Trails Group Kicks Off Multi-phase Link Project
by Robbie Stanley, October 20, 2011.....

The Town Link Development Group held a kickoff event September 15 at the Charlotte train station to update supporters on progress made on the Charlotte Town Link Trail and to begin to raise funds for the next phase.
According to Margaret Russell, co-chair of the Charlotte Trails Committee, “Our project, the Charlotte Town Link Trail, is really not our project at all.  It is an extension of what many dedicated individuals have done before us to make the West Village more of a town (by building the Town Hall, the Library, the Senior Center, the Fire Station and the Post Office); this project is really connecting the spokes to the hub. The village makes our town a community and this Town Link Trail is a way of making access to the Village and Charlotte’s attractions friendly to pedestrians.” 
Last winter, in response to the vote from the community at 2010 Town meeting in which the Trails Fund was established but not funded, the Trails committee created a separate trails development group consisting of both Trails Committee members and non-committee members for the purpose of raising funds for a main pedestrian path through Charlotte.  
Since then, the Trails Committee and Dean Bloch, Town Planner/Selectboard Assistant, have applied for and received grant funding from the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation and the Vermont Youth Conservation Program. The group is now beginning a development phase to raise funds within our town to use for the project directly, but also to leverage funding for larger grants.
 The project is an approximately seven-mile, mostly gravel path that is made up of three phases:
1. From Mount Philo under Route 7 to the Charlotte Berry Farm and through the Champlain Valley Cohousing property to Greenbush Road.  
2. From Champlain Valley Cohousing north to the West Village with an offshoot to the Barber Hill area.
3. From the West Village to the Town Beach and also along Ferry Road.
 Many (even most) of the easements for this project are already in place. The group currently raising funds for the first phase of this project that will likely be between $200,000 and $250,000. Why so much? The permitting is a significant part of the costs with wetland studies, archaeological studies, Act 250 and other permits.
The remaining costs involve building a properly designed trail with a solid base that will withstand weather and use. The committee envisions families biking together without worrying about cars, and runners having a level, safe path. Some sections should be appropriate for horseback riding. And, of course, friends will have another option for getting together outside and enjoying our town. 
 Many parts of the Charlotte Town Link Trail are already being mowed and are usable to walkers. The Cohousing path is mowed, the Melissa and Trevor Mack Trail is complete, and there is now a mowed section along the north side of Ferry Road by the conserved Knowles property.  The committee is working to get as much of the path mowed and usable to walkers as it can while it raises funds for a sustainable path which will allow running and biking. 
 Margaret reports that, “Our next area of focus will be State Park Road.  We received a large section of easements on Clark Hinsdale’s place when he recently subdivided. This is where we will concentrate on permitting next.”  
Committee and group members welcome your questions, your interest, your help and, of course, your donations, which can be sent to Trails Committee, c/o Town of Charlotte, P.O. Box 119, Charlotte VT 05445.
The Town Link Trail logo was designed by Charlotte resident Dave Spiedel of Place Creative.