Sandy Hook Streetscape Plans

Submitted For State Review

By Andrew Gorosko

The town has submitted for state review final plans for a Sandy Hook Center beautification project, designed to improve the appearance of a section of Church Hill Road, with the goal of attracting visitors and boosting retail and dining activity in the compact commercial district.

Landscape architect Jane Didona of Didona Associates of Danbury said March 28 that the final plans for improvements to Church Hill Road were submitted for state Department of Transportation (DOT) review last week. Didona Associates designed the improvements for Church Hill Road, which is a state road.

Church Hill Road improvements are planned for the section of that street lying between its intersection with Dayton Street and the bridge that crosses above the Pootatuck River.

Ms Didona said that the if the DOT’s approvals are made as expected, construction work along Church Hill Road could start by mid-June. The Church Hill Road work would be completed before next winter.

The project includes the installation of new sidewalks, curbing, decorative street lighting, and crosswalks, plus landscaping elements. The work is keyed to improving pedestrian mobility and safety, as well as improving the area’s appearance and functioning, with the goal of revitalizing and economically stimulating the commercial hamlet.

As part of the Church Hill Road improvements, 13 existing perpendicular parking spaces along the street would be eliminated, Ms Didona said. Those spaces are situated along both sides of the street.

The project specifies paint striping to delineate 41 parallel parking spaces along the street, she said. Currently, parallel parking in the area is casual, without demarcation.

 The streetscape project includes the installation of 11 lightposts along the Church Hill Road curbline. The 11-foot-tall black lightposts would support metallic-halide lighting fixtures which would cast white light for decorative effect. Existing streetlights mounted on utility poles in the area would remain in place.

New sidewalks would be constructed of concrete and would simulate red bricks, minimizing sidewalk maintenance, Ms Didona said. Sidewalks would be five feet wide.

Planning for the overall $1.25 million Sandy Hook Center beautification project has been underway for several years.

Future Improvements

Besides the Church Hill Road improvements, plans call for future improvements to sections of Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road, all of which intersect with Church Hill Road at a traffic signal in Sandy Hook Center.

The project does not include new traffic signals at that four-way intersection, nor a realignment of that intersection, which has poor sight lines for motorists and pedestrians.

Town officials had researched the cost of burying existing overhead utility lines as part of the beautification work, but deemed that work to be prohibitively expensive.

While new sidewalks would be extended along both sides of Church Hill Road as part of the public improvements, each of the three other streets would receive new sidewalks only along one side of the street.

A sidewalk would be extended along the eastern side of Washington Avenue from the four-way intersection to Washington Avenue’s intersection with Crestwood Drive.

A sidewalk would be extended along the southern side of Riverside Road from the four-way intersection to the driveway entrance to the Villa Restaurant and Pizza at 4 Riverside Road.

Also, a sidewalk would be extended along the western side of Glen Road from the four-way intersection to the antique bridge that links Glen Road to the turnaround circle at the end of Dayton Street. That bridge formerly carried vehicular traffic, but is now used as a pedestrian span.

Conceptual plans for improvements to Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road will be presented to state transportation officials for review.

The overall $1.25 million streetscape project would be jointly covered by federal, state, and town funds. The federal share for the work would be $620,000; the state would cover $475,000 of the costs; and the town would assume the remaining $155,000.

A $475,000 state grant will cover the Church Hill Road section of the project, as well as the design work for the improvements to be made to sections of the three other streets.

The streetscape project is designed to create a positive image for the area and to help increase the value of properties there. The work is intended to attract residents and visitors to the area by enhancing its village ambience. The streetscape project is intended to improve pedestrian mobility, encourage economic growth, improve the area’s appearance, and reduce traffic congestion.

During the past several years, private property owners have made a range of physical improvements at their Sandy Hook Center real estate. Both new development and redevelopment have occurred.

In 2002, the town extended United Water’s public water supply to Sandy Hook Center. In 1997, the town extended sanitary sewers there.

In 1995, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) created Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) zoning to permit mixed land uses and to foster the creation of pedestrian amenities and adequate parking.