Town Cuts Ribbon on Latest Section of East Coast Greenway [VIDEO]

Town and state officials, including Mayor Leo V. Diana and former public works director Bill O'Neill, cut the ribbon on the latest extension of the East Coast Greenway Trail in a ceremony near the trailhead at Porter Street Wednesday afternoon. 

from Gardner Street to Porter Street near the Bolton town line was paid for by a combination of federal, state and local funds. The Manchester portion of the East Coast Greenway, known as the Charter Oak Greenway ih town, currently extends about 5.3 miles, and begins at the East Hartford town line. Plans are to ultimately extend the East Coast Greenway 2,600 miles from Florida to Maine.

, a former public works director for Manchester, was also honored at the ribbon cutting ceremony for his 40-plus years as an advocate for the construction and preservation of multi-purpose trails in Manchester and throughout the state. 

"It was clear to a few, and now many, that the most important aspect of a path is not merely a connection to Bolton, Riverfront Recapture, Key West to Canada, but the human connection," O'Neill told the crowd Wednesday. "You have collectively built paths that connect people to people, people to nature, people to places and our generation to the next." 

Current Manchester Director of Public Works Mark Carlino was honored by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection last week as one of the recipients of its 13th annual Greenways Awards for his contributions to greenways in Manchester.