Mayor Daniel T. Drew invites members of the public to a
ribbon-cutting celebration for the new Phil Salafia Canoe and Kayak Launch on
Friday, June 5, at 3 p.m. at 181 Johnson Street in Middletown. The launch area
is adjacent to the City’s Recycling Center and provides kayakers and canoeists easy
access to the Coginchaug and Mattabesset Rivers and the spectacular 1000 acre
freshwater tidal marshland and wildlife habitat where these rivers converge. Ample
parking is available at the launch itself or at the nearby Remington Building.
The opening of this launch marks an important milestone of a
project initiated in 2006 by the Jonah Center for Earth and Art and completed
by the Coginchaug River Access Group; the Department of Planning, Conservation
and Development; the Department of Public Works; and the Mayor’s office. Construction
of the concrete ramp into the water was performed by Munger Construction in
October 2014, funded primarily by a $50,000 Federal Transportation grant
managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s
Recreational Trails Program. The ramp leading into the water is made of
interlocking cement pavers connected by steel cables and laid on 18″ of gravel.
Even at low water levels, the ramp extends well into the river channel,
providing a flat, solid bottom for paddlers to launch canoes, kayaks, or any
car-top or hand-towed vessel. Vehicles with trailers are not allowed to drive
on the slope to the river or on the ramp surface.
Middletown’s Common Council chose to name the facility the
Phil Salafia Canoe and Kayak Launch in recognition of the contributions to our
community by Phil Salafia, Sr.,
former member of the Common Council (1954-61) and co-founder of the City’s
first Parks Commission (1958). The City purchased the “Salafia property” — 20
acres of open space along the Coginchaug River upstream from the new boat
launch —from the family of Phil Salafia, Jr. in 2007.
The public is invited to bring their kayaks and canoes to
the ribbon-cutting and to launch into the Coginchaug River immediately after
the ceremony. For more information on this event or on the boat launch itself,
contact Michiel Wackers, Director of Planning, Conservation, and Development at
860-638-4840, or John Hall of the Jonah Center at 860-398-3771.
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