Grants May Speed Plan For Town Sidewalks

By John Voket

A project that would create a loop of sidewalks and walking paths interconnecting most of Newtown’s schools, Sandy Hook Center, and Main Street, as well as the Church Hill Road and Queen Street commercial areas was just a dream to town leaders, land use, development, and health officials a few years ago when it was envisioned.

But an ambitious $2 million grant request to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which will be submitted January 5, would provide the necessary underwriting to make that sidewalk loop dream a reality according to town officials. First Selectman Pat Llodra told the Board of Selectmen December 19 that even if the town received part of the grant, it would go far toward creating longer stretches of walking paths and sidewalks for residents and students who would gladly trade gas guzzling transportation for a sturdy pair of walking shoes.

“This has been a goal and a dream of the Land Use Department, as well as Community Development and the Health District for years,” said Deputy Land Use Director Rob Sibley.

Mr Sibley said he, other officials, and staffers who are involved in the grant process and the planning for a so-called “Newtown Loop” are excited about the prospect of seeing the project come closer to fruition without the major financial burden falling exclusively on local taxpayers.

“We’re counting on the funds to get the project done,” Mr Sibley said. “And we’re excited about making the dollars go so much further at the local level.”

The land use official said that creating pedestrian options to vehicular transportation is extremely attractive because it could reduce traffic congestion and the heightened pollution that comes from vehicles idling in gridlock. But an additional benefit would also be the opportunity it would provide users to enhance their health and quality of life by walking between Sandy Hook and Queen Street, or from Hawley or the middle school to Fairfield Hills.

Mrs Llodra told Selectmen Will Rodgers and James Gaston that any grant funds would target completing sidewalks between Glover Avenue and Walgreens at the corner of South Main Street and Mile Hill Road.

The land use office was also expecting to hear whether it received another grant this week from a “Safe Routes to School” initiative. If delivered, that grant would help link the sidewalk near the top of Church Hill Road to the intersecting sidewalk at Main Street. Mrs Llodra told The Bee that while this is one of the shortest lengths of sidewalk she wants to see completed, it will be one of the most challenging because of the engineering required to fit the walkway into the steep bank at the busy intersection.

The Safe Routes grant would also be enough to complete a sidewalk down Queen Street from Glover Avenue to the intersection of Mile Hill Road, according to officials.

Safe Routes to School is an international movement promoting walking and bicycling to school by supporting efforts to make it safe, convenient, and fun for children to do so. When routes are safe, walking or biking to and from school is an easy way to get the regular physical exercise that children need for a healthy lifestyle according to its Connecticut portal, ctsaferoutes.org.

The town hopes to receive $500,000 of the $2 million available in the region from the Safe Routes program — $300,000 for the 3,600 feet along Queen Street, with the balance covering the Church Hill Road section.

Town Land Use Director George Benson said a long section of gravel walkway could be created between the intersection of Route 34 at Wasserman Way up to the Reed School, which could be converted to paved surfaces as funds became available. He also said a stretch from Sandy Hook Center to Newtown High School was in the final phase of the “loop” plan, because it also presented a number of engineering and logistical challenges.