Freedom Defenders Way—

Tinkerfield Rd. To Be

Rechristened On Veterans Day

By John Voket

It did not take a lot of time on the Board of Selectmen’s agenda Monday, but the implications of the members’ action to rename Tinkerfield Road will have lasting and patriotic impact, especially to one of the three residents of that small street near the busy corner of South Main and Wasserman Way.

Following a recent request from representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 308, and a partner program that solicited essays from Newtown Middle School eighth graders, a suggestion was tendered to rename the road Freedom Defenders Way.

The name change would also impact two other addresses on the small avenue, and would have a collateral public safety benefit by creating precise routing for responders in the event of an emergency call through the 911 system.

According to Town Assessor Chris Kelsey, up until when the name change takes effect, one of the addresses will remain on South Main Street, even though the property is not directly accessible from that main thoroughfare.

“This is the first time we’ve been asked to change the name of a road,” First Selectman Pat Llodra told the board. She then confirmed that the selectmen have the authority to make such a decision. Mr Kelsey said that the new name was chosen from approximately 500 essays generated on the subject.

Selectman William Furrier said he would be honored to make the motion, and subsequently, all three selectmen, including Marine Corps Veteran Will Rodgers, authorized the request. Mr Kelsey suggested the motion include a provision making the name change effective November 11 — Veterans Day.

A number of other reports on road and highway projects were discussed during the November 1 meeting, including clarifying the official name of Farview Road. Mr Kelsey said that local officials have seen it referred to as Far View Road in certain instances, and the usage should be uniform across all local databases.

The selectmen then agreed that the road would be identified as Farview Road in all official records.

Earlier in the evening, Land Use Director George Benson joined Highway Department chief Fred Hurley reviewing the multiple points in the Town Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) where the selectmen had some oversight or influence on transportation-related issues.

Mr Hurley explained that during each regular, state mandated review of the POCD, he felt it was critical for the selectmen to review information in the plan related to roadway usage and traffic. One of the areas where selectmen have some influence is in affirming classifications of certain roadways.

Over time, Mr Hurley said, “some roads become much busier due to circumstances like development in the area,” whether residential, commercial or mixed. The highway official also confirmed that Newtown’s Road Ordinance has been “tweaked” twice during the past 20 years to account for such traffic pattern changes.

He added that when local opinion about the classification of roads differs from the state and federal designation, it is a protracted process to get all parties on the same page, if that eventuality can be achieved at all.

During a review of other proposed road projects tied to the POCD update, the selectmen heard about the status of plans to link Church Hill Road to Wasserman Way via Commerce Road. Mr Benson advised that the proposal is virtually dead because of a perceived inability to obtain access to state land, and the accompanying environmental clearance to traverse Deep Brook, which runs across the property involved the proposal.

Moving on to other projects, Mr Hurley said the approved project to reconfigure the South Main/Packs Lane interchange has been on the drawing board so long that some state engineers and other DOT officials engaged on the project have retired, and a new generation of state officials have taken their place.

Possible Land Acquisition

Discussion around the reconfiguration of the I-84/Exit 11 interchange drew some chuckles from the board, with Mr Furrier noting, “Wasn’t that supposed to be finished by now?” Mr Hurley confirmed that the state successfully acquired a piece of property adjacent to the high school that would play a role in the exit ramp reconfiguration.

Following some further discussion, Mr Hurley suggested the town formally express interest in acquiring land in the area that would no longer be state-owned once and if the project is completed. Mrs Llodra suggested that any verbal contact the town has made with the DOT Commissioner’s office regarding interest in available state property should be reaffirmed immediately in case a new administration initiated a change of personnel at that DOT executive post.

The first selectman also urged Mr Hurley to keep on top of promised earmarks for underwriting the Edmond Road/Church Hill Road reconfiguration, which date back to the administration of former US Representative Nancy Johnson.

Mrs Llodra added that she expects state Senator John McKinney to aggressively pursue getting funding released for that project in the coming months.