Create A Downtown At Fairfield Hills

To the Editor:

Let’s create a downtown at Fairfield Hills! There is a key element that is missing from the plans to date. A downtown area!

Yes, we have our majestic Main Street, however, we have no downtown; no place to meet our friends and neighbors and to create a community spirit which transcends from having a real downtown.

Recently I had the privilege of hearing a speaker from Yale University come to Ridgefield, where my business is. Alan Plattus, a professor of urbanism at the Yale School of Architecture, spoke about the importance of Main Streets and downtowns to communities. Mr Plattus explained how a well planned and designed downtown area does impact the quality of life and economy of towns everywhere in America.

May I suggest to the Board of Selectmen and the Design Committee to consider the following points:

Everywhere we go in town is a destination, which creates enormous volumes of traffic. Look what has happened off Exit 10. It was written about in the News- Times recently as one of the worst areas of traffic and accidents in the state.

We must drive everywhere: the dry cleaners, grocery store, hardware store, drug store, bank, and post office. Everywhere is a driving destination!

Traffic will continue to get worse as more destinations are created over the coming years. More accidents, more traffic tie-ups! Because of more destinations!

When and where do we see our neighbors, our friends? Let’s meet downtown!

Most anywhere you go today the following statement applies. “A successful towns center is the heart of a community!”

A downtown is where we meet our neighbors, shop, dine, and stroll. A downtown is where we stroll hand-in-hand with our children, where our children create memories. All of us can think back to our childhoods and remember countless times as to our memories on Main Street, if we lived in a town with one!

Look how great a location Fairfield Hills is! The High School at one end and the Reed Intermediate School at the other! We have exposure to thousands of residents daily! It is near Exit 11 for convenience to the highway, so access is tremendously great!

The town has control over its development style and type of uses! You can direct and choose the design, while working with potential developers.

Health benefit: Imagine a downtown as a place where young and old alike walk, run, jog, and stroll to exercise our bodies and minds. It can happen in Newtown!

Financially, a great investment! In Ridgefield, the real estate on Main Street within the central business district and only including the area that is well known as downtown is assessed at $60 million not including the personal property taxes. This area is the third largest taxpayer to the town and pays in excess of $1.25 million annually.

Let’s encourage our town planners and Board of Selectmen to consider a portion of Fairfield Hills as our new downtown! Not just a few shops in just a couple of buildings as I have seen mentioned. I would encourage you to take a downtown like Ridgefield and replicate it. Our new downtown! Once you accomplish this, you can then create our ball fields, parks, housing for the elderly, and so many countless more uses.

Bernadette & Wayne Addessi

Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown                            December 30, 2003