Date: Fri 19-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

borough-street-lights-sidewalk

Full Text:

Main Street Is A Little Brighter At Night

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Main Street at night now has a new yellowish glow due to changes in its

lighting. Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) has installed sodium-based street

lights which are expected to improve visibility for motorists.

The yellow lights stretch from Blackman Road to Borough Lane -- the length of

the town's borough. Even the lights on the flagpole are now yellow.

Some of the lights have been made brighter, as well, especially those lights

in front of Edmond Town Hall.

"In the town hall area, we raised the lumens about three times what it was to

make it brighter. It was all done in the past two months," noted borough

warden Joan Crick.

Town officials hope this will alleviate some of the dangers associated with

high levels of pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic in the area at night. The

increased lighting, coupled with the placement of barrels in the center of the

road, should make the area safer for those who walk across the busy road, Mrs

Crick said.

The street lighting on Main Street falls under the care of the Borough Board

of Burgesses. Mrs Crick said she worked closely with CL&P to assure that the

lighting was uniform throughout the borough.

The dangers for pedestrians on Main Street at night were highlighted last

October when Newtown resident Will Toll was struck and killed as he attempted

to cross the road in front of Edmond Town Hall.

"We're going to address the other areas of the borough to increase the lumens

and put in some lights where there aren't any. Our next light project is

Church Hill Road," Mrs Crick said.

Borough Sidewalks

The borough sidewalk project remains a top priority for the Borough Board of

Burgesses, reports sidewalk committee co-chairman Jay Maher of Glover Avenue.

The board is currently coming up with cost figures and determining how much

money it can raise from local businesses. From there, it will go before the

Legislative Council for funding.

Early estimates show the sidewalk "loop" would cost in the area of $200,000.

The Burgesses, hoping to make the center of town more pedestrian-friendly,

first proposed the concept to the Board of Selectmen nearly two years ago. The

original plan was to add an additional 3,500 feet of five-foot wide concrete

sidewalk within an "inner-loop" of the borough. The stretch of sidewalk would

be built along the southern part of the eastern side of Main Street (525

feet), along the north side of Glover Avenue (1,250 feet), the west side of

Queen Street (800 feet) and then up Church Hill Road on the north side (875

feet). The Hawley School PTA has requested the strip between Hawley School on

Church Hill Road and the Queen Street intersection also be re-done.

The preliminary civil engineering and architectural drawings have been

completed -- at a cost of $10,500 to the town. Financing for the project

itself still has to be worked out. Mr Maher expects the borough to raise 20

percent of the cost through private funds. The borough has requested that the

town fund $125,000 of it through Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP)

funds. LoCIP funds are made up mostly of state sales taxes.

Betsy Kenyon also serves as co-chairman of the sidewalk committee.