Question
The town of New Canaan, Ct. has bought an estate and is now proposing to put an 8' wide asphalt path through it and widen the driveway by 50%. My concern is the harm this will/may do to beautiful old exisiting trees like white pine, larch, silver maple, sugar maple, magnolia, cedar.  I am also concerned with the possible affect salt spread on this path might have.

Answer
Yes the pathways have a high chance to damage the existing trees if not done properly. I would suggest you contact the CT Cooperative Service and ask for their assistance in planning the paths. They can give on the ground help.
Their contact information is or you can find their phone number in your local phone book.

http://www.canr.uconn.edu/ces/forest/ricard.htm