Concerned Milldale Residents Seek Sidewalks/Crosswalks In Busy Southington Neighborhood

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A large group of neighbors in the Milldale section of town is urging local officials to extend and build new sidewalks/crosswalks on a busy stretch of state roadway.

At the Southington Town Council's last meeting on Nov. 24, Milldale resident Dr. Laura R. Triano spoke on behalf of 154 residents, some in attendance that night, urging the sidewalks as a means to improve safety in their neighborhood.

The road in question is Clark Street, which is also known as Route 509, a state roadway.

Triano, who is a physician living on Russell Road, went before the council during the audience of citizens portion of the meeting, submitting a petition with 154 signatures in the process.

She made a presentation to the council, which didn't comment or vote on the matter at the meeting.

This is because "Audience of Citizens" is only meant for the public to provide input, with any future action on the matter requiring inclusion on an upcoming council meeting agenda.

According to Triano, that particular stretch of roadway has become dangerous as development has increased.

As an example, she pointed out, schoolchildren are often traversing Clark Street when exiting/entering school buses multiple times in the day.

Plush, she said, folks living in the area have walking access to a nearby linear hiking/biking trail, but must navigate a busy roadway to get there.

Many residents, Triano said, must navigate the roadway to get their mail at a nearby post office.

Without sidewalks or even crosswalks, Triano and petition signers are hoping the town can budget and plan for sidewalks/crosswalks to improve safety there.

According to the submitted petition, signers are asking the town to "fund and install continuous public sidewalks and crosswalks on Clark Street (State Route 509) to improve safety, accessibility, public health and wellness, and community connectedness in our neighborhood."

Triano said other sections of town have had sidewalks installed, and Milldale sidewalks in that area are long overdue.

"Sidewalks elsewhere in town have been installed with grant funding or from budgets that result in no direct costs to adjacent property owners," Triano said before the council. "These same opportunities should be extended to the residents of Milldale.

"There are several hundred of us whose safety is adversely impacted every day by a lack of quality crosswalks and sidewalks on a high-traffic road in the center of our neighborhood," Triano continued. "It has been like this for many decades."

Southington Town Council Chairman Paul Chaplinsky Jr. thanked Triano for her presentation and said he would refer the situation and data submitted to the council's public works subcommittee.

"It's a committee that can take these types of things," said Chaplinsky.

From there, the committee could make a recommendation to the full town council, which could act on the measure sometime in the future.

The Southington Public Works Subcommittee, comprised of select council members, meets once per month.

For the minutes of the Nov. 24 Southington Town Council meeting as well as the petition submitted, click on this link.