Garder Road Will Finally Be Repaved

On Thursday night, the Planning & Zoning Commission issued the final approval needed under the Scenic Road Ordinance for a stretch of Garder Road — from Applegate Lane to Pepper Street — to be repaved.

The approval was made unanimously with conditions. Among them the commission decided the guide rail along a portion of the narrow road with be made of wood, not steel.

Commissioners also recommended a coat of pavement that looks like gravel and recommended that the Town Council address what type of gravel should be used on scenic roads in its ordinance.

The commission also recommends that no yellow striping is done, but determined that is a police matter.

Steve Kirsch, who lives on Applegate Lane, told Patch Garder Road has never been striped.

Town Engineer Scott Schatzlein has said he wants to pursue minimal improvements to protect the condition of Garder Road, while making it safer for drivers.

The project will rebuild the road's base and widen it to 22 feet. Connecticut highway standards call for roads to be a minimum of 32-feet-wide, but Schatzlein said Garder Road has less than 600 vehicles driving on it per day, exempting it from those guidelines. The 20 mph speed limit will remain the same.

The width of the road currently varies in places from 14 to 20 feet, according to Schatzlein.

A Public Works crew had already started to re-pave the stretch of Garder Road last year, but the first selectman halted the project when it was found that the town was not following the approval process outlined by the Scenic Road Ordinance.

Schatzlein, who is also the town land use director, then presented the DPW application to the Inland Wetlands Commission, Town Council and P&Z for the needed approvals.