CTfastrak Multi-Use Trail

Hoodie Ride
Newington & New Britain
November 2023

A month before Christmas Calvin and I went on a quickie 10-mile out and back jaunt along the CTfastrak bike trail. He was was too big for his bike at the time, but this would be the last ride before we traded up to an adult bike. The kid is 5’7″ now and is still growing like a weed.

But what the heck; 10 flat miles mostly on smooth asphalt Let’s do this.

Whatever “this” is. What is this?

CTfastrak is a regional bus rapid transit system currently operating between downtown Hartford and Downtown New Britain. Opened in 2015 after 15 years of planning, arguing, and funding, it’s the first bus rapid transit system in Connecticut. The bus route follows two abandoned railbeds (next to two that still exist) and is less than 10 miles long in total.

There are several stops in New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, and Hartford. Buses don’t just loop around, as several branch out into Hartford, New Britain, and bordering towns like Bristol and up to Bradley Airport on both ends. It’s actually a very efficient system and affordable for riders. Lots of people called it a boondoggle, but 4/5 of its funding was federal and it used existing Amtrak rights-of-way for the most part.

Ridership isn’t too bad, but it could be – and should be – more. At a different time in my life, I’d totally ride this thing.

For about half of its length, there was room to put in a multi-use trail right alongside it. It runs from the Newington Junction station to downtown New Britain. Eastward into West Hartford and Hartford, it was too tight of a squeeze to accommodate. (There are very tentative plans to extend the route into Hartford, but I don’t know how they’d do that.)

As it is, Calvin and I had to leave the Fastrak’s side in New Britain and take to the Hard Hittin’ streets for a stretch for the same “too tight of a squeeze” reason.

It’s a nice trail. I guess the agencies who tend to the railroad and the fastrak keep an eye on the pathway as well. There was very little litter and far less graffiti than you’d imagine. Overhanging branches were trimmed and there are no weeds growing up through cracks.

It’s a genuinely nice little ride; when the buses come flying by – and they are flying at times – they’re far enough away that there’s no rush of air or anything.

Once we reached the East Street Station in New Britain, which is right next to Newington Towers apartments (also in New Britain) which is next to Wings Over Newington (also in New Britain), we followed the path along the sidewalk on East Street.

Past some junkyard, underneath Route 9, past a liquor store and a sketchy looking seafood joint that I’m not sure I’d patronize, and we were back onto the path. This section requires some street crossings and you need to be wary, as local drivers don’t really pay much attention to people on bikes.

The ride through the middle of St. Mary’s Cemetery is kind of weird. Like, how was this path here before the busway was put through here? Weren’t there graves here? Did we ride over dead people? Calvin did that dumb thing kids do and tried to hold his breath, but it’s a very long ride among the dead and he failed. I’ll let you know if he becomes possessed with the evil spirits. (So far so good, but some mornings it’s hard to tell.)

There are a few more at-grade street crossings in this last mile before the end, but they seemed safer since the buses have the same crossings. Let’s see, we passed a Guida’s Dairy building and Calvin reports that West Hartford schools have cheaped out and no longer serve Guida’s. That’s a bummer.

The large downtown New Britain station is pretty nice. And it was nice to see there were lots of people getting on and off buses on a weekend. I imagine it’s pretty busy here during rush hours. We rode all the way to the end (per the sign that says “END”) and then checked out one of New Britain’s coolest things: The Beehive Bridge.

As a longtime champion of the Hardware City, I’m a huge fan of things like the Beehive Bridge and any sort of downtown revitalization efforts which have continued every year since I began this website in 2006. New Britain’s Erin Stewart is probably one of the best mayors in the state and might just be the next Republican governor of Connecticut.

Calvin and I rested for a couple minutes and then hauled it the five miles back to Newington Junction at which point we were eager to warm our hands in the car.

Goodbye to Calvin’s old bike. We’ll see what 2024 brings, both in terms of new bikes and new bike rides.

CTMQ’s Cycling, Multi-Use, & Rails-to-Trails Paths