Benefits

Benefits:

• Preservation and creation of open spaces
• Promotion of healthy lifestyles by encouraging physical fitness, increasing recreational opportunities and improving air and water quality
• Protection of habitat and the environment
• Providing corridors for people and wildlife
• Preservation of cultural and historic areas
• Increasing educational experiences
• Increasing property values

Importance to the Town of Vernon:

The list above outlines major benefits of greenways. The Town of Vernon has formalized the importance of greenways in a document entitled the “Plan of Conservation and Development”. The Plan of Conservation and Development (PC&D) defines conservation goals some of which directly involve the concept of Greenways and trail systems. The Vernon PC&D outlines the following goal:

Goal: Establish greenways within the Town of Vernon and extending greenways to adjacent communities.

More specifically, the PC&D lists objectives for planning as follows:

• Support the concept of greenways and actions that enable the establishment and growth of greenways.
• Provide a network of interconnected greenways serving to expand passive recreation opportunity and to increase public accessibility to park areas;
• Encourage the development of a network of trails for walking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and flora and fauna observations;
• Create linkages to existing trails maintained by the Town and by other public and private entities such as neighboring towns or the Connecticut Forest & Park Association;
• Encourage expansion of our preserved open space areas and greenways, particularly those sites which would link existing open space areas;
• Take advantage of opportunities which expand our existing wildlife corridors and which ensure the survival of local wildlife species;

Further reading on Greenways and Trail Systems:

Vernon Land Use Map 2011 (color pdf)

Conservation and Development Policies Plan for Connecticut 2013-2018