GREENWICH — The battle between Old Greenwich residents and the Department of Public Works over work on Sound Beach Avenue has returned.
Two years ago, residents pushed back against a proposal to replace the bridge on Sound Beach Avenue that travels over Cider Mill Brook. But their concerns were not about the bridge project, which residents have supported.
They were upset about work planned for Sound Beach Avenue as part of the project. On Sound Beach, at its intersections with Laddins Rock Road and Harding Road, the plan called for raising the road’s elevation and adjusting the traffic circle and island by the Perrot Memorial Library.
The DPW proposed the improvements to provide flood mitigation in the low-lying area and because the town said it needs to ensure access for emergency vehicles. But residents said the larger traffic circle would cause more congestion and accidents while raising the road would disrupt the aesthetics of the area.
Ultimately, the project was defeated before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Now it is back in redesigned form, as the town says the bridge is in poor condition and must be replaced. If not, the town says, the bridge will not support the weight of vehicles and a closure may have to be posted in one or two directions. The bridge was built in 1925 and rehabilitated in 1977.
Funding would come from the state Department of Transportation. The town would only cover permitting and design costs.
The DPW said it has removed parts of the project that upset residents in 2018.
Under the revised plan, there will be no changes to the traffic circle and there will be no impact on the library’s property. The bridge would be 2 1/2 feet higher than its current height, and the DPW said there would be “minimal impacts” to Binney Park.
“It is anticipated that within about 50 feet of the bridge, the ground will be graded and blended in but it will be minimal,” DPW said in a frequently asked questions webpage over the project. “There are no retaining walls, hand railings, guiderails etc. proposed in Binney Park.”
The department added, “The bridge will be designed to look and feel the same as the current bridge with stone walls behind the sidewalk, asphalt roadway and concrete sidewalks that match the surrounding area. The view from Binney Park will remain very similar with the New England stone bridge look.”
The $3.5 million project is in the 2020-21 budget, but it came to light only during the public hearing last week. Several members of the Old Greenwich community who fought the project in 2018 spoke out against it again.
“We have not seen any plans, renderings or sectional drawings,” said Candace Garthwaite, a member of the Eastern Greenwich Preservation Association. “We do not know the impact on nearby trees in the park. … We are asking for communication and a forum where the public can listen to the town’s analysis and rationale for doing more than replacing the bridge. We want to understand what alternatives to mitigate flooding were considered and not chosen.”
Garthwaite and others are asking that the project be delayed for a year. They presented a petition of more than 200 signatures calling for public hearings.
“The neighbors would have welcomed some constructive discussion, but instead were summarily and arrogantly dismissed,” said neighbor Rita Baker. “We have no idea what this project will look like, what will be the visual impact on the neighborhood and Binney Park and what could be the unintended consequences of water diversion from the road raise.”
There was pushback from project supporters at the hearing. Arline Lomazzo, a member of the Representative Town Meeting’s Public Works Committee, called the comments against the project “extreme in their misinformation.”
“This is just the bridge and it does require raising the road, not what was proposed earlier,” Lomazzo said. “Nothing will change with Binney Park. There is no intention to move any trees. There is no taking of private land.”
If the project is approved, work would begin this summer.
Information about the project has been posted at the town’s website at www.greenwichct.gov/1606/Sound-Beach-Avenue-Bridge-No-03954.
kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
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April 26, 2020 at 10:00PM
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Old Greenwich residents renew concerns about Sound Beach Avenue bridge project - CT Insider
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