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The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of June 17.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Happy graduation to all high school seniors this week! (Photos by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, June 17

Happy Monday! Hope all of you who are fathers or father figures in someone’s life had a great Father’s Day. This week, we’re highlighting Norwalk’s approval of design funding for the latest spur of the Norwalk River Valley Trail, which would connect the city and Wilton. 

The Norwalk Common Council has unanimously approved a $22,000 contract with Stantec, an engineering and consulting firm, for the preliminary design and grant support services for a new spur of the Norwalk River Valley Trail, which would run under Grist Mill Road, connecting the Wilton portions of the trail to Glover Avenue. 

“The NRVT is continuing to progress. We recently completed the section just south of New Canaan Ave., so we’re continuing to look for opportunities to progress future sections of the trail,” Benjamin Yeung, a senior traffic engineer with the city’s Transportation, Mobility, and Parking department, told the Economic and Community Development Committee of the Common Council earlier this month. 

Yeung said this design work will “help us get a nice connection,” as this spur of the trail would run from Glover Avenue, up underneath Grist Mill, “which is a busy road as you all know, and provide a safe ped and bike connection to the existing ‘WilWalk section of the trail.’” WilWalk is the name of the section of trail that crosses from Norwalk into Wilton. 

Andrea Gartner, the executive director of the Norwalk River Valley Trail, called this an “important link of the NRVT.” 

“One of the most obvious benefits is that it will make the NRVT sections north accessible to the nearly 9,000 people living within a 1-mile radius of Glover Avenue; over 70,000 people living within a 3-mile radius; and over 142,000 within a 5-mile radius,” she said. “Then there are the thousands of people who work in the office buildings in the vicinity.”

Learn more about what this link could mean for the region or check out our video. 

Let’s see what else is happening this week. 

Stamford

The Operations Committee will meet on Monday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss how the members of the Board of Representatives can be more involved in city processes, including developing requests for proposals that go out to potential contractors and consultants as well as grant applications. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Norwalk

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m. and host a public hearing on a proposal from O&G Industries Inc. to reconfigure and update what it does at its property along the Norwalk River. Take a look at the preliminary proposal and see why some residents are concerned about the changed use in this piece from NancyonNorwalk. 

Also this week, the Ordinance Committee of the Common Council will meet on Tuesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. and discuss the proposed Complete Streets Ordinance. Learn more about Norwalk’s Complete Streets efforts through our Getting Around series: Part 2: Reimagining the Streets of Southwest Connecticut.

Other meetings this week include: 

Fairfield

The Solid Waste & Recycling Commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday, June 20 at 3 p.m. where residents can weigh in on the town’s revised Solid Waste & Recycling Regulations. So far, as a part of these efforts, the commission has approved new fees for using the town’s transfer station. 

Greenwich

The town is hosting a special Experience the Sound event on Sunday, June 23 at 1 p.m. Supported by the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission and Town of Greenwich Sustainability Committee, the event will include presentations, activities, and more related to sailing, fishing, shellfishing, environmental conservation, and more. 

Other meetings this week include:

Darien

The Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. and host a public hearing on proposed new solid waste fees.

The Representative Town Meeting will also meet on Monday, June 17 at 8 p.m. and vote on spending more than $1 million on school security initiatives as well as a $1 million+ on a Great Island master plan.

Other meetings this week include:

Westport

The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will meet on Thursday, June 20 at 8:30 a.m. and review the Downtown Lots Design Master Plan, which is the town’s efforts to help“Reconnect the Riverfront” through the plans for the Jesup and Imperial parking lots and surrounding areas. 

Other meetings this week include:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

If you are interested in being a part of our reporting or just want to share your thoughts, please reach out at coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com. 

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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