Letter: Selectmen's Concerns on Hoyt Street Sidewalk Unfounded

Editor's Note: The following letter was submitted by author and RTM member Holly Schulz to the Darien Board of Selectmen on Monday afternoon.

To the Board of Selectmen,

I have been very troubled by the lack of actual progress on the Hoyt Street Sidewalk initiative. Neighbors and other residents continue to contact me to voice their support, yet based on my viewing of your discussion of the Public Works Budget on 01 February 2011, it seems that the predominant concerns and costs being associated with this project by the Board are unsubstantiated.  

MAIN CONCERNS DISCUSSED BY DARIEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN REGARDING HOYT STREET SIDEWALK TO TRAIN STATION:

1. It doesn’t make sense to pursue this without New Canaan’s participation.
2. It’s a State Road, so it will be too difficult to get the State DOT’s approval.
3. It’s too expensive… maybe $300,000?… so it is essentially a half-million-dollar project.

To try to frame this project based on facts rather than conjecture, I’d like to address a few of your previously stated concerns by comparing the desired stretch of sidewalk for Hoyt Street here in Darien to a very similar recently completed sidewalk project in New Canaan.  I’ve researched the New Canaan project timeline and cost, and the results are as follows:

1. IDEA & ANALYSIS

New Canaan’s Public Works Department proactively identified an approx. 2000’ (0.4 mile) stretch of South Avenue (Route 124, a State road) where pedestrians would routinely walk in the street to get to the park and YMCA, as well as to the schools and downtown.  They ran a ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ initiative to survey the residents to help pinpoint where sidewalk was needed.  The First Selectman of New Canaan overwhelmingly supported this effort from the beginning, and the proposal easily passed the Town Plan review, as it fit perfectly with the town’s previously stated accessibility goals. 

The stretch of Hoyt Street (Route 106, also a State road) from Leeds Lane to Barringer Road, where sidewalk is needed for Darien residents to access the train station, is also approx. 2000’ (0.4 mile). New Canaan’s First Selectman has visited the site more than once now to discuss how to address the safety issues, and immediately following his first visit crosswalks were painted at the intersection to assist. New Canaan’s Public Works Department has already evaluated their portion of this project and they seem poised to proceed if/when Darien is ready to pursue this project and funding is allocated. 

2. STATE APPROVALS

The State DOT Maintenance and Traffic Garage was contacted by New Canaan and advised of their project (since a portion of the planned sidewalk landed within the State right-of-way). New Canaan stated their intention to be solely responsible for the ownership and maintenance of the proposed sidewalks, and as they use State-approved details for all of their sidewalk construction plans, the design already met State requirements. The DOT approved and the project proceeded.

State officials have visited the Hoyt Street site with State Rep. Terrie Wood, so they are aware of the project and have provided Darien with their standard sidewalk construction details and some survey information. Senator Bob Duff, a member of the Transportation Committee, has pledged his support as well. The understanding is that if Darien funds and manages the project to State specifications then the sidewalk will be easily approved.

3. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

New Canaan’s project (from concept through construction) ran from late 2008 through the spring of 2009.  They had an existing road bond for repaving from which they were able to attain funds for the needed sidewalk. The initial land Survey (< $5k) and Engineering (< $5k) was done by Cabezas-DeAngelis of Bridgeport.  The construction (approx. $10/sq.ft. for a 5’wide x 2000’long walk) was done by FGB Construction of Norwalk.  A timber rail to separate the walk from the road was installed by Gannon Fence of New Canaan.

A letter from a concerned neighbor was first sent to the Darien Board of Selectmen back in 2004 regarding the dangerous pedestrian conditions for commuters going to Talmadge Hill Station. Subsequent letters were sent to the Darien BoS and the State DOT, calls were made to the Darien Police Department regarding traffic controls, and residents appeared at BoS meetings to communicate the severity of the problem. To date there hasn’t been a design documented, a survey run, or competitive engineering estimates sought for the Hoyt Street sidewalk. Using only the numbers from the New Canaan sidewalk project, it would not be unreasonable to assume that a similar project on Hoyt Street would not go over $150k in total cost (without adding in any special circumstances specific to the Hoyt project).

In summary, it seems clear to me that without your commitment to request actual competitive quotes on the Hoyt Street sidewalk job from engineers, surveyors and contractors with experience doing this type of work, your stated reluctance to proceed based on cost is not valid.  Concerns about the State and New Canaan also seem to be unwarranted as both have actually been much more proactive regarding pursuing and supporting pedestrian access in recent years than Darien has been.  Please support the desire of residents to make pedestrian safety a top priority.  The fact that it took New Canaan less than one year from inception to completion for a similar project demonstrates that the Hoyt Street sidewalk should not be as complicated or time consuming as some may believe.

Respectfully submitted,

Holly Schulz, RA, LEED AP

RTM District 1

NOTE:  All residents are invited to provide their input on sidewalks; please respond to the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dariensidewalks (results will be delivered to the Darien Public Works Department and the Board of Selectmen).  Thank you.