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Funding for Merritt bridge work approved
Ken Dixon, CT POST
Updated 8:10 p.m., Monday, December 10, 2012
HARTFORD -- The State Bond Commission on Monday approved $14.6
million for road resurfacing, safety improvements and the
rehabilitation of bridges along the Merritt Parkway in Stamford and New
Canaan.
The work, which will employ more than 200 construction workers, will
include $5 million for rebuilding the Metro-North commuter rail bridge
over the parkway in New Canaan. The resurfacing, safety and other
bridge improvements are budgeted for $9.6 million. The work is to begin
in the spring of 2013.
SUBWAY and DUNKIN'
DONUTS signs historic, we ask? Will parking area increase?
Response positive on Merritt upgrades
Lisa Chamoff, Staff Writer
Updated 08:30 p.m., Friday, December 16, 2011
After working with the firm hired by the state to redesign 23
Connecticut highway service plazas, the chairman of the Merritt Parkway
Conservancy said he is happy with the plans for Greenwich.
Peter Malkin, who heads the conservation group, spoke at a public
information meeting held by the state Department of Transportation at
Town Hall Thursday night. The group has been providing input to
Milford-based Project Service LLC, which is redesigning the plazas for
northbound Exit 27 and southbound exit 28 on the Merritt to add new
fuel pumps that are set farther back from the highway and expand the
rest area's main building to include Subway and Dunkin' Donuts, as well
as space for a visitors' center. The changes are part of a project to
renovate nearly two dozen Connecticut highway service plazas.
"I think they have been cooperative to do what we think is necessary
for the neighbors and the parkway," Malkin told the small group
gathered in the Town Hall Meeting Room for the forum. "I think the
final result is going to be much better than it could have been and
much better than it is."
Malkin and Paul Andino, president of Project Service, do disagree over
whether signs listing the price of gas at the pumps should be displayed
prominently.
"I'm more than a little bit worried about the functional system without
any identity of pricing," Andino said, but added he was "willing to
talk about it."
Andino said the conservancy had given a lot of input to the project,
which doesn't have a start date. The canopies over the gas pumps at
each rest area have been scaled back and the historic building will
remain, with some upgrades and an addition in the rear.
"This highway has a lot of history attached to it," Andino said. "It's
certainly a gem in Greenwich."
Opened in June 1938 as a scenic bypass for the increasingly congested
Boston Post Road (Route 1), the Merritt Parkway is considered a
National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration.
Margaret Freiberg, who represents District 7/North Center on the
Representative Town Meeting, asked whether there would be large
billboards for the two restaurants at the rest area. Andino said there
would be minimal signage on the building, with signs a half-mile before
the rest area to alert drivers. A rest area on Route 15 in North Haven,
which Andino encouraged Greenwich residents to visit to get a sense of
what the one in Greenwich will look like, has minimal signage.
"On the property, we're going to be as conservative as possible to
maintain the integrity of the building," Andino said.
The facilities are being designed to get people off and on the parkway
as quickly as possible, Andino said, and to avoid the backup of cars.
Greenwich resident Gary Silberberg had a concern about the placement of
the gas pumps, and thought drivers would have to look at an awkward
angle to check for cars coming off the highway into the rest area.
Otherwise, he said he was happy with the plans.
"I would say, seeing it for the first time, you've addressed a lot of
problems," Silberberg said. "It looks very nice and I'm happy with what
I see."
Freiberg said that when she read about the plan, she had concerns about
the aesthetics.
"I think the Merritt Parkway was designed to be a work of art the way
Central Park is a work of art," Freiberg said. "When I heard Subway and
Dunkin' Donuts, I said, `Are these people rolling over in their
graves?' "
After attending Thursday night's meeting, Freiberg said her concerns
were mostly allayed.
"I must say I feel better now than when I first read about it,"
Freiberg said. "The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as they
say."
MERRITT PARKWAY TRAIL FEASIBILITY AS OF MAY 2012
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=4185&Q=491882&PM=1
Merritt Parkway trail proposal faces a
bumpy road
Jan Ellen Spiegel, CT MIRROR
May 21, 2012
Trumbull -- Will Britnell, principal engineer with the Connecticut
Department of Transportation, typically starts meetings on the subject
of building a trail along the Merritt Parkway with a quote from
Voltaire: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it."
That pretty much says it all. The idea of building a trail along the
Merritt is opinion-generating. Big time.
"Don't do it," said Jessie Bennett, an attorney who has come to a
meeting about the project -- begun as usual with the Voltaire quote --
in Trumbull with her husband Ron Canuel and a list of 25 concerns
related to the fact that the Canuel-Bennett home abuts the Merritt
right where the trail would likely go. "I think it's going to be an
awful project."
But at this sixth in a series of eight meetings in communities that
border or intersect the Merritt, there is as usual, disagreement.
"I support the project. I think it's a great opportunity to provide
some alternative transportation means and recreational value," said
Roger Krahn, who also owns a home adjacent to the Merritt, though on
the other side. "The Merritt Parkway is a great resource and this would
just enhance it."
That's generally how it goes, Britnell said. "The thought of coming
through and building a trail through that corridor obviously scares a
lot of people."
On the other hand, he said, "This goes back 15, 20 years. People have
been coming to us and asking us to build a trail."
Actually 20 years, when Linda Hoza started the Merritt Parkway Trail
Alliance just as the notion of an East Coast Greenway -- a trail from
Florida to Maine -- was being hatched to include the Merritt in its
Connecticut portion. (Some point out that when the Merritt was built
beginning in 1934, there were plans for horse trails around it.) Hoza
got no traction from the DOT.
"We tried to get meetings with the commissioner over the years," she
said from Florida, where she now lives. "It would come down to ... 'How
many ways can we say no?'"
Late in the Rell administration the DOT position softened, especially
once it became clear that the idea of widening the Merritt and thereby
eliminating trail space, would not happen. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, as
mayor of Stamford, had been interested in the trail idea, so it was not
surprising when DOT Commissioner James Redeker embraced the idea
publicly late last year.
That's an emphasis on idea. There is no plan -- something Britnell has
explained repeatedly with varying success during meetings. About the
only thing the DOT more or less knows is that the trail would be in the
parkway's northbound side right of way. That's because the road is
situated off to the other side of that right of way, leaving the
northbound side with far more space. It would run the full 37.5 miles
from the New York border to the Sikorsky Bridge in Stratford. And it
would be multi-use.
What's under way right now is phase one of an 18-month, $1.3 million
($1.1 million from a National Scenic Byways grant and $200,000 from the
state) feasibility study. Phase one is these listening sessions.
Phase two will be an actual concept based on suggestions and concerns
voiced by those attending the initial sessions. Phase three would be
public meetings on the trail concept, possibly as soon as this fall and
winter. If, at the end, it's determined that a trail is worth building,
then we're talking an untold number of years and millions of dollars
more.
"They operate at non-warp speed," said Gordon Joseloff, first selectman
of Westport, of the DOT. He did not attend the meeting in his town but
has concerns about jurisdiction for the trail where it crosses roads
that are under the auspices of town police, potential cost to the town
and the environmental impact.
"It's an interesting idea," he said. "Trails of this kind next to a
highway have worked elsewhere. I think we'd be negligent not to explore
it."
Responses pro and con
While Britnell said the meetings have largely produced evenhanded
responses pro and con, and he sees no reason why the process won't
continue to phase two, in truth the list of concerns is long. The first
is privacy for homeowners whose properties would border the trail. With
that come issues like noise, trash, rest rooms, emergency access,
vandalism, trespassing, liability, crime, parking and fencing.
Another major concern is cost for both building and maintaining a
trail. Britnell readily admits these are not bills either the state or
any of the communities along the Merritt have any interest in footing.
"We're open to ideas," he said, noting that public-private partnerships
seem likely along with volunteer efforts -- even the Boy Scouts -- to
do the actual trail maintenance. "That's one of the bigger nuts to
crack.
"The state is pretty well wiped out in term of resources to maintain
what we have let alone 37 miles of new trail. We've talked to all the
towns. Frankly nobody has funds to maintain something like this."
That point was among many hammered home at the Greenwich meeting in
March, reportedly the most contentious, with widespread opposition to a
trail, especially among those who live adjacent to the parkway. That
included former state Sen. William Nickerson.
"This is DOT money which would be much better spent dealing with real
DOT pressing needs -- MetroNorth parking," he said, zeroing in on one
of a litany of criticisms. "That would be the environmentally friendly
thing."
He and many others, including the DOT, noted a third major concern --
how to handle the intersection of the trail with local roads. Britnell
said that with the possible exception of a few major roads for which
tunnels or small bridges may be constructed, trail users would have to
cross several dozen local roads and in some cases detour onto them.
That prospect has elicited howls from any number of people concerned
about safety for trail users and motor vehicles.
More concerns
Among other issues: environmental concerns around tree removal,
landscape alterations, wildlife and wetlands impacts. People brought up
construction noise, damage to the road's remaining 66 unique
Depression-era bridges. They questioned whether the trail would really
be used for transportation and whether DOT's idea of linking it to
public attractions like malls, museums and schools and tying it into
economic development was realistic.
While DOT says at this point it has no position on the project, it's
worth noting their presentation included a slide of an overweight child
watching television accompanied by soda and two bags of chips.
And there were concerns that trail users would distract drivers on the
parkway, which the DOT said can exceed 80,000 a day in certain spots,
causing more slowdowns and even accidents.
"I think the biggest issue, if I was a resident, is privacy," said
Frank Smeriglio, Trumbull's town engineer, after the meeting. "The
biggest issue if I was a state engineer is distraction on the Merritt
Parkway. And the biggest issue for a town engineer is the crossings.
"I think having a trail would be a great thing, and I think it's just
maneuvering through the critical parts."
Jill Smyth, executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy,
founded in 2002 to revitalize the Merritt corridor, said her
organization has many questions and concerns, especially about the
character of the parkway, which is a national landmark. But for the
moment, the conservancy is not supporting or opposing the project until
there's more information.
"At this point we really need to study the design of the trail," she
said.
For Josh Lecar, who took up the trail alliance mantle from Linda Hoza,
and has a long roster of supporting organizations, the issue may be
less the particulars and more the momentum.
"I'm so excited they're committed to this project to the extent they
are," he said. "I think there's a very plausible way forward. But
people have to have a lot of patience and a lot of stick-to-it-ive-ness
once it's off the front burner to keep it going."
The fact that it's on any burner, for Hoza, elicited only one word:
"Amazing."
"That all of those years weren't wasted years -- that's very
encouraging," she said. "I want to come bike it and not do it with a
walker."
Hearings set on Merritt bike/hike trail
Martin Cassidy, Westport NEWS
Published 11:17 a.m., Tuesday, March 13, 2012
State engineers are seeking the public's feedback on the Merritt
Parkway bike and pedestrian trail to help plot a potential path for the
design of the 37.3-mile path later this year.
"During the first phase we're actually trying to obtain information
from local residents and business owners about what types of access
they'd like to see," said Will Britnell, principal engineer for the
Department of Transportation's state highway design.
The state DOT will hold a series of public workshops in the eight
municipalities along the route to gather input for a $1.4 million study
of the envisioned path, which has been discussed by cycling enthusiasts
for nearly 20 years.
One of the workshops is planned in Fairfield, at 6 p.m. April 10 in
Osborn Hill School.
After gathering feedback from residents and officials from Greenwich to
Stratford, engineers this summer will attempt to plan a path for the
trail and assess logistical challenges involved with building it,
Britnell said.
Franklin Bloomer, president of Greenwich Safe Cycling, and Josh Lecar,
program coordinator for the Merritt Parkway Trail Alliance, said a
cultural shift in which residents seek better pedestrian and bicycle
access explains the DOT's willingness to pursue the study. "I feel like
the DOT, as an internal policy, has accepted the idea that this is
something that should happen," Bloomer said.
"There has always been a concern about it from the standpoint of
feasibility but you need to do this work to understand the true
feasibility of overcoming the obstacles," DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick
said. "We're fairly optimistic here of seeing a positive result."
Lecar, the former transportation planner for the city of Stamford, said
it is likely the state designers would reduce the financial and
environmental impact of the work by routing users of the trail onto
major roads in areas where uneven terrain or water pose challenges.
"I expect that there will be some sections that will be able to
accommodate bikes, pedestrians, and in some cases, maybe equestrian
traffic," Lecar said. "Other sections will be limited because of the
topography where the streets will become part of the trail."
The DOT is conducting the study with a $1.096 million grant from the
National Scenic Byway Program, with the state putting up $274,000 for
the work.
David Kooris, vice president of the Stamford-based Regional Plan
Association, said that in concert with other trail projects, the
Merritt Parkway trail and work to establish bicycle routes closer to
the shoreline could help establish a nearly comprehensive and
economically important network for non-motorized travel.
The Regional Plan Association hired a consultant in the early 1990s to
conduct the Merritt Parkway Trail Feasibility Study, which argued for
creating the trail, which could also become part of the East Coast
Greenway, a 2,750-mile network of trails from Florida to Maine.
"It's important to not think about the trail in isolation because when
you couple it with projects in Stamford and the Norwalk River Valley
trail it becomes part of a system that links suburbs and suburban
neighborhoods with downtowns," Kooris said. "It would be incredibly
cool to have this phenomenal greenway network that would add a ton of
value to our residential neighborhoods."
MERRITT TRAIL WORKSHOPS
- Stamford: March 22, Stamford Government Center, 5:30 p.m.
- Greenwich: March 26, Greenwich Town Hall, 6 p.m.
- New Canaan: April 3, Outback Teen Center, 6 p.m.
- Fairfield: April 10, Osborn Hill School, 6 p.m.
DOT
starts study of trail along
Merritt Parkway
Greenwich TIME
Staff and wire reports
Published 02:11 p.m., Friday, November 25, 2011
The state Department of Transportation is beginning to study whether a
long-discussed multi-use trail along the Merritt Parkway, stretching
from Greenwich to Stratford, is feasible.
The proposed trail would be located within the undeveloped highway
right-of-way and would use the wooded buffer that now exists between
the road and abutting properties. In the planning stages for about two
decades, the trail would span more than 37 miles from the New York
state line to the Sikorsky Bridge in Stratford and serve as a bicycle
and pedestrian path along the historically designated highway.
DOT officials said this week that an extensive public outreach campaign
will be undertaken in each of the eight communities along the parkway.
They plan to hold a series of public meetings for the study, which is
being paid with a $1.096 million grant from the National Scenic Byways
Program and $274,000 in state funds.
The study's duration will be impacted by feedback received from
stakeholders along the route, but is expected to take a couple of
years, DOT spokesman Judd Everhart has said.
The DOT says it also plans to document environmentally sensitive areas
and come up with options for avoiding them, possibly diverting the
trail onto local loads in certain locations.
The study will also consider including information on the parkway's
historically significant features at spots along the route to develop
it as a tourist destination.
Supporters of multi-use paths in Connecticut have since the mid-'90s
touted the trail concept as a link in the East Coast Greenway, a
2,750-mile network of trails from Florida to Maine.
Cycling and pedestrian advocates have said that the study shows that
state leaders are finally serious about developing amenities for
non-motorized travel. Past efforts to get the DOT to vet the concept
were given less consideration because the engineering challenges of
routing the path past major intersecting roads and waterways such as
the Saugatuck and Mianus rivers were considered too extensive based on
the perceived demand.
Now, heavy automobile traffic and a younger generation of professionals
interested in bicycling to work has given greater impetus to efforts to
develop trails.
Preservationists who are protective of the parkway's bucolic
atmosphere, particularly its forested medians, will likely keep a close
eye on the DOT study.
Merritt Parkway
deemed endangered by National Trust
Martin B. Cassidy, Stamford ADVOCATE
Published: 09:49 p.m., Wednesday, May 19, 2010
WESTPORT -- Careful restoration of the Merritt Parkway's park-like
surroundings and architecturally diverse bridges should be focused to
ensure the 70-year-old wooded thoroughfare's scenic trademarks will
survive the challenges of increased traffic and development, David
Brown, executive vice president for the National Trust for Historic
Preservation said Wednesday.
At a ceremony at the Merritt's North Avenue overpass, Brown announced
to the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, state legislators and other
officials that the rustic aura of the 37.5-mile road had been included
on the trust's 2010 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic
Places.
The conservancy, a parkway preservation group, nominated it for the
list, said President Peter Malkin, a Greenwich resident.
The list released Wednesday also includes Hinchcliffe Stadium, a Negro
League baseball stadium in Paterson, N.J., a Civil War battlefield in
Virginia, and the Chamorro people's ancient settlement in the U.S.
territory of Guam.
"It can be inappropriate development, or the ravages of time and
weather, as we can see here," Brown said pointing out sections of
crumbling and eroded concrete facing on the North Avenue bridge.
"Connecticut's Merritt Parkway is a model of progressive architecture
and early 20th century urban land use reform."
Necessary improvements to the parkway's historic bridges and overpasses
should include the original Art Deco and French Renaissance sculptural
elements and other ornamentation that give them a unique character,
Brown said. The parkway's traditional greenery should also be well
maintained, he said.
In its designation, the trust noted the Merritt runs through the
state's most densely populated area, which has led to improvement
projects that jeopardize the parkway's character.
"We urge the Department of Transportation to work to make the safety
improvements and design choices that respect the important character of
this place," Brown said.
State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie said the
designation was a reminder of the challenge of maintaining the road's
traditional appearance motorists value, while incorporating modern
safety revamps that are necessary.
"I think the DOT is being more receptive and responsive to adopting and
maintaining context-sensitive design along the highway," Marie said.
"We know the Merritt Parkway needs a lot of tender loving care and we
plan to keep it that way."
Running from Exit 27 at the New York state line to Exit 53 at the
Stratford-Milford town line, the limited-access parkway features 68
bridges, many still bearing unique concrete adornments designed by
George Dunkelberger and erected when it opened in 1938, linking the
Hutchinson River Parkway to Connecticut.
The Merritt Parkway now carries an average of 55,000 cars between
Greenwich and Stamford each day, 65,700 between Stamford and New Canaan
and 79,000 cars on the Stratford-Milford section.
In 1994, the DOT completed a landscaping master plan to serve as a
future guideline to address maintaining a population of native trees,
removing vines and other invasive species, along with mowing and other
maintenance.
Malkin said he hoped the increased recognition would attract
preservation-minded residents to the conservancy. The group is
especially concerned about efforts to remove healthy trees, or expand
the roadway's safety capacity in ways that will affect bridges or
landscaping.
"The National Trust investigated and reaffirmed the historic importance
of the Merritt Parkway," Malkin said. "It's an important recognition
because it is a tremendous asset to the state and one that is always
facing some type of challenge."
Last October, the parkway was also selected by the World Monument Fund,
a Manhattan nonprofit preservation group, as a significantly endangered
site because of threats to the wooded canopy that buffers the highway
and the aging, one-of-a-kind bridges.
The DOT is now working on a $66.5 million federal stimulus project to
improve parkway safety between Fairfield and Trumbull, which includes
replacing and rehabilitating 13 bridges on that 9-mile section and
widening shoulders.
The project also includes the planned removal of 300 trees along a
4-mile stretch, and an extensive replanting of maple, oak and other
native trees and plants after construction is completed.
"It is not one of the more attractive parts of the Merritt Parkway at
this moment, but we're confident that people are going to be pleased
when the landscaping phase begins," DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said.
The planned bridge overhauls will restore and repair a great majority
of their original historic ornamentation, with minimal changes, he said.
"The reproduction of those bridges is being done with an exacting eye
toward maintaining the historical accuracy of those structures,"
Nursick said.
Geoffrey Middeleer, a Wilton-based landscape architect who consults
with the conservancy about DOT-proposed plans, said the state has made
progress toward preserving the parkway's wooded canopy by focusing on
removing invasive species and considering use of plants that will make
invasives less likely to return.
"I think the designation is important because anything that can be done
to draw attention to preservation on the Merritt Parkway is good news,"
Middeleer said of the National Trust list. "We want to maintain the
tree and plant species that are natural and contribute to the intended
atmosphere of the road."
Preserving the Merritt's path to the past
DAY
By TINA SUSMAN Los Angeles Times
Published 11/15/2009 12:00 AM
Updated 11/15/2009 01:52 AM
The narrow lanes weave through the forest, past timber guardrails,
low-slung bridges with stone facades and trees whose crimson leaves
glisten in the fall sun.
But take a closer look. Those log guardrails hide steel reinforcements.
And some of the charming bridges have been swapped out for modern,
sharp-edged models. On second thought, don't take a closer look; you
might find yourself wrapped around one of those magnificent trees.
The Merritt Parkway, known to many Americans as a speed trap for David
Letterman, has coursed for 69 years through southwestern Connecticut,
linking what are now some of its toniest suburbs to New York. But after
being added in October to the World Monument Fund's list of most
endangered sites, the four-lane, 37.5-mile road is enjoying a newfound
status - alongside such treasures as the tombs of Egypt, France's
chateaux and Machu Picchu in Peru.
That should come as no surprise, say lovers of the Merritt and other
U.S. parkways, such as the Arroyo Seco Parkway north of downtown Los
Angeles; the George Washington Memorial Parkway that loops through
Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.; and the Beartooth Highway in
Montana and Wyoming.
"They are as intentionally designed as the gardens of Versailles. They
just happen to be roadways," said Amy Freitag of the World Monuments
Fund, which sorted through 195 nominations before settling on 93 sites
for its 2010 list.
By being on the list, the Merritt probably will receive even more
attention from preservationists, which could translate to more funding
to protect it. Recognition of the Merritt's aesthetic qualities also
could help preservationists who are at odds with federal highway
officials seeking to upgrade other parkways.
"It gives us a chance to remind people that these parkways exist all
across the country. They really are a special, special thing that
America produced in the 20th century," Freitag said of the roadways,
which were designed for leisurely motoring in an era when cars, and
life, moved at a far slower pace.
In addition to dozens of Art Deco bridges, the Merritt is cherished for
the thick woods that grow along the roadside and the trees that dot its
median. Arching branches form a leafy canopy over sections of the road.
Deer nibble on grass along the narrow shoulders.
"When I was a kid, we'd come down this beautiful, beautiful roadway.
You'd enter it and, all of a sudden, there would be flowers growing
alongside of the road and everyone in the car would be calmer," said
John B. Lindquist, 70, of Stratford. "Even my brother and I would fight
less in the back seat."
But rarely do the views of parkway preservationists mesh with those
demanding adherence to modern safety guidelines - be they in suburban
Connecticut or the wilds of the West, where the Beartooth Highway
travels. Where federal officials see higher guard walls as protection
for drivers skirting rivers, preservationists see them as blocking
views. Where federal officials see wider shoulders and lanes as
safeguards against hitting trees, preservationists see them as
destructive to the forest.
"Those trees might be a historic part of the roadway, but they are in
an area where, by today's standards, they should not be," said Gloria
Scott of the California Department of Transportation, which has
struggled to keep the historic character of the 8.2-mile Arroyo Seco
Parkway. In 2002, that stretch of California Highway 110 was designated
a National Scenic Byway to bolster preservationist efforts.
But parkways that were designed for recreational driving nowadays are
used by commuters living in the suburbs. They want to get to work or
home quickly - as Letterman, who has used his nightly monologue to joke
about his Merritt Parkway speeding tickets, can attest. Accidents
happen, sparking demands for engineering changes.
In the 1990s, a series of fatal head-on collisions prompted calls to
alter the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which meanders for 25
miles along the woodsy shoreline of the Potomac River. Federal highway
officials directed that barriers be installed where the median was less
than 8 feet wide. Dottie Marshall, the National Park Service's
superintendent for the memorial parkway, said that officials didn't
want glaring metal to disturb the scenery, so they opted for steel
beams prefabricated to look old and rusty - the highway equivalent of
distressed jeans.
"When that guard rail was installed, for about 30 to 45 days I spent
all day long on the phone taking calls from people complaining about
it: that we had destroyed the character (of the road) ... that people
should change their behavior and drive slower," Marshall said.
Nancy Savin, a member of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, said of
historic roadways that "to widen (a) highway and destroy it is not the
answer."
What is needed, she said, is increased use of public transportation.
When the parkway was built, it boasted 69 bridges - no two the same. At
least three have been replaced, and several with more modern designs
have been added. The Monuments Fund warned that more bridges could be
affected if lanes were widened, shoulders added or other changes made.
A nearly $67-million safety and rehabilitation project is due to get
under way before the end of the year.
"It's not changing the footprint or the look of the bridges," said
Kevin Nursick of Connecticut's Department of Transportation, adding
that every project on the Merritt, right down to tree removal, must be
vetted by preservationists. "We do everything we can to ensure the work
we're doing is sensitive to the parkway. About the only thing we don't
discuss with stakeholders is how to mow the grass."
On the Merritt, Nursick said, the state does all it can to please
preservationists. But given the area's increased traffic, change is
inevitable.
"If it was exactly the same as it was when it was built, it wouldn't be
very safe," he said. "But given the changes that have taken place in
this state, in this country, in this world, the Merritt Parkway
essentially remains the same."
WORLD MONUMENTS FUND
Merritt Parkway Named Endangered
Monument
YAHOO
Staff and Wire Reports
October 7, 2009
The Merritt Parkway in southwestern Connecticut is among 93 cultural
heritage sites worldwide singled out by a preservation group as needing
protection.
A list released Tuesday by the World Monuments Fund puts the parkway in
the company of the ancient ruins at Machu Picchu in Peru, Antoni
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, the remote monastery
Phajoding in Bhutan, and dozens of other sites in 47 countries.
The parkway was nominated by the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, which
works for the roadway's preservation.
"We're just thrilled to have it be listed," said Jill Smyth, executive
director of the conservancy. She said the designation will help promote
the need to preserve the artwork on the parkway's nearly 70 bridges as
well as the scenic landscaping.
"There's always that fine balance between preservation and
incorporating what [state transportation officials] believe is needed
for a safe, modern design for a highway," Smyth said.
In 1991, the 37.5-mile parkway was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Material released with the fund's announcement touted the parkway's
native flora and winding route as reflecting the state's natural
beauty, and the craftsmanship of bridge designs ranging "from French
Renaissance and neoclassic to art deco and rustic." The fund said that
these attributes "may be at risk due to necessary infrastructure work
required to maintain the Merritt as a major thoroughfare."
The fund said two sites in New Orleans, St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 and
the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, face continuing challenges
following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the area in 2005. Other
U.S. sites on the watch list include architect Frank Lloyd Wright's
home Taliesin in Spring Green, Wis., and Taliesin West in Scottsdale,
Ariz.
An international panel of heritage preservation experts considered the
195 nominations for this year's World Monuments Fund list, said Amy
Freitag, the fund's U.S. program director. The New York-based fund
issues its watch list every two years.
•An Associated Press report was
included in this story.
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant
Merritt heads to Court: U.S.
District Court set to hear motions next week in the lawsuit filed by
preservationists.
By ROBERT KOCH,
Hour Staff Writer
August 27, 2005
NORWALK -- Next week may mark the first juncture in a legal bid to halt
the state's $98 million overhaul of the Route 7-Merritt Parkway
interchange.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court in New Haven is scheduled to hear
motions by the Merritt Parkway Conservancy and other preservation
groups aimed ultimately at forcing the state to downsize its
long-planned overhaul that began last spring.
The groups sued the state Department of Transportation and Federal
Highway Administration in early June, barely a month after the state
signed a $34 million construction contract with O&G Industries
launching Phase One. That portion entails rebuilding the Main Avenue
interchange and Glover Avenue bridge.
Thursday's scheduled hearing before Judge Mark Kravitz addresses a
temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed June 20 by
the plaintiffs, who hope to save the Main Avenue bridge. The hearing
had been set for Aug. 1.
"The Connecticut DOT agreed to refrain from any further dismantling of
the Main Avenue bridge until Sept. 1," said Andrea Ferster, attorney
for the preservation groups. "Construction of the project is
proceeding, and if they demolish a historic bridge prior to the
adjudication of the case ... that will result in irreparable damage to
the Merritt Parkway."
In May, construction crews began removing trees along the parkway near
Main Avenue. Since then, work has proceeded as possible, given the
pending lawsuit, according to Chris Cooper, a DOT spokesman.
Cooper said the state has voluntarily restricted work to the ramp
southbound from the parkway to Main Avenue, and preparation work at the
Glover Avenue bridge.
"We agreed to not do any work on any of the
elements that could be considered by the plaintiffs to be historically
sensitive," Cooper said. "Essentially, we're expecting to have a better
sense of our direction after that Sept. 1 hearing. We have not lost too
much on the timetable, because there are other activities we could move
forward on. Clearly Sept. 1 is an important date for the project."
Business leaders and elected officials, including Mayor Alex Knopp,
consider the interchange project critical to retaining jobs and
industry, reducing traffic accidents on Main Avenue, and making the
Route 7 Connector-Merritt Parkway interchange immediately west of Main
Avenue accessible to cars from all directions.
The Parkway Conservancy, Norwalk Land Trust, National Trust for
Historic Preservation in the United States and other plaintiffs in the
lawsuit say the state's design is too big and will destroy the historic
character of the parkway
"They refused to consider any other alternatives on their own, and they
refused to consider the alternatives that the conservancy submitted,"
said Peter Malkin, Parkway Conservancy co-chairman.
Malkin said the Sierra Club and the Connecticut Historical Society have
joined as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m. at U.S. District Court
in New Haven, 141 Church St.
Route 7-Merritt plan meeting
set
April 5, 2005 CT POST:
By ROB VARNON rvarnon@ctpost.com
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.
Forging A Trail In Connecticut:
Not Always Easy (from 2004 RPA Regional Assembly on-line report)
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
A view of the right-of-way
Event to preview
proposed Merritt bike path
By Mark Ginocchio
Stamford ADVOCATE Staff Writer
October 22, 2004
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.