Mattabesett is open to hikers

Recently I posted about some no-trespassing signs at the Country Club Rd entrance to the Mattabesett trail. I contacted the CFPA and got a reply from Theresa Peters, who gave me the good news: the trail is open to hikers. Here's what she said:

Actually, the City of Middletown was (overzealously) posting the signs to ward off ATV riders. Unfortunately, the wording of the signs also scares the hikers. Hiking is allowed, the blazes in that area have been refreshed.
...
As a general rule, when a trail is closed to hikers, the blazes get blacked out with black paint and Trail Closed signs get posted and our website will have a trail closure notice on it.

She mentioned that there's a new connector trail in the area:

This spring, a new connector trail opened that links Tynan Park (on Higby Road) to the Mattabesett Trail. It is more scenic to park at Tynan Park and take the blue/red connector trail and link to the Mattabesett Trail that way, than it is to park at Country Club Road and use the section to the south which is not so scenic (ATV ruts and illegal dumping).

Thanks for this info and the rapid response, Theresa! I'm very glad that the trail is still open, and I'll try the Tynan Park connector next time I'm in the area.