Stratford committee presses town to fill sidewalk gaps as greenway nears spring completion

The Housatonic Greenway Complete Streets subcommittee on Jan. 3 received updates showing major construction work is largely done but small sidewalk gaps remain that committee members say create safety and accessibility risks.

Susmita Tata, the town planner, told the subcommittee that traffic-engineering comments have come back on the 30% designs for Complete Streets phase 2 (Barrick Avenue intersection to Perez Green) and that consultants are addressing them. "We received traffic engineering comments for our 30% designs on phase 2 of Complete Streets," Tata said, and the committee was invited to two outreach sessions — one with landlords and businesses and a second, later session for residents.

John Casey, who the committee said works daily with contractors and consultants on the projects, said construction is in a winter shutdown and that "the Complete Streets, phase 1 project, is probably about 40% complete at this point," with most curbs, sidewalks and tree plantings in place and final striping, signage and painting planned for spring.

Committee members pressed on two short missing sidewalk segments — roughly a 15-foot gap near Birds Eye and a four-property stretch on Elm Street — arguing those interruptions make the overall route unusable for wheelchair users and pose a safety hazard. "You can't just stop a greenway in the middle of nowhere and have those interruptions because that becomes then the most dangerous part of a greenway," the chair said, adding that "that section where it stops for 20 feet becomes, you know, a terror zone." Members said the gaps undercut the accessibility the project was meant to provide.

Project staff and the chair explained the gaps resulted from earlier funding limits and local objections during past phases: some earlier grants focused on striping, and resident opposition years ago limited sidewalk placement in certain frontages. Committee members discussed options for funding the small infill work, including asking public works to reallocate maintenance funds, seeking town council line items during the upcoming budget cycle (which a member noted starts in two weeks for the fiscal year beginning July 1), or using in-lieu sidewalk fees from recent development.

Tom Dillon moved that the committee draft a short letter to the mayor's office, economic development and public works asking them to examine the option of finishing the two remaining Elm Street sections and to move the work up in priority; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The motion calls for a short Google Maps image showing the two sections to accompany the request and for the draft letter to be circulated to committee members for comment before finalizing.

Members also discussed steps to increase rider use and awareness — adopting a recognizable "Stratford Housatonic Greenway" logo, small wayfinding signs in the East Coast Greenway tradition, printed maps at trailheads, and a QR-code-enabled online map. The committee proposed asking for a modest line item (roughly $5,000 was discussed) to create a simple web/map tool as part of the annual report the committee plans to circulate by Feb. 1.

The committee agreed to seek a special in-person meeting on Feb. 7 to review 20%/30% plans for Paradise Green and other design details. Recording secretary Aileen Marsh said town hall is not set up for hybrid meetings and that special meetings must be held in a town building (they need not be recorded via town cameras), so the committee will work to reserve a suitable room and confirm presenter availability.

The meeting closed with a brief tribute to longtime Greenway volunteer Karen Rodia, who recently passed away; members asked to return to the next meeting with concrete ideas for honoring her work. The committee adjourned by voice vote.

The committee's next steps are to finalize and circulate the draft letter to the mayor/public works, pursue a Feb. 7 special meeting location and agenda, and include signage/map funding requests in the planned annual report to town council and public works.