Eastern Greenwich's neighborhoods could have more senior housing, more restaurants and better parking along Sound Beach Avenue, according to a preliminary neighborhood plan presented to the public on Thursday.
But more than a score of people who came out to hear what BFJ Planning had to say after the company collected information from several public workshops and an online survey had other suggestions they said they felt weren't getting proper attention, from building regulations to back-in parking.
The Eastern Greenwich Neighborhood Plan, which looks at Old Greenwich, Riverside and North Mianus, comes after ones previously done for Byram and Cos Cob. The plans were created to help the town's neighborhoods keep their distinct character while providing a guide to future development and improvements.
BFJ Planning's report included potential zoning revisions that could help the town to develop senior housing; touched on improvements to Binney Park, land along the Mianus River and the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center; and suggested ways to handle potential flooding.
For some in attendance at the meeting, the suggested improvements didn't go far enough or would not be in place fast enough to keep current problems from getting worse.
Frank Fennell was one of several residents who wanted the town to take immediate action on a problem already in dispute in his neighborhood: builders using fill to elevate their homes illegally. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
How box turtles use the $1M tunnel built for them
When the Route 7 bypass opened in 2009, commuters cheered. They could escape the clogged section of Route 7 in Brookfield and New Milford, and speed on their way on a serious highway. Driving north out of Danbury, or south into it, became a much less dismal trip.
But if you are a box turtle, a slimy salamander or some of the other wildlife along the 2.3-mile highway corridor, life has changed. How much may never be known for sure.
The environmental study of the corridor is ending this month, when students from Western Connecticut State University in Danbury make their last field trips to the corridor, looking for salamanders. The state Department of Transportation grant that paid for their work is ending.
"They'll get out by May 30,'' said Theodora Pinou, associate professor of biological and environmental sciences at Western, who has overseen the students' work. "But five years of study is not enough.''
Likewise, Dennis Quinn, of Connecticut Herpetology, said his study of the wildlife using the culvert under the highway would be better if it could be extended out over decades.
"If you could look at it over 20 years -- five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, then there would be pieces that could be answered,'' Quinn said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Northeast marinas scramble to repair winter damage
GLASTONBURY — The deep freeze that gripped the Northeast last winter dealt a severe blow to marinas and yacht clubs: Ice snapped pilings in half, shredded wooden docks and left behind wreckage that many compare to the effects of a hurricane.
After a scramble to get ready for the all-important Memorial Day weekend, most marinas are back in business, although many are behind schedule and still in need of costly repairs to operate at full capacity.
"It’s been tough. It’s been very tough. The marina was destroyed," said Mindy Kahl, co-owner of Birbarie Marine on a river in Branford, Connecticut. "We will be operational this weekend but nowhere near where we should be."
Hardest hit were yards in rivers and coves that became choked with ice during a record-breaking stretch of frigid weather through February. Crews fought the ice with chain saws and devices that circulate warm water up from below the surface, often to no avail. As the ice rose and fell with the tide, it wrecked pilings and tore apart docks.
Veterans of the waterfront say the damage is the worst they’ve seen in decades.
Peter Morris, general manager of the Bay Pointe Marina in Quincy, Massachusetts, has had two crews working six days a week to repair damage that he estimates at $1.2 million. The ice pushed his marina off its steel pilings several feet out into a river.
"It’s put us a behind about a month and a half," he said.
Since the thaw, demand has been running high for marine construction workers, cranes and replacement pilings — with a run on long, wooden poles in coastal New England sending some CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — Earth movers and backhoes roll through the downtown Hub placing rocks along the sides of the soon-to-be single channel, while others grade the earth on both sides of the 14-acre future park. Workers are building concrete and rock abutments on State and Pratt streets, and two center piers to support the pedestrian bridge that will take visitors from one side of the park to the other.
All the current work is preparing for three diversions that will merge Clark, Jordan and Harbor brooks into the center channel, expected to happen in mid- to late July.
The landscaped park, with its large pedestrian bridge, amphitheater and walkways, is expected to be completed at the end of the year.
“On the State Street side we’re going to open the earth to a box culvert and punch a hole into a new channel to allow Clark Brook to flow into Harbor Brook,” Public Works Director Robert Bass said last week. “They’re going to continue grading, finalizing the electrical plan for lights on the parcel.”
A lighting and irrigation control room will be housed in the ground floor area of the abutment on Pratt Street, which also serves as the stairway and ramp to the pedestrian bridge. Workers have already begun setting the concrete and wire conduits for the electrical connection. A longer ramp and stairwell will run parallel to State Street on the other side of the park.
The control area will house the foundation for lighting and irrigating systems for the lawn and landscaping. The park watering will be in zones, but the entire park, its bridges and walkways will be illuminated, Bass said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
As the last “pour” was completed, the concrete crew from Walsh Construction/PCL posed for a photo, then dumped a bucket of water on their foreman, John Santos. Briggs said the two sides met in the middle just the way they were designed to, with each segment about 14.5 feet long, poured by a “spider” and using machinery called form travelers that moved along as each section was done. “When an engineering plan actually works real well, it’s just a good feeling,” Briggs said. “The form of the bridge is almost perfect. It came together as they planned right in middle” with “an uneventful close pour, which is good for us.” Next, the parapets can be installed and the surface, a “latex-modified concrete” with a light color to go with the overall memorial theme of the bridge. Then, diamond grinders will cut grooves on the pavement in the direction of travel to aid drainage and traction and resist hydroplaning. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
FedEx considers Middletown's old Aetna site for distribution center
MIDDLETOWN >> Shipping and distribution company FedEx filed an inland wetlands application Friday to purchase a 239.5-acre site between Middle Street and Industrial Park Road. In an online message, Mayor Daniel Drew said he was “pleased” that FedEx filed the application to build a Northeast regional distribution center on the former Aetna site. “Middletown has been long committed to responsible and robust growth in our business sector,” Drew wrote. “Our goal is to attract strong and reputable companies that will add value to our community, create jobs, and work to provide an important service while being good members of our community.” City Planning Director Michiel Wackers said FedEx filed the application to see if it is able to get approval in Middletown, but it does not necessarily reflect a commitment from the company. Both Drew and Wackers said FedEx will not discuss its commitment to a site until all approvals are made and transactions are closed as a matter of company policy, but Wackers said he believes FedEx is also looking at locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as options for the distribution center. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Steel beams define progress at courthouse in Torrington
TORRINGTON >> The long-awaited Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse is one step closer to completion. KBE Building Corp., the company overseeing the $67.8 million project, has begun erecting structural steel for the new building superstructure. Each added beam and column is helping to define the shape of this new building located on Field Street, close to downtown Torrington.
“I’m so pleased with the progress we are making on this project,” said Commissioner Melody A. Currey. “The Torrington area has been waiting for this for a long time, and we are finally seeing the courthouse going up right before our eyes. The legislative delegation from Litchfield County worked for decades to get this project authorized, and Governor (Dannel) Malloy finally gave it the green light. We look forward to a smooth construction season this summer and lots more progress to come.” KBE serves as design-builder and constructor for the project, which encompasses the following new construction: CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE