Members of the Vernon Senior Center celebrated the opening of their new walking trail with a ribbon cutting celebration Wednesday afternoon.
The trail around the property provides a safe place for seniors to walk and get exercise. Before the trail was installed, many senior center members would walk in the parking lot and had to keep an eye out for cars.
“This is a great day for our senior center and the thousands of members who use it each year,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said. “Ever since we opened the new center, we have been looking for ways to enhance it so that our seniors can keep active. This new walking trail will encourage members to keep get exercise while also keeping them safe.”
And more is coming to the Vernon Senior Center, Mayor Champagne said. This summer, construction will begin on a multipurpose building next door to the senior center.
The trail is about a quarter mile and goes along the front of the property, near Bolton Road, and then across wetlands on a new boardwalk that features a place to rest with benches.
“It’s great,” added Senior Center Director Maureen Gabriele. “The seniors have been using it and loving it.”
The walking trail was paid for with funds left over from construction of the original senior center. Federal pandemic relief funds will pay for the new multipurpose building.