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Meeting set on Stratford Ave. roundabout
STRATFORD — Town officials have scheduled an informational meeting on a proposed roundabout that would be constructed at the intersection of Stratford Avenue, South Avenue and Honeyspot Road. The meeting will take place Monday, Jan. 29, at 6:30 pm., in the Town Council Chambers of the Town Hall, 2725 Main St.
This project is in the design stage and may be recommended for construction under the State’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The location is near the Two Roads Brewing Co.
“The reconstruction of this intersection is a part of our long-term goal of important safety and streetscape enhancements, in cooperation with the State Department of Transportation,” said Mayor Laura Hoydick.
This project is being designed by BL Companies, a consultant for the town, and it will include reconstruction of Honeyspot Road from the I-95 ramps to Stratford Avenue, including reconstruction of the intersections of Honeyspot with Spada Boulevard, Old Honeyspot Road and South Avenue with Stratford Avenue.
This project would include realigning the intersections for better safety, a new traffic light and controls at the I-95 on-ramp at Spada Blvd, and a roundabout at Stratford Avenue. In addition, streetscape enhancements, including bicycle and pedestrian improvements, curbing, drainage, pavement and landscape improvements will be provided. These improvements will provide for better traffic flow through the area in addition to a more aesthetic streetscape. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT commissioner met with heated questions during rail council meeting
STAMFORD — Jeffrey Maron says ongoing Metro-North problems are driving residents out of Connecticut and hurting property values.
Maron, vice president of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, complained at a meeting this week in Stamford to state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker about the issues and criticized the proposed 10-percent fare hike and possible reduction of service on the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches.
Only one member of the public attended the Wednesday meeting, which Maron attributed to a lack of confidence that the state will listen to commuters’ concerns.
“They used to show up to meetings, and at the end of the day, they were ignored,” Maron said Thursday. “The state still does what it wants.”
Redeker acknowledged that the DOT’s operating budget has doubled and its capital budget has increased by 600 percent from 1997 to 2017. “This problem can’t be solved with cutting expenses,” Redeker said.
One possible solution for revenue woes includes the fare hike, a controversial move that Maron said, among other things, is pushing commuters out of the state and driving down property values.
“It’s not something I want to do, it’s something I have to do,” Redeker said. “It’s not logical, but I’m trying to be as responsible as best I can.”
Maron suggested more enforcement with ticket collection. However, Redeker said the cost of adding personnel to ensure every fare is collected would exceed any revenue gained. Maron suggested, in the absence of bar cars on trains, that businesses such as Dunkin’ Donuts pay to outfit cars with their products.
Redeker said he has examined this option and, like the bar cars, it wouldn’t work. Redeker said the state lost money on the bar cars.
“To outfit the bar cars was an expense paid with state dollars,” he said. “We don’t have those state dollars anymore.”
Hearing crickets
Maron grew increasingly frustrated during the exchange, particularly with the lack of response the council has received to suggestions they put forward, and with Gov. Dannel Malloy signing a budget that put the DOT in further jeopardy.
“This is what pi--es off the rider,” Maron said at Wednesday’s meeting. “We put forward suggestions and we hear crickets. People are leaving the state.” “The budget that got passed was not representative of reality,” he continued on Thursday. “The cost of running the railroad was not properly reflected. We went from being funded to being underfunded. People are not happy...we’re paying more and getting less.” Redeker also addressed the state of highways and said a 15 percent reduction was made in the budget. “If it snows for more than one full day, we’re in big trouble,” he said. “We’re running out of money for routine maintenance.”
Parking garage
In regards to DOT projects, some are still going forward, such as replacing the more than 120-year-old Norwalk railroad bridge. But Redeker said $100 million worth of construction projects that have been postponed indefinitely will not be completed by the end of the year. “Unless the revenue situation changes, $800 million worth of projects scheduled for this year will not happen,” Redeker said. “That’s a big deal.”Among the projects the DOT has put on hold is the building a new Stamford railway parking garage on South State Street to replace a dilapidated one. “Whenever you defer maintenance that needs to get done, it gets worse later,” Maron said Thursday. “We’re just hurting ourselves more.”According to a DOT December report provided by Maron, a quarter of morning trains on the Metro-North New Haven line were late by at least six minutes.
Redeker’s presentation also confirmed the planned cancellation of weekend service and off-peak service reductions for the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches for the 2019 fiscal year.
“Is that what they’re proud of?” Maron said. “Are they really giving their best?...The cuts proposed by Malloy and his staff are far-reaching and severe.”
The DOT will announce dates for public hearings on the fare increase on Friday, but they are expected to be held between February and March.
Portland residents denounce cost-splitting plan for $2M sidewalk project
PORTLAND — There is general agreement that numerous sidewalks in town need fixing. There is even money — $1 million — to do it, part of $10 million bond issue approved by residents last year.
But that sum represents only one-third of the estimated $3 million it would take to correct all the cracked, broken or decayed sidewalks in town, according to the public works director. What’s more, there is also an existing town ordinance, dating back to 1934 and updated in 1997, that puts the responsibility for fixing sidewalks on the individual homeowner.
The ordinance has rarely, if ever, been used to compel residents to repair sidewalks in front of their property. But it places the liability for trip-and-fall accidents directly on the homeowner. A 1987 state law requires homeowners to clear their sidewalks after a snowstorm and keep them clear of ice.
In fact, in the 23 years he has worked for the town, Director of Public Works Richard D. Kelsey said, “We haven’t once paid for a sidewalk complaint. Right now, the burden (for repairing sidewalks) is 100 percent on the homeowner, and the liability is also 100 percent,” Kelsey told an audience of some 30 residents during a public hearing on the issue Wednesday night.
The Board of Selectmen wants to address the issue of sidewalks repair, but do so in such a way that it creates a sustainable fund for repairs while also extending the program to cover as many sidewalks as possible.
“We’re really trying to use your money the best way we can,” First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield told the audience.
As a first step, an existing sidewalk committee has proposed repairing sidewalks in the area between Freestone and Fairview avenues and extending from Main to High Street. In the meantime, a special three-member subcommittee established by the selectmen has been reviewing options to find a fair and equitable way to pay for those repairs. The two groups presented updates on their work during the hearing. The subcommittee offered three options: having the town pay the full cost of the project while installing sidewalks on both sides of a number of streets, or two versions of a 50/50 cost-splitting plan, one of which would only build sidewalk on one side of a street.
The initial response from residents was overwhelming and emphatic. Speaker after speaker denounced requiring homeowners to be responsible for sidewalks repairs, arguing that sidewalks are infrastructure, just like roads.
In addition, the speakers almost uniformly also rejected a 50/50 proposal, which would split the cost of repairs between the town and individual homeowners.
Speakers characterized the proposal as inherently unfair, arguing they already pay town taxes and should not be further burdened by having to pay for repairs to sidewalks that all residents can and do use
Repairing sidewalks “should be a burden for the whole town,” East Main Street resident David L. Rutter said. “If we’re spending this money, let’s do it right.”
Later is the discussion, Rutter amended his comment. “If you’re going do something, don’t do it stupid.” When it was presented to residents, the bond issue “didn’t give us any indication of a 50/50 split,” developer Rich Faraci said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Developer receives approval for two-story office building on East Main Street in Meriden
MERIDEN — A local developer has received Planning Commission approval to build a two-story office building on the vacant lot next to Family Dollar store at 1336 E. Main St.
Sam Uddin, who operates a Farmers Insurance agency in Middletown, is planning to build the 10,000-square-foot office building, with eight units that could include a bank with a drive-thru window. Other potential tenants could include an accountant’s office and a small medical practice.
Units would be 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. The site is also next to the future home of Huxley’s Bookmark Cafe.
As a condition of approval Uddin, whose SMU Holdings LLC purchased the 1.18 acre lot from Paul Giacobbe in 2012 for $130,000, must submit a wetlands maintenance plan to the city.
“This part of the town is growing,” Uddin said in December. “I think offices are in high demand around here." Uddin studied the area near Research Parkway and noted the office spaces are in older buildings with larger layouts. He said tenants and workers are looking for smaller, more modern office space. He hopes to begin construction in the spring and work is expected to take seven months. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Plans moving forward for Waterbury school expansion
WATERBURY – The state is committed to providing funding for the proposed expansion of Wendell Cross Elementary into a pre-kindergarten-to-grade-8 school, so long as construction begins by October 2019.
Meanwhile, the building committee tasked with overseeing the project must move forward with developing plans for proceeding.
The proposed cost of the expansion project for the school located in the city’s East Mount neighborhood is $46.2 million. The state will reimburse the city at a rate of 78.57 percent, covering nearly $36.3 million of its total cost. The city’s obligation is expected to be roughly $11 million, including financing and other associated costs.
If and when Wendell Cross’s expansion is completed, it would become Waterbury’s fifth pre-K-to-8 neighborhood school. The project would expand total student enrollment from 350 pre-K-to-grade-5 students to about 550 pre-K-to-8 students.
Waterbury Public Schools Personnel Director Robert Brenker told members of the Board of Education’s building committee during a meeting Thursday night at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School the city would be meeting with state officials and other experts in the coming weeks to go over different options for the project.
Those options include considering whether to appoint a project manager to oversee the project, while assuming little risk. Other options include appointing a construction manager at risk or a managing architect for the project.
Brenker said if the city moves forward on the project with “construction manager at risk,” that company “takes on a large share of the risk for delivering the project on time, under budget, and they have more of a hand in selecting an architect and a contractor, because they take the risk.
Another option might be appointing a managing architect, where the architect assumes the role of overseeing the project and designing it.
In past projects, like the construction of Jonathan Reed Elementary School, the city has utilized a traditional project manager set up, with its then-contractor O & G Industries, to oversee construction.
“We are going to meet with the state to receive their input as to what type would be the best for this project,” Brenker said.
Building committee members generally agreed they wanted to ensure the city has contract protections and they seek avoid some of the issues that had plagued recent projects, including the Reed and Duggan schools – the latter of which is the subject of a current lawsuit.
“Who can give this board direction, which is the safest route so we can avoid design flaws, cost overruns, mistakes in construction, so we don’t end up with the things that exist,” Catherine N. Awwad asked Brenker.
Board of Education Vice President Karen Harvey said she wanted to ensure when the city signs off on a contract, there’s a process “spelled out” to avoid the construction flaws of recent projects.
“We do have time to do it. It’s a big project. It’s budgeted over $46 million,” Brenker said, adding the city has a little under two years before a shovel needs to break ground.