Brookfield Scores $659K State Grant For Still River Greenway Connector In Latest Transportation Awards

BROOKFIELD, CT — Brookfield is among 17 municipalities statewide receiving funding through a new round of state transportation grants announced Monday by Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto.

The town will receive $659,600 to advance a Still River Greenway Trail Connector, part of a statewide investment aimed at improving local safety and mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists. The funds come from the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Community Connectivity Grant Program, now in its seventh year.

"Brookfield has been applying for this grant since 2016, most recently in 2020, and has been denied each time," Brookfield Community Development Specialist Greg Dembowski told Patch. "This is a very competitive grant program where, when grants are scored, a lot of weight is given to distressed communities or towns designated to be in Environmental Justice Blocks."

Brookfield is neither of those, Dembowski emphasized, but was able to submit an application that was so compelling it scored very high in other criteria.

The estimated construction costs of the 1,900 foot trail and walkway extension connecting the Still River Greenway and Brookfield's streetscape design north from the Four Corners to Newbury Village was $3.6 million when the project concept was developed in 2021. This cost estimate will now be updated, Dembowski said, with 100 percent of the construction to be paid by a Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program grant.

State officials said the nearly $12 million in grants will support projects in urban, suburban and rural communities, with a focus on safer streets, walkability, cycling access and stronger links between neighborhoods and municipal centers.

“Connecting residents with their communities through these projects is vital to boosting economic development, creating dynamic town centers, and encouraging alternative modes of transportation,” Lamont said in a statement.

Eucalitto said the program continues to support “important community-driven projects” and emphasized the state’s broader commitment to road safety and better connectivity.

Brookfield’s project joins improvements planned across Connecticut, including sidewalk expansions, streetscape work and new cycle tracks. Other grant recipients include Ansonia, Berlin, Branford, Bristol, Chester, Manchester, Marlborough, New Haven, North Haven, Norwalk, Old Lyme, Plainfield, Salisbury, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor Locks.

Each municipality can use its award for construction costs ranging from $100,000 to $800,000. Projects must be completed within three years. Since the program began, the state has invested about $74 million across 155 awards.