How Many Accidents Will It Take?
To The Editor:
In my previous letter to the Bee, I protested the idea of a “concrete corridor” on Mount Pleasant Road which will occur if P&Z grants a request for re-zoning of a parcel of land on Mt Pleasant near the Bethel border so that a developer can build 300 apartment units which would include affordable housing. One of the reasons for my objection was that of safety and the hazardous conditions in this locale, namely, a narrow curving road with sun glare. My Liberty neighbor, Ray Bigelis, suggested we rename that stretch of Mt Pleasant the “car crash corridor.” This is not the first accident to occur here.
On November 13, my husband and I were two cars behind a two car crash as we headed east on Stony Hill Rd, yards from the Newtown border on Mount Pleasant at the exact locale for the apartments under consideration. My first reaction as we waited for ambulances and police to appear was “I hope no one was seriously injured” but then I turned to my husband and said, “well, this will certainly make our point about the safety and the potential for more accidents.”
I repeat: How many accidents will it take for this re-zoning proposal to be turned down?
I implore the Planning and Zoning Board to deny the flawed proposal under consideration. The health and safety of Newtown residents and its neighbors in Bethel are of the utmost importance.
Beth Holland
Newtown
Real people were just in a frightening car accident. To immediately frame their misfortune as rhetorical ammunition against new housing — affordable housing included — feels less like concern for “health and safety” and more like opportunistically using a scary moment to support a pre-existing position.
If we’re going to debate this proposal, we should do it honestly: with data on traffic volume, accident history, engineering recommendations, and the town’s housing needs, not by seizing on a single crash as proof that 300 apartments are inherently unsafe.
Newtown deserves a thoughtful, fact-based conversation about growth, safety, and affordability — one that doesn’t turn other people’s bad day into a political talking point.