Work Begins On

Long-Awaited Borough Sidewalk

By Steve Bigham

The long-awaited sidewalk project in the center of town officially started Tuesday afternoon with the pouring of concrete along a section at the corner of Queen Street and Glover Avenue.

The four-to-five week project will involve the installation of 3,500 linear feet of sidewalk within an inner loop of the borough designed to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment within “downtown” Newtown. The new five-foot wide concrete sidewalks are being built by Trumbull Construction of Trumbull, which arrived in town last week to begin preliminary work. The sidewalks will run along the southern part of the eastern side of Main Street, along the northern side of Glover Avenue, the western side of Queen Street, and then up Church Hill Road on the northern side. These added sidewalks will connect with existing sidewalks on the upper part of Main Street.

The $150,000 project has been funded almost entirely through state Local Capital Improvement (LOCIP) money. LOCIP money comes from the state and is received by the town and borough from state revenue. The town put the project on its five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) nearly three years ago. Two years ago, the town agreed to fund a $10,500 engineering study for borough sidewalks. The Borough of Newtown, considered a separate government within the Town of Newtown, played a key role in getting the sidewalk issue put on the town’s agenda. Early estimates had the project coming in at $200,000 and the borough was prepared to solicit money to cover any extra costs. However, Trumbull Construction’s bid was well under that price.

The start of the project this week had borough officials in good spirits, especially Jay Maher of 9 Glover Avenue, who has become the town’s unofficial “sidewalk guy” in recent years. He and Borough Warden Joan Crick were on hand for the first concrete pouring Tuesday.

“Five years of effort is being realized in a joint effort between the Borough of Newtown and the Town of Newtown. We are optimistic this is the start to an annual commitment to the installation of sidewalks throughout the borough,” Mr Maher said.

Borough officials are hoping to someday build sidewalks along the southeastern side of Queen Street to Borough Lane and along The Boulevard. There is also a plan to put in sidewalks that connect to the 5/6 school along Wasserman Way.

Mrs Crick, who grew up in the borough, said massive increases in traffic left the town and borough  with little choice but to install the sidewalks. She remembers walking to school when hardly a car ever passed. Just as important, she said, a sidewalk helps instill a sense of community.

Last year, the borough put down 100 feet of new sidewalk in front of 48 Main Street after pulling up a section of old, worn-out sidewalk. And this past fall, another 230 feet of new sidewalk was laid in front of 50 Main Street. Both projects were funded through the borough’s budget.

Not everyone is excited about the sidewalk project’s commencement. Resident Wendy Beres this week indicated that the sidewalk plans might not be in compliance with regulations developed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She claimed her concerns were never properly addressed prior to the work getting underway.