It seems that there’s some hot hot hot issues in the comments, so reflect upon them here.
Another Open Thread
by turfgrrl
November 15th, 2007 · 22 Comments
Tags: In the News · Norwalk
22 Responses so far ↓ “Another Open Thread”
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I read in the Hour this morning that as part of the approval for the new office tower at Norden Park, the developers were going to install a traffic light at Beacon and Strawberry Hill Ave. Is this really necessary? The other traffic light is just feet away. It really makes no sense to have two lights so close to each other. Where a light is really needed is at Tierney and Strawberry Hill. Pulling out from Tierney onto Strawberry Hill is dangerous and an accident waiting to happen.
The traffic engineers are of the opinion that most cars will leave Norden park and turn left down Beacon. In the real world, probably half the cars will travel down Strawberry Hill Avenue out onto Westport Avenue or turn right on County Street to get to US1 and the parkway. I would love to have these traffic experts sit at the intersection of Tierney/Strawberry Hill and County/Strawberry Hill between 4 and 6 p.m. I think it would be an eye opener for them. But again, these are the same traffic experts who said Dunkin Doughnuts on Main Street wouldn’t cause any traffic problem!
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We already have above average traffic in and around Winfield Street as well as Strawberry Hill. I would ask that someone come out to the area in the morning hours between 7am and 9:30am and realize the problem for yourself. At the moment it is nothing less than a parking lot. Adding more traffic to an already congested area is just plain crazy. The developers are already aware of this problem in the fact that they are proposing another traffic light. This will not help the situation. There are already approx 7 traffice lights in the general vacinity Winfield/Norden/Strawberry Hill/East Ave and these do nothing to help the situation. With the business on Strawberry hill which is allowed 18 wheelers to completely stop traffice on Strawberry Hill to the traffic coming from Exit17 taking a shortcut to avoid highway traffic it just doesn’t make sense to add to an already congested area. Not to mention the school buses and work trucks that travel these roads as well as the commuters. I would hope that someone would begin to think of the quality of life in Norwalk. East Norwalk is a very small area and we have more than our share of traffic. Adding a new 4-story office building, and a proposal by the developer to double the office use permitted (from 30% to 60%) in existing buildings at 10 Norden Place (Gibbs College/Norden Systems site) is just more than this area can handle. Also take into consideration what this will do to the wetlands along the railroad tracks and the flooding issues already experienced by so many in and around this area. We are just adding insult to injury to not only East Norwalk but also to the Saugatuck area of Westport.
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Hang in there LT!!
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sounds like a good issue for Laurel to tackle!
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wait till the work starts on the bridge and the lane changes at the two gas stations in East Norwalk, you see how much goes into planning such events , it should get worse before it gets better.You would of thought that would of been read into these plans for the 4 story building.oooooooppps.
I’m also sure the dpw thought about the new construction where they just did all that paving, nothing is going to change at the end of the road? No utilities in the ground and drains will need work?
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Laurel won’t be able to do anything about this one. It will take the entire council to show an interest in quality of life issues. The zoning already approved this, now its up to the citizens to weigh in on it. Anyone who lives in the area will tell you just how hard it is to maneuver through East Norwalk and now they want to add insult to injury. When is someone going to do a real traffic study? The last traffic study was done in mid july when kids are out of school. I challenge anyone on this blog to come to East Norwalk in the mornings and see just how bad the situation is.
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Though I don’t live in E. Norwalk, I do have a child at Norwalk High, so I get to experience the problems first hand…This problem is epidemic; Route 7 up to Wilton is becoming so overloaded that the area is starting to look more like Yonkers than Norwalk. Wilton is now buliding a new office park on the Norwalk Line, and there is a brand new complex opening at the old Perkin-Elmer…So much for the master plan of preserving the character of neighberhoods….
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Where were all of you at yesterday’s public hearing? There were only a few of the familiar faces there. What do you expect if you don’t come to the public hearings to let the developers and their lawyers hear from you? It’s too late now on THIS issue….
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Please dont insult Yonkers like that.
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Indiga-according to information recieved, people were told that if you couldn’t make the meeting to please e-mail Mike Green with your concerns. Were these concerns passed on to the committee?
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I was at the zoning meeting and saw exactly 3 people speak who would be directly effected by this. Laurel was not included in that count. I find it hard to believe that a development in such close proximity to so many homes and their residents brought out more lawyers for the development then it did residents in the area. Nordens is also zoned for a “tank storage area.” I don’t think that could ever happen ever for spite as it would bring down the apocalypse. With no interest shown by the residents themselves, you can be sure that the developers will have a field day in Norwalk. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Rather that give up 60-90 minutes of their free time, most residents in Norwalk would rather wring their hands and wail “How could this have been built here?”
I don’t blame the developers they are doing what is asked of them and will if possible always try to squeeze more out of the project.
I don’t blame the Zoning board, if they do not hear enough feedback from the residents, they have to concede that everything is acceptable.
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#11, aren’t tanks already there? I seem to remember something that looked like a big gas tank behind the building. I think that it was for nitrogen.
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The real problem with traffic is that we all get in our cars and drive. If we all made one less car trip a day, traffic would improve in Norwalk.
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I keep hearing these rumors of racism by our Galen Wells. And what about the rumor that she wants to throw out african american leadership on the DTC? Poor dems. No wonder all appointments will go through the Republicans. The party of bigotry continues with shenanigans that will keep all the fighting on the dem side. It’s time to bring in Mr. Burgess to run the party.
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another rumir is team wells is trying to handpick her friends for certain city appointed jobs. rumour also has ot that certain local state officials are also involved. they are going after certen minorities in a racist manner.bobby burgess should be the chair.
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The Norwalk Democrats are lead by racist- just look what the did to Hilliard, Grant, Bolden, and Dave Watts.
The rumor is both Grant and Watts will soon join the GOP.
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Galen Wells racist? This accusation from the party that brought us Ann Coulter? What a joke.
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Indiga, I thought the results of the election showed that most people don’t care about preservation or development. The zoning hearing proves it even further. Most people are either in favor of development or don’t even care. The people spoke on election day, and they continue not to care about those issues.
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Galen Wells sure does a great job then mascerading as a racist. Look what she did to Carvin Hilliard, Herb Grant, Philis Bolden and David Angelo Watts for his standing up to her and her family.
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If the election was about preservation, which I question the basic premise of that assertion, then it is clear that the voters said more Democrats please. Weak mayor, strong council. The voters said Democrats. Not Republicans.
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#20. Yeah right. And they overwhemingly elected Briggs, who made preservation a huge part of his campaign and banded together over their veto moccia slogan and threw him out of office over his veto of the preservation expansion. And then they stormed the zoning meeting en masse, and all three of them raised a ruckus aththe neeting.
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Hi everyone. I just got home from a really nice event held at the Continental Mannor. The BMHS NJROTC had their annual birthday ball. This event is run by the students and they have done a great job. It felt good to be an American and to see our future cadets having a dinner dance with older soliders. Who was missing….All BOE members, All central office Admin. Who showed to support our children? The Mayor, Bob Duff, Principal Koroshetz, one house master, several teavhers, parents, NHS ROTC, Bethal NJROTC cadets…and many other guests. A Toast! To Master Chief Ellis for ten years of dedicating his life to his students at BMHS!
