The Borough Board of Burgesses hosted a regular meeting on Tuesday, July 8. The burgesses continued their discussion about traffic safety on Main Street and around the flagpole. Last meeting, June 10, Warden Jay Maher read a letter from a concerned resident out loud.

Karen Banks, the author of the letter, stated that she had many concerns about the safety of pedestrians in the flagpole area and was wondering what the Borough and Newtown could do to calm traffic.

Many of the burgesses threw ideas out to each other, like the possibility of a rumble strip to deter motorists from passing on the right and requesting more police presence in the area.

Maher said he was going to attend the Police Commission meeting in July to request more police presence, “however, the Police Commission did not meet on July first,” Maher told Banks, who was in attendance at the meeting.

Banks said, “I will plan to be at the [next] Police Commission meeting as well, and as you saw when I was there, they referred me to here because of the government of the Borough and that the town can’t do certain things within the Borough’s jurisdiction unless the Borough makes a recommendation to the town. So, here I am.”

Banks added that she really likes Senior Burgess Chris Gardner’s recommendation of the rumble strip and said, “Do it already!” She included a brief story of seeing a police cruiser by the Meeting House and noticed people slowing down, but more importantly, no one was passing on the right.

Gardner added that the Legislative Council has looked at the possibility of adding speed cameras throughout town, but that has people divided.

“We need an ordinance first,” Gardner said. “I know the chief is in favor of it. I’ve talked to several residents in the Borough and outside of the Borough who would also like to see that happen. Obviously for traffic safety, very important, generate some much needed revenue for the community.”

Burgess Jim Gaston said that the speed of traffic has been out of control.

“I’m surprised we haven’t had a disaster, and I hope we can do something to prevent it,” Banks said. She also discussed crosswalks briefly, saying that the moveable signs are okay, but noted that one of the signs at the flagpole has been laying on Trinity Episcopal Church’s property for a few days. She said she would like to see if something like the flashing lights on the crosswalk signs on Glover could be added to the crosswalks in front of Edmond Town Hall and around the flagpole.

Gardner suggested lowering the speed limit in the area of the flagpole to hopefully stop GPS navigation services, like Waze, from redirecting drivers through the center of town. He said, “If the speed limit here is too low, it will keep people on the highway because it’s actually faster, even in traffic, to stay on the highway.”

Newtown Seeking Cultural District Starting In The Borough

Betsy Paynter, vice chair of Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, and Laura Lerman, chairman of Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, were also in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Lerman and Paynter explained to the burgesses that the two are looking to create a cultural district in Newtown that would encompass the artistic centers, businesses, and public art on a map for visitors to have and use to explore Newtown.

The state created cultural districts in 2021, starting with Ridgefield, and now has eight or nine in total. The state defines cultural districts as “a compact area that’s easy to walk,” Lerman said. She explained that the small group of six volunteers has identified about 25 locations that could be included.

“Tourism is Connecticut’s number one marketing vehicle, so the arts district, or cultural district, is valuable for communities…Art brings affluence to communities. A lot of the times, art helps to inject energy, to bring communities back to life, but a lot of times, arts and communities just elevate the town,” Paynter said.

Paynter then mentioned some assets of Newtown, such as the Arts Festival, the music festival, the Labor Day Parade, the Liberty and Peace Monument, and the sculpture at Glover Road. Paynter said she and Lerman were looking for the Borough’s blessing to go forward with the application.

“There are two things we wanted you to know,” Lerman told the burgesses, “it will cost nothing and it’s all done by volunteers.”

Paynter said that the cultural district will “really put Newtown on the map.” Lerman added that this distinction can help the town get grants.

Paynter closed her discussion with, “That’s who we are. I mean, if you look at all of our assets, we really are a cultural district because we’ve been doing it all along.”

The burgesses then put it to a vote, which passed unanimously. A public information session is being planned for late August/early September for those interested in learning more.

Continued Discussion On E-Bike Ordinance, Other Borough News

Gaston prepared a draft of an ordinance banning the use of electric bikes (e-bikes) on sidewalks following a discussion at the June 10 meeting. Concerns were raised about the safety of pedestrians and the speed of the new-age bicycles.

Gaston’s draft was approved unanimously with the amendment that he will add electric scooters to the language. Burgess Maureen Crick Owen wanted to wait to bring this to the Legislative Council Ordinance Committee, but Gardner explained that subcommittee is “slammed.”

After the discussion of the ordinance, the burgesses then discussed seating Sara Frampton as an alternate to the Borough Zoning Commission. Maher read Frampton’s letter to the board.

“I believe in the character of the town, and the Borough is the heart of it all. You need to look at the decisions being made, not at how they will impact the one presenting, [but] with the character of the Borough as a whole. I know we need to grow and change with the times, but we don’t need to lose ourselves while doing it,” Frampton wrote.

There was a brief discussion about who Frampton would directly replace, then a vote was taken. Frampton was seated unanimously.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.