Noting some “obvious missing pieces” of sidewalks in the borough, Board of Burgesses ad hoc committee members were tasked with considering areas for expansion.

Residents were invited to hear their findings at a special meeting on Thursday, March 5, as they discussed 16 locations where sidewalks can be added.

Three projects ranked highest: two in the Queen Street area — from the Queen Street Gifts shop entrance and around the corner to Church Hill Road and from Queen Street down to Grand Place past the Glover Avenue intersection — and a stretch of new sidewalk on Sugar Street, Burgess and committee member Chris Gardner would explain later in the meeting.

Gardner said, “The order in which projects were listed was random in terms of ranking.” The committee then prioritized the top three projects based on construction costs, pedestrian safety, environmental and aesthetic impact, and the potential for alternate funds, among other values.

He said, “The areas down Sugar Street would serve many and be a convenience to the user. Areas around Queen Street and Church Hill Road would see a lot of use.”

The Queen Street projects would also improve safety in areas lacking crosswalks, Gardner said. Linking Sugar Street to Main Street “serves neighborhoods,” and reaches many residents, he said.

“We’re almost at a point where we realized our goal” to identify areas within the borough that may be considered for sidewalks, warden Jay Maher said.

As stated in meeting minutes, “Over many years residents have approached the [Board of Burgesses] for construction of additional sidewalks and the annual budgeted amount will not cover costs,” Maher had said. The ad hoc committee was formed to “entertain the value of additional sidewalk construction.”

The next step is to bring the ad hoc committee’s findings to the Board of Burgesses at its April meeting, Maher said. “We wish to go before burgesses in April with the idea of projects we want to do and make a request for money — $100,000 is what we are considering asking to start.” The borough has received more than $250,000 in building fees in past years, the minutes state, and a general fund also contains resources.

“That’s the big question — how much money the borough wants to allocate,” Gardner said.

Maher said, “We are excited about a capital expenditure on sidewalks in the next fiscal year, which we hope is received by the burgesses and accepted.”

“I would love to get something started,” possibly this fiscal year, Gardner said.

“The committee was formed to look at what’s out there and prioritize, and how much can we put aside without financial harm,” Gardner said. “It’s time to do something with the money and make reinvestments back into the borough.”

With funds available, Gardner said, “The next step would be to make some nice enhancements.”

“If the proposal is well received,” it goes before the Planning and Zoning Commission, and will hopefully be included in the Plan of Conservation and Development, Maher said.

Walk The Walk

Maher opened the meeting with a brief background on sidewalks, saying the borough has “always budgeted money and could do small sections of sidewalk,” or receive help from the town or through grant money to do sidewalk work.

According to meeting minutes, the borough annually budgets approximately $10,000 to $20,000 for sidewalk installation and renovation.

Maher continued to explain that the borough has more than $250,000 in fees over the past several years, and a general fund also holds additional resources, the minutes state.

The committee’s objective is to “look at all possible locations for sidewalks for pedestrian use,” Maher said.

The committee and several burgesses aimed that evening to “present what we have and get feedback,” Maher said.

Still under consideration are project funding, sources of funding in addition to borough money, and possibilities for receiving town or grant funds.

Going In Several Directions

Ad hoc committee member Charles Zukowski ran through a brief slideshow highlighting areas identified for sidewalk extensions.

The group has identified “16 projects to focus as a starting point,” Zukowski said.

With existing sidewalks already presenting a “good core,” in the borough, he said expansions can go in several directions.

Looking at Church Hill Road heading toward the Citgo gas station, the committee sees “an obvious missing piece,” where new sidewalk stretches could go, Zukowski said.

He next mentioned a “Currituck connector” and extending a sidewalk on the east side of Main Street past Schoolhouse Hill Road.

A third location is in the Sugar Street/Route 302 area where “a large number of borough residents could easily be connected,” as far as Juniper Street in a project potentially done in stages, he said. Juniper is located just past Ram Pasture on the left, heading away from the Main Street intersection. Extending walkways to Juniper “would make a lot of difference,” he said.

A fourth location is the Queen Street entrance. Zukowski noted the “little gap” at Queen Street and Church Hill Road which is “missing a crosswalk and missing a sidewalk in each direction.” There is also a lapse of sidewalk in front of the gift shop and the corner, where “not much is needed,” to add. With those additions, “middle schoolers could get to the orthodontist,” Zukowski said.

Also in that vicinity is a section of sidewalk that could turn the corner from Queen Street toward the Caraluzzi’s parking lot entrance off Church Hill Road.

He then talked about the “Pleasance gap,” where an extension of sidewalk could be added from Main Street near the police department and The Pleasance at the corner of Main and Sugar streets.

The location is “challenging because parking is tight at Town Hall South,” [the Newtown Police Department building], Zukowski said. “But the police department is moving, so I am not sure what the future holds.”

A sixth identified location is on The Boulevard, where sidewalks are started heading away from the street’s Church Hill Road intersection. He said it would be “natural to continue to Schoolhouse Hill to access shopping districts,” Zukowski said.

Connecting Newtown Middle School on Queen Street to Grand Place is a seventh location that could use a length of sidewalk “to get pedestrians past a confusing intersection,” he said. Grand Place sits just beyond the intersection where Queen Street and Glover Avenue meet.

An extension to this piece of sidewalk is to “go further to Borough Lane,” which meets Queen Street before its intersection with Wasserman Way, and is the “end of the borough,” Zukowski said. Borough Lane off Queen Street is a borough boundary.

Johnny Cake Lane, off Route 25, is an eighth location where sidewalks on Main Street could “keep going,” Zukowski said.

A post office shortcut on the south side of Church Hill Road near St Rose Church could use “a little more sidewalk to get to Commerce Road,” he said. That location, which would pass below the train bridge, has its challenges, he said.

Tenth on the list was a lack of sidewalk behind the Meeting House on West Street. A “hazardous area,” Zukowski said; there is motivation “to have a sidewalk up to the Congregational Church.” From the church property, pedestrians could access Nettleton Preserve trails. A little additional sidewalk “extends hikeable areas,” he said.

Dickinson Park access is number 11. “The idea is to get pedestrian access to Dickinson,” Zukowski said, which is “not too far from the sidewalk on South Main Street.” Another crosswalk would be needed. “Another possibility” is to cross Route 302 and walk down Elm Street to get there, he said.

The new Hook & Ladder Fire Company firehouse on Church Hill Road is a twelfth spot. From the sidewalk there, walkers “need a little more sidewalk to get up to the flagpole,” Zukowski said. “But the slope is steep and you might need a retaining wall.”

Finally, Zukowski named a thirteenth area past Johnny Cake Lane along Route 6 another “challenging area.” He said, “If you could build a sidewalk to Reservoir Road,” it would connect to a residential neighborhood and potentially connect to walking trails at the end of Reservoir Road.

Bringing the list to 16 were a few sub-listings: 4A is the idea “to get that corner connected” from the gift shop to Church Hill Road; 3A to connect from the police department to Juniper Road where there are wet areas and “potential utility issues,” Zukowski said; and 7A to connect Newtown Middle School with Grand Place. A function of this sidewalk would connect Grand Place to the main shopping district, he said.

Meeting minutes and a map of proposed sidewalk locations are posted at newtown-ct.gov.