Step-By-Step Sidewalk Project Gets Underway

By Steve Bigham

Borough officials Joan Crick and Jay Maher held an impromptu ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the completion of a small sidewalk project along Main Street.

The Connecticut Bomanite Company put the 100 feet of new sidewalk down after pulling up a section of old, worn-out sidewalk on November 10. Although the project touched just the tip of the iceberg (there is plenty more to do), both Mrs Crick and Mr Maher felt it was cause for excitement. They hope it is the beginning of something big.

The sidewalk area, located in front of 48 Main Street (across the street from the General Store), was considered to be in the worst shape of any within the Borough.

“We plan to complete a new section of sidewalk in the Borough every year,” explained Mr Maher, who has headed the Borough Board of Burgesses’ sidewalk committee. Mrs Crick is the Borough warden.

The plan to do a little at a time is a relatively new plan for the Borough. At one time, there was talk about doing the entire sidewalk job at once. However, the Borough only has so much money. The bulk of the money needs to come from the town, which recently put the project on its five-year Capital Improvement (CIP) plan. The plan remains on hold due to lack of funding. The Legislative Council is not expected to make any final decision until other pending expenses, such as Fairfield Hills, are resolved.

The Borough’s overall plan is to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment within the center of town. To do that, it has proposed the repair of existing sidewalks and the addition of an additional 3,500 feet of sidewalk within an inner-loop of the Borough. The new five-foot wide concrete sidewalks would be built 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 would connect with existing sidewalks on the upper part of Main Street. The total project is estimated to cost $200,000, 75 percent of which the town has been asked to pay.

The cost for this most recent project will be paid for by the state with Local Capital Improvement money. The state approved that funding 10 years ago and the Borough is finally taking advantage of it.

Newtown Savings Bank recently aided the sidewalk renewal project by laying bomanite sidewalk in front of its Main Street office. Other residents and organizations, including the Board of Managers in front of Edmond Town hall, have also taken on the cause themselves, although some have used different material, such as brick and cement. The Borough will do the rest using bomanite, a cement-like product that looks like a stone sidewalk when it is installed.

“Everything we do on Main Street will be consistent with this medium,” Mr Maher said.

The Legislative Council has indicated it would like to see some financial support for the sidewalks from local businesses. However, Mr Maher said it has been difficult to raise funds because sidewalks are viewed as a responsibility of the local government.

The town did fund a $10,500 engineering study of the Borough sidewalks, which was completed earlier this year.