for a setback from the river, since the projected trail would be closer than the current setback. “It’s been an industrial site, and has been, for 100 years,” he said. He estimated it would be 2018 before construction of the trail could take place, and he said it hoped it would be constructed after the expected demolition of the derelict J&L building. The J&L building has been undergoing various environmental clean-ups, funded in large part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the building, which is currently owned by the Springfield Regional Development Corp., is slated for most of the building being demolished. Yennerell said the path would be 10 feet wide and paved, and he said the location would require fencing and screening, as well, which adds to the cost. Yennerell said the trail would have to be built in 2018, assuming the town gets the trail grant, because that’s when the funding expires. He said the exact alignment of the trail hasn’t been determined, although the town already has a very detailed plan about the expansion. 2016-07-08 / Front Page Springfield pursuing $455K trail extension By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com The Toonerville Trail ends just south of the Robert B. Jones Industrial Center in Springfield. A new $455,513 extension would develop it through Springfield Regional Development Corp. land and connect with the business district at Bridge Street. — TORY JONES BONENFANT The Toonerville Trail ends just south of the Robert B. Jones Industrial Center in Springfield. A new $455,513 extension would develop it through Springfield Regional Development Corp. land and connect with the business district at Bridge Street. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Selectboard approved on Thursday a grant application that would help fund a 3,250-foot, $455,513 extension of the Toonerville Trail, a popular walking and recreation trail that runs along the Black River. “Vtrans (Vermont Agency of Transportation) has encouraged the town to apply for a grant,” to extend the trail, Town Manager Tom Yennerell said at a special meeting of the selectboard on Thursday evening, July 7. Yennerell said it is “not typical” of a transportation agency to encourage a municipality to apply for a grant. “They are normally very ambivalent prior to a grant award,” he said. During times when grants are difficult to obtain, he recommended that the board proceed with the application. If the grant is approved, the proposed trail extension would develop the existing trail through Springfield Regional Development Corp. land and between the Black River and the former Jones and Lamson manufacturing facility, connecting with the business district. At this time, the Toonerville Trail spans three miles from downtown Springfield southeast to the western bank of the Connecticut River, at the Vermont–New Hampshire border. The name is derived from the “Toonerville Trolley” electric rail line, once operated by the Springfield Terminal Railway connecting Springfield to Charlestown, New Hampshire. From the Robert B. Jones Industrial Center, the trail follows a downhill grade along the Black River and over a former trolley bridge, and out along Paddock Road before passing beneath US 11 and another half-mile to a parking area for Hoyt's Landing, all according to TrailLink, a Rails-to-Trails Conservancy website. Beyond the landing, the trail crosses beneath US 11 once more, ending a third of a mile down the path at US Route 5. The southern terminus of the new 3,250-foot section of trail would begin at the spot the trail ends now, where a bench and recycling bins greet walkers at the end of the paved path. At this time a rough gravel path extends to the road from the end of the trail, and another narrow, rough path meanders a bit further along the river. After the proposed new path is complete, the trail’s northern terminus would be on Bridge Street. “The town has had a long-term desire to extend the Toonerville Trail north because it will connect the Downtown Business District to the Connecticut River and greatly extend the utility of the existing trail,” Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris wrote in a letter to Jon Kaplan, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager with VTrans’ Municipal Assistance Bureau. “Now that the redevelopment of the J & L site is well underway, we would like the trail to be an integral part of the site’s redevelopment plan.” Yennerell said the municipality plans to work with the Department of Environmental Protection on the project. “We’re looking for some serious variances from the existing setbacks, because it is currently an industrial site and it has been for 100 years,” he said. An estimated $455,513 would cover the cost of the path, with construction costs estimated at $303,675 and the remaining $151,838 in “soft costs,” according to Morris. The municipality of Springfield would provide a match of 20 percent, or an estimated $91,102, Yennerell said. At this time, the town only has $45,942 available for the project through a combination of town and Springfield Trails and Greenways (STAG) funding. Because VTrans recently increased grant match requirements from 10 to 20 percent, this would leave a balance of $45,160 the town would need to raise, Yennerell said. The town is likely to receive actual funds of $364,411, and would be available until the end of 2018, the town manager said. To generate the remainder of funds for the project, he suggested two options: A municipal-voted Special Appropriation Article at the next annual town meeting, or setting aside funds from the 2017 and 2018 highway budget, from the “road construction” line item. “Previously there was a 10 percent match … we had all the money for the 10 percent match, but we do not have the money in hand for the 20 percent match,” Yennerell said. At this time, the town and its STAG committee have a “semi-finished” plan for the trail, with cross-sections and landscaping, Morris said. The selectboard voted all in favor of approving support for the grant application, and to providing the required 20 percent or $91,102 in funding for the trail extension. If approved, work on the extension would begin by the end of 2018, Morris said. In other municipal news at the special selectboard meeting, the board voted unanimously to set the 2016-2017 combined municipal and education tax rate at 3.0386 for Homestead and 2.9137 for non-residential.