Connectivity In Norwalk, The Master Plan

So many questions, so little time, in a way development in Norwalk has been like a Willie Wonka experiment, bit by bit things happen and everyone wants to know why and when. The Norwalk Redevelopment Agency wants to change all that, and so they’ve started down the path of examining how all the redevelopment areas, which stretch from Wall Street down to the South Norwalk Train Station along the West Ave. corridor, should work together. The governmental way of looking at it is called the Connectivity Master Plan.

In January a consultant was hired, Berger Group, to study Norwalk, the project plans, the assets, and people to develop concepts that will make Norwalk a little more, er, connected. Think of it this way, when you ask new Norwalk residents where downtown is, you might get three different answer, with one being I don’t know. When you ask native Norwalkers the same question you might get four different answers with one of them being, Norwalk has three because…

But what if Norwalk, not the far in the future had one downtown? One that sort of connected two historic downtowns? That could be the goal of connecting the projects. The devil is in the details, and the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency has provided some of the details on their recently overhauled web site; www.norwalkredevelopmentagency.com.

According to Munro Johnson, “the central message is that this is a plan of major importance to our downtown, as it is the one and only multi-issue planning endeavor that will encompass the entirety of the downtown, including all the major projects on the boards.  We’d like as many people as care about the downtown to come out and participate.”

They’re serious about that last bit. On April 6th, they want you to particiapte with a community driven charrette on April 7th14th. You get to design, provide your comments, input and mad crayon skills, to the Connectivity Plan. Here’s your chance to be critical, enthusiastic, reflective or futuristic with how you see Norwalk connected. Check their website for times and location details.

UPDATE: The RDA has made April 6th a walkthrough and April 14th the date of the charrette.

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  • Al Raymond

    Ya know it`s funny how things work out. I saw in the Hour and the Advocate how Spinniaker is now a partner in the Clairol deal in Stamford. It just makes me so mad when I read stuff like that when here we are looking a t a big HOLE in the ground on West Ave. for years now. He also made a deal in Bridgeport about a year or so ago. How about getting 95/7 out of the ground first and then moving on to other things. Or are we waiting for the tax payers of Norwalk to give up some moolaa first. I sure hope not cause I think the tax payers of Norwalk have given up alot already . Anyway It would be GREAT to see some movement in getting all the development started and keep moving until there all done and we can enjoy the fruit of all the labor. Some time in my life time would be nice.

  • http://routefriend.com David Marcus

    Here’s some connectivity ideas to get the discussion started.

    * Improved crossing of West Ave in front of Lockwood Mathews. ( http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/livablenorwalk/west-ave-in-front-of-lockwood-mathews )
    * Extension of Norwalk River Valley Trail north from Union Park past Belden Ave, with a bridge over the Norwalk River to Fair St.
    * A river walk along the Norwalk River from Wall St to the US-7
    * Simplified intersection at Washington St / Water St with crosswalks on all 4 sides.
    * Improved walkability of West Ave through the I-95 interchange, including:
    – better sidewalks and more attractive streetscape.
    – modification of on-ramp to I-95 and US-7 to be an intersection and to enable safe left-turn access from West Ave southbound.
    * Completion of Pine St extension to Reed St in SoNo.
    * Designated, signed bike route from SoNo to Wall St along Crescent St -> Harbor St -> Harbor Ave -> Commerce St.
    * Ramp from the sidewalk on I-95 across the Norwalk River down to the Perez trail near Crescent St.
    * Add access points to Perez trail from Water St at the new RR underpass and from in front of the Maritime development.

  • Al Raymond

    Mr Marcus All of these ideas are great ,only one has raised a red flag here and that is Pine st I`am okay with it as long as you don`t go near the cemetery if anyone goes close to it then , well lets just say things won`t go well. The other thing who is going to pay for all of these great things ? The tax payers I don`t think so , How about the developers of all these projects give back to Norwalk ?

    • http://routefriend.com David Marcus

      Don’t worry, Al. I’m speaking of Pine St south of Reed St heading into SoNo.

  • Park Ave, Boardwalk, ding ding and their off…

    Think Fowler, Wise, Selgison and the K2 crew are doubling down.
    What a race this is folks, K2 crew has the lead, Fowler and Wise are breaking from the back, Seligson is falling back….
    Lights, Camera, Action!!

  • kylej

    Those are all great items David, that Reed St. underpass is pretty much finished I hope it opens soon.

    Getting the Norwalk River Valley trail going is also good, currently the paved trail north of the intersection at the Lockwood is useless because crossing that intersection on a bike is a nightmare. Fix that and you have a path to sono through oystershell park. Extend it north over the river and people will actually start using it and reducing traffic.

  • http://www.pluranomics.com Doug Wolkon

    Do’s
    1. Re-allocate all proposed public spending for the 4 ill-conceived “public/private” redevelopment projects to create a plan that can be completed in a 2-year time period. With that said, make renewable energy, trains, walking and local food distribution the key to the plan.
    2. Connect the Sono Train Station to Wall Street via a vintage trolley car that runs all day long between the 2 points. Complete bike and walking paths alongside tracks.
    3. Use eminent domain to condemn the 95/7 site and create the Northeast regions first solar-covered farmers market and public venue. The trolley car will make one stop at the Farmers Market which will also provide access to the YMCA and Children’s museum.

    Don’ts
    1. Don’t stay the course
    2. Don’t pay any more consultants anymore money. Publish the total spending of the 10-year long redevelopment plan to date.
    3. Don’t build anymore parking for cars.