The Newtown Bike & Trails Committee held one of its first public events earlier this month, welcoming dozens of people to an open house and symposium.

During the two-hour event at Newtown Community Center, attendees were invited to take a recently released survey by the committee, meet representatives from local organizations, learn about proper bicycle fitting, or just view any portion of an ongoing slideshow that highlighted efforts by the committee.

Committee Chair Brid Craddock and most of the committee members — which include Vice Chairman David Siroky, Secretary Geordie Elkins, Parliamentarian Charles Foster, and Gavin Arneth, Brad Accettella, Ken Kerin, Greg Ritzinger, and David Irving — were all in attendance at the special event, which was popular from start to finish.

Craddock said she and the committee were very pleased with the event.

“We had 94 people attend,” she said the following morning. “We were very happy. Everyone seemed to think it was a good turnout.”

In addition to the Bike & Trails Committee members, tables were set up and hosted by members of CT Trail Census; the Housatonic Valley Chapter of New England Mountain Bike Association; Newtown Bridle Lands Association; Pootatuck Watershed Association; and The Trail Crew, a Newtown-based volunteer-driven group dedicated to improving trails already laid out in town, among others.

Girl Scouts of Newtown also participated, sharing information about local troop activities.

“Having all of those people together, and having all of us begin to focus on building trails in Newtown, was great,” said Craddock. “That’s why it was an open house and symposium.

“The open house was to tell people about our National Park Service grant, and what that means,” she said, explaining that the NPS grant means the town committee now has two people from the Park Service, “who are trail experts with trail experience, in communities large and small.”

The symposium part of the afternoon was equally important, she said, because “for our members, it was good to be in the same room with NBLA, and the mountain bike groups, and Pootatuck Watershed — others who are equally concerned with improving the town’s trails.”

Craddock seemed to welcome or network with everyone who attended the open house. When she was not welcoming attendees, she was networking among the participants.

“We wanted people to make sure they were talking to everybody else. We all have to work together and support each other, and improve and connect these trails,” she said.

Those who stopped in to the meeting room where the open house was held were welcome to walk around the perimeter of the room, visiting with the different organizations. On the southern wall a large screen had an ongoing slide show, with graphics, notes, and photos featuring the host committee, its plans, and its recent National Park Service grant

Released less than a week earlier, the Bike & Trails Committee’s new survey was also featured at the open house. Once they answer opening questions covering gender, age, zip code, etc, residents and anyone who uses any of the town’s trails are asked to tell the committee whether they tend to use the trails on their own or with children, how often they use town trails, primary activity on trails, and how they learn about town trails.

The survey also asks about apps, bicycling, preferred trail map format, interest in a Newtown Trails Book, where additional trails should be cut, maintenance and signage, and more.

Craddock said it is “very important that the people who want more or better trails in Newtown, take the trails survey.”

The charter of the committee, Craddock pointed out, is to expand outdoor activities in Newtown.

Until this week, copies of the survey were available in print and online. With the closing of town buildings, the survey is still online, and Craddock is counting on people to continue filling it in.

“We have a lot of people who took that survey already,” she said, “but it’s important to hear from more people.”

The Bike & Trails Committee Survey is available at newtown-ct.gov/bike-trails-committee.

The committee is one of the town’s newest, having been formally appointed in December 2018. Its first public event was in October, when members hosted a moonlight hike along the 1.88-mile paved loop trail at Fairfield Hills.