The state Department of Transportation will hold an informational meeting today at Norwalk City Hall to discuss the design of a project that would fully connect the Merritt Parkway and the Route 7 expressway.

The DOT's plan to use ramps to connect the roads in Norwalk has drawn sharp criticism from the Merritt Parkway Conservancy and other opponents who say this is really an attempt to revive the "Super 7" project — the name given to the plan to connect Norwalk and Danbury with an expressway.

But that project was killed in the early 1990s and the current Route 7 expressway is less than six miles long, running from Interstate 95 in Norwalk to the edge of Wilton, just north of the Merritt.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 125 East Ave.

No one can be sure how many people could be directly served by this project, but U.S. Census Bureau data from 2000 indicated that more than 43,000 people who worked in the Norwalk-Stamford region lived north and east   of the interchange project. That included more than 30,000 people in the Bridgeport area and about 4,642 in the Naugatuck Valley, according to the bureau.

The DOT and Gov. M. Jodi Rell emphatically said last week that the state does not have any intention of resurrecting the Super 7 plan. DOT Deputy Commissioner Carl Bard said Friday that this project will simply finish the connection between the roads.

The DOT and the conservancy agree that the connection should be improved, mainly because
drivers heading south on the Merritt from municipalities north of Norwalk can't access the expressway to get to I-95; instead, they must use Norwalk city streets to do so.

But Laurie Heiss, the conservancy's executive director, said Friday that it doesn't make sense to link the southbound Merritt with the northbound Route 7 expressway because it ends less than two miles north of the parkway. People heading to Danbury then must take a right onto Grist Mill Road, then a left onto the other   Route 7, which is a two-lane road. She noted that people wishing to head north toward Danbury from the Bridgeport area usually take Route 33, which can be accessed from the Merritt a few miles northeast of the expressway interchange.

The conservancy is offering two designs for the project, which it says will cost less and take less time to build. The plans eliminate several of the ramps in favor of traffic circles.

The mayor of Norwalk, the Business Council of Fairfield County (SACIA), the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce and the South Western Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization support the DOT's plan. The MPO is made up of the chief elected officials of the towns surrounding Stamford and Norwalk.

Millions of drivers have experienced the magnificence of the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, arguably the f irst parkway-style highway in the country, but only a fortunate few have traveled its wooded environs on f oot or bicycle.

Regional Plan Association would like to change that and has been advocating since the early 1990s f or the construction of a path along the
150-foot right-of -way that planners reserved since the highway opened in 1934.  But the Merritt trail is not a new idea. According to several historical documents and remarks by Thayer Chase, the landscape architect of the parkway, it is clear that a Merritt trail system was considered when the parkway was designed. In Greenwich, in fact, a bridle path was partially constructed, and it is still in use today.

The right-of-way's 150-foot width is filled with plantings, natural rock outcroppings and meandering streams. Unique in character, it is easy to understand why the original designers contemplated a path along its entire 37.5-mile length. But, alas, uninspired minds prevailed and the land was eventually set aside for additional lanes instead. So it was not until 1990 that the door reopened for a greenway trail, when Emil Frankel, who was then commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, declared the right-of-way off limits for highway expansion.

Because of dense development and the north-south ridges that mark the Connecticut topography, the Merritt is the only logical place to site an off -road trail through Fairfield County.  And in 1994, RPA's Merritt Parkway Trail Study provided the documentation that demonstrated the feasibility of the trail. The study generated interest f rom several communities, but the concept never really drew the broad consensus that was needed to get the trail out of concept and into design.

Because the trail would pass through seven municipalities, it was felt it could best be achieved incrementally, by building segments in areas with strong local support and, over time, connecting them. So while RPA continued to keep the project in the public eye through news articles, civic
meetings and other outreach eff orts, the project focus was on identifying a community willing to build that first essential segment.

In early 2000, the project took a giant leap forward when the City of Stamford took an interest in the proposed path. The mayor and planning department made an innovative proposal for a citywide trail system that was a perfect fit for the Merritt trail. The following March, with Stamford's backing and funding from the Alex G. Nason Foundation, RPA released a study, "The Merritt Parkway Trail Demonstration Project." Prepared by Milone & MacBroom, Inc., the study covers an approximately 1-mile segment between High Ridge Road and Newfield Avenue. It was well received, generated good press coverage and increased public support for the trail.

Building on that broad-based support, RPA convened the Merritt Parkway Trail Alliance in October of 2001. The Alliance is comprised of corporations, chambers of commerce, municipal organizations, schools, environmental organizations, land trusts, other trail organizations, clubs,
bicycle shops, and many individuals.

A great idea with broad support doesn't always translate into immediate construction, however.  The DOT has publicly stated that they will not add more lanes, but they may not have given up on using that right of way for more lanes some day. In approaching the DOT, RPA and the Stamford mayor requested permission to construct the first 1-mile section of the trail described in "The Merritt Parkway Trail Demonstration Project." The request to the DOT fell on deaf ears, with responses stating that the department had denied "various past requests" to use the right-of-way. But a breakthrough came in the summer of 2003, when the state DOT modified its position.

In response to a supportive letter from Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, the DOT again expressed safety and aesthetic concerns but then said that it would "initiate discussions" with the Connecticut Historic Commission, the Connecticut Trust f or Historic Preservation, the Merritt Parkway Advisory Committee, the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, local officials, and others, "to evaluate the desirability and f easibility of a Merritt Parkway Trail."

The DOT also said that that it wanted to review and analyze the trail system "as part of a contiguous Merritt Parkway trail."  With that news in hand, RPA and the MPTA has embarked on an eff ort to inform the elected off icials and other organizations about the benefits of such a trail throughout the eight cities and towns through which the Parkway passes, as well as towns nearby. Nearly all Chief Elected Officials along the corridor have endorsed the project, and there is optimism that support along the entire length of the parkway, f rom the New York State line to the Housatonic River can be received from municipalities, neighbors and other stakeholders.

Seventy years after the Merritt opened, there is reason to be optimistic that the trail will become a reality. And the timing couldnât be better, with the U.S. Surgeon General's off ice now reporting that more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Making our communities
pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly will encourage citizens to get out of their cars and onto their feet and provide safe alternate forms of transportation and healthy exercise for everyone. A trail will encourage bicycling and walking between residential, commercial and recreation areas,
employment centers, shopping, universities and schools, all of which are located along the Merritt Parkway.

--John Atkin, Connecticut director, RPA

Advocates of a 37.5-mile Merritt Parkway bike and pedestrian trail from Greenwich to Stratford hope a promotional event Sunday will garner more support for their cause.

The Merritt Parkway Trail Alliance and the Regional Plan Association will hold Merritt Trail Day 2004 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Italian Center in Stamford. It will include guided walks of a proposed demonstration leg of the trail and other activities.

If all goes well, the event will give the proposal more momentum, said Linda Hoza, project manager for the Regional Plan Association, a tri-state organization overseeing planning for the trail.

"We're building a strong grassroots support for the trail," Hoza said. "We've spoken to mayors and first selectmen, and most of them support it."

The state Department of Transportation, which has to grant permission before the alliance can build a demonstration leg between High Ridge Road and Newfield Avenue in Stamford, has stalled the project to research its practicality.

"Before pursuing something, we need to know if the consensus is there and if it's strong enough," said Carmine Trotta, assistant planning director for the state. "There are still a lot of issues that need to be identified."

Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy said the support is there.

"It's an idea that will grow and grow and some people come to understand what it's about," Malloy said. "We have the road systems that give this the potential."

But the DOT hasn't budged.

The DOT has not set a deadline for a ruling and, until then, "we are stuck at a dead end," Hoza said.

Not all officials support the parkway trail.

Fairfield First Selectman Kenneth Flatto said the town is committed to preserving open space and opposes a new trail in Fairfield.

"The impact it would have on open space and neighboring residences would be enormous," Flatto said.

He said he does not oppose the demonstration leg in Stamford and favors expanding some existing trails in Fairfield, but Flatto said he did not want to add construction on the parkway.

The Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a group that wants to preserve the historical nature of the parkway, supports the alliance's concept but opposes anything that would damage the parkway's character, Executive Director Laurie Heiss said.

Hoza said the path could provide traffic relief by giving commuters an option to bike or walk instead of driving. It also would get people to better experience the parkway, Hoza said.

About $500,000 is needed to build the demonstration leg, Hoza said. The project would be financed by state and federal grants and private donations.