05.01.08

Posted in Home at 3:19 pm by Maria

Response to Mike Royston’s 4/21/08 Comment

I will be doing a longer post on the role (and obligation, as I see it) of the State of Connecticut in supporting the development of the Town of Windsor Locks in about another week.

Yes, I agree that we need to clean up the other side of Main Street, including cutting the brush. It also needs some minimal, relatively low-cost landscaping. I notice that Ahlstrom (I believe it was Ahlstrom) has planted a few trees in one small area along this side of Main Street. The minimal landscaping would have to be planned by a landscape architect/designer or landscape architectural student. It is a problematic area—you have to use suitable plants. Plants may not be the best solution, however, and other landscaping elements should be considered such as rocks (perhaps not big boulders, which could be a hazard for cars), unique fencing, etc. It is an unusual and challenging site, and I think some landscape architects or landscape architectural students would be very interested in taking on such a project (at a modest fee).

Walgreen

Is anyone—the town or the state—monitoring the construction of the Walgreen Drug Store? The construction is so close to Kettle Brook, which flows into the Connecticut River. I noticed that the water level in the brook was very low last week, although this may be due entirely to natural conditions. The construction is a substantial undertaking and I would hope that it is being monitored at key stages.

Saving the Train Station

Windsor Locks’ train station is looking particularly forlorn these days. Time and the damage it is sustaining from the high volume of large trucks traveling at excessive speeds on Main Street is taking its toll. (Is it my imagination, or are these trucks getting bigger?) The Windsor Locks Preservation Association’s mission is to restore the station at its present site. Others have suggested that along with the train station’s renovation, (1) Main Street should be narrowed in the area of the station in order to give it more breathing room and perhaps accommodate a sidewalk; or (2) the station should be moved to a more felicitous location along Main Street.

There is another option that should be considered: The present train station could be taken down and an exact replica could be built. There is an original drawing of the station and there may be more detailed architectural drawings in existence. If the old bricks from the present station are in good condition, they could be used in the new construction. Other old materials could also be used. The cost of doing this needs to be carefully evaluated—it may be prohibitive. Funding should be shared by the State of Connecticut, the town, local businesses, organizations, foundations, and private individuals. The Europeans reconstructed many of their old buildings that were destroyed during World War II. It may be a viable option for the train station.

Spring Street

Spring Street is a problematic street in town. It is a very narrow street with a high volume of trucks and automobiles traveling at excessive speeds, many of which use it as a through road from Route 75 to Main Street. There is literally no room for error. Church goers, children and other individuals as well as cars cross Spring Street on a regular basis at the intersection of Chestnut Street and St. Mary’s Drive. A traffic light with a walk signal is needed at this intersection. Not only is it needed for safety, it would encourage more people to walk to church and to nearby stores and restaurants. A traffic light with a walk signal would also serve to assert Windsor Locks’ identity as a community. It would be a reminder that Spring Street is not just a quick way to get from Route 75 to Main Street, but an important part of that community. There should also be some handicapped parking spaces on Chestnut and St. Mary’s Drive.

Is there anyone who can take on the task of organizing a petition to install a traffic light at this intersection? (I would be happy to ask the other tenants in my building to sign the petition.)

Church goers frequently park on Spring Street on Sundays. This is really not a safe place to park. Even on Sundays there are trucks and automobiles traveling at excessive speeds on Spring Street. The narrowness of Spring Street and the incline from Main Street to Chestnut make parking on Spring Street dangerous, not only for those parking their cars, but also for passing cars and pedestrians attempting to negotiate around the line of parked cars.

Windsor Locks’ Identity

The subject of Windsor Locks’ identity (past and present) is an interesting one, and may warrant a separate post in the future.

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04.29.08

Public Forum Scheduled

Posted in Step Up Main Street at 11:15 am by Mike Royston

Windsor Locks Main Street Master Planning Study
A representative of the Consultant Team hired by the Town of Windsor Locks to conduct a Main Street Master Planning Study will be presenting their findings at a Public Forum scheduled for Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall Large Conference Room. The team of Amadon & Associates, Ferrero Hixon Associates (www.ferrerohixon.com), and Fuss & O’Neill have been looking at market forces affecting Windsor Locks Main Street and making recommendations related to physical improvements and business development opportunities. The purpose of the Main Street study is to investigate ways in which the community can tie the many natural, historical, governmental and private sector assets which are located in the area into a cohesive whole. A blog has been established to encourage public feedback related to the Main Street study. Please visit – www.wlmainstreet.blogspot.com and give you feedback and comments. The study is being funded through a $5,000 grant through the Connecticut Main Street Center and Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism which will supplement $40,000 in town funds.

The Main Street area has fantastic highway access via Interstate 91 and Routes 159 and 140. It has a major employer in Ahlstrom which has invested over $100 million in its Windsor Locks plant over the last five years and produces a wide array of goods including bacteria-resistant fabrics that doctors wear while treating patients, to tea bags and the fabric that makes baby wipes. The Main Street area is an important small business and commercial district with approximately 70 establishments calling this area home. The area is a center of local government and services such as Town Hall, the Public Library, Windsor Locks Middle School, the Post Office, and the Senior Center. The area also boasts the Windsor Locks Canal Trail along the Connecticut River which extends 4.5 miles into neighboring Suffield and Pesci Park for residents to enjoy. There are hundreds of residents living in a wide range of housing types within walking distance of these businesses, government and community facilities and recreational venues. To top it all off Windsor Locks Main Street has historical assets such as the old Amtrak Station which the Windsor Locks Preservation Association is actively trying to restore, the Montgomery Mill complex which is the subject of a condominium development and Memorial Hall operated by the American Legion. A great deal of activity is currently underway in the Main Street area and opportunities exist for new business development.

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04.15.08

Posted in Home, Step Up Main Street at 6:21 am by Maria

Coming Soon: Windsor Locks—Not Just Any Small Town

I plan to post a future commentary in this forum on Windsor Locks’ role as the transportation hub of Connecticut’s (and Southern New England’s) economy; the housing, business, safety and quality of life issues that have arisen as a result of the town taking on this role; and the town’s need for additional federal and state revenues to meet its present and future police, fire and development needs.

From the Main Street Navigator, the Newsletter of the Connecticut Main Street Center

“If you design communities for automobiles, you get more automobiles. If you design them for people, you get walkable, livable communities.” Parris Glendening and Christine Todd Whitman. For more information about the Connecticut Main Street Center visit, www.ctmainstreet.org or call 860.280.2337.

Past and Future

I am aware that there are residents in Windsor Locks who are unhappy with the look of Main Street as a result of its redevelopment in the 1970s and 1980s. They have a point: Main Street gained some new (and mostly common-place) buildings and large parking areas, but lost the security and stability of the familiar, whether they were people, businesses, or structures. Newness replaced vibrancy. Based on my review of the reports prepared by the Windsor Locks Redevelopment Agency, members of the Agency were well-intentioned, but did not have the time or expertise to adequately plan and execute the Main Street makeover. More importantly, it appears that the Agency did not hire the appropriate professionals who could have guided the entire process, and probably could have married the best of the old with the best of the new along Main Street. Participation by members of the community also appeared to be limited. It was an important lesson. Residents cannot leave a community’s future to a few individuals, however well-intentioned or competent those individuals are.

In spite of the losses and problems created by past redevelopment, long before Windsor Locks had a Main Street, there was the Connecticut River—and the river is still there. Windsor Locks is fortunate. It has a natural heritage in its river and canal (although man-made, much of the canal was carved from the river and even today is slowly being reclaimed by the river.) This heritage needs to be recognized and celebrated. I strongly believe that any plans to revitalize Main Street should take into account our river and canal, and make these natural communities not only a symbolic, but a real part of downtown’s renewal.

Response to Old County’s 2/29/08 Comment

(1) Dexter Plaza could sacrifice a few of its parking spaces for landscaping. Also, the Commons on North Main has a large parking lot and the current landscaping could be expanded and improved on. The library has a large front lawn, which could accommodate some plantings of shrubs and flowers near the sidewalk. And both Waterside Park and Waterside Village on Main Street have large enough areas adjacent to the sidewalk for shrubs and flowers (no parking spaces would need to be sacrificed here).

(2) Perhaps you have already heard that the consultants hired by the town to conduct the Main Street Master Planning Study have made their preliminary findings, including recommendations for future changes to downtown. A meeting with the consultants and town officials will be held in the near future to brief members of the public on these findings and recommendations. I hope to do another post soon on my thoughts on the Planning Study.

Response to John S.’s 3/8/08 Comment

(1) I’m not certain which building you mean. If you mean the yellow wood frame structure (former pet store), that building has been unoccupied for years and I agree it is a safety hazard. If you mean the Montgomery Company buildings on the other side of the canal, these are historic structures and are worth preserving if possible. Safety hazards and vandalism can be minimized if the owner of an unoccupied building is responsible. We have some very responsible owners of commercial buildings in Windsor Locks, but we also have some that are irresponsible. State property laws make it difficult for town officials to take any action against these owners.

(2) The train station is owned by Amtrak. It cannot be renovated until the Windsor Locks Preservation Association or the town can get Amtrak to transfer ownership (including resolving any liability issues) to them. Bottom line, Amtrak doesn’t care two cents about the train station. Amtrak is struggling financially because of our national leadership’s short-sighted attitude toward passenger rail service in this country and has no interest in historic preservation. Transferring ownership of the train station and its renovation (and the problems of its present site) present real challenges. Looking back, the train station should have been purchased and renovated at the time of Main Street’s redevelopment. But it still can be done; it will just take a lot of time and effort, and perhaps a fairy godmother in the form of the State of Connecticut. I plan to do another brief post soon on the train station.

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04.09.08

Voters approve $1.3 Million in Bonds

Posted in Home at 6:45 pm by The Wizard

Yesterday Windsor Locks voters approved four bonds for town projects. This total is $1.3 million.

If the budget is approved as it stands right now there will be a .7 increase in the mill rate. This increase does not include the interest on these bonds because they wont accrue until next year.

After the budget passes then the town will ask for another bond from the CIAC, Capital Improvement Advisory Committee. This bond is somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million. Of course this wont affect the mill rate yet for the same reason.

We passed $427,000 for lights at the park while our Fire Department is running around with 25 year old trucks. Two trucks need replacing at a cost of around $250,000 each. Think we will get these with our new $17,000,000 safety complex? Think again.

These projects are nice folks but get ready to pay the bill in a couple years. Ask our leaders at town hall why we have over $20,000,000 in our “rainy day” fund but we keep financing projects. You wouldn’t do it at home, why do it to your town.

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04.06.08

Letter to the Editor

Posted in Home at 8:41 pm by The Wizard

Reprinted from the JI

Stop the spending
Regarding the referendum for more spending for a new safety complex: The residents of Windsor Locks cannot afford any more expenditures when we are already bonded to the teeth with interest of $600,000 per year.

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03.30.08

Windsor Democrat to primary Sayers

Posted in Home at 7:19 pm by PineMeadow

Adam Gutcheon, the 27-year old Windsor Board of Education member challenging incumbent Rep. Peggy Sayers, D-Windsor Locks, for the Democratic nomination, remains optimistic about the campaign.

Sayers was unanimously endorsed by the Windsor Locks Democratic Town Committee and got all six of the town’s delegates to the May 20 nominating convention that will choose the party’s candidate.

Gutcheon lost an unofficial vote of the Windsor Town Committee by a 21-20 margin, but received five of the town’s six delegates to nominating convention.

Sayers, who has served in the State House since 1998, has said that Gutcheon lacks the experience to bring home the big bucks from Hartford for the two communities.

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03.20.08

Sex Offender Ordinance

Posted in Home at 6:57 pm by Town Hall

Selectman Denise Balboni proposed a town ordinance that would ban sex offenders from public places that children usually gather, such as pools & parks.

With some objections by the First Selectman the Board approved a plan to send it to the town attorney for review. Congratulations to Ms. Balboni for proposing this ordinance.

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03.14.08

Sayers Gets Windsor Endorsement

Posted in Home at 2:44 pm by The Wizard

Vote Is 21 - 20

Adam Gutcheon came up just shy of endorsement by the Windsor Democratic Town Committee, but he says he will persevere in his bid for the 60th House District seat.
“I’m running,” Gutcheon, 26, said in an interview immediately after the DTC vote on March 6 at town hall.

The vote, 21-20 in favor of Sayers, was taken after speeches about Gutcheon, vice president of the Windsor Board of Education, and 10-year incumbent state Rep. Peggy Sayers, a Windsor Locks Democrat. The 60th General Assembly District includes Windsor and Windsor Locks.

Deputy Mayor Al Simon spoke up for Gutcheon, “Adam has a right to run,” said Simon. “You can’t be ‘ashamed’ of someone who wants to run.”
Simon said for years Gutcheon has been an “energetic advocate.”
“He has been there for every one of you in this room,” said Simon.
When reapportionment is done at the legislature, Simon added, if Windsor does not have a representative who lives in town, it could be a very long time before it gets its own district, if ever.

“Anyone can sponsor legislation,” Gutcheon said when he took the floor.
What the district needs is a representative who is more assertive, he indicated.
“We need courage and leadership under the gold dome,” said Gutcheon.

From the Windsor Journal

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03.08.08

Sayers is Challenged by Windsor

Posted in Home at 12:42 pm by PineMeadow

It looks like there is a civil war in the 60th District. Windsor Democrats vs. Windsor Locks Democrats and Peggy Sayers is the victim.

27 year old Adam Gutcheon has been on the Windsor Board of Ed for four years and has also been on the Economic Development Commission, Conservation commission and the Windsor Democratic Town Committee. In a press release, Gutcheon described himself as “Windsor’s first openly gay elected official.”

Gutcheon may have the support of the Windsor DTC, he has close ties to Tim Curtis and Leo Canty, the Democratic Town Chaiman. Windsor Mayor Donald Trinks has said “is open to the possibility of endorsing Gutcheon over Sayers, a-10 year incumbent”.

The Goal
Peggy Sayers has said that the main goal of a state representative is to “bring home the bacon” to her district. A goal she says that a new legislator would have a hard time doing. It must be hard for the first 11 years because Ms. Sayers has not brought back any state bond money to Windsor or Windsor Locks in 11 years.

The Windsor Democrats may have an advantage in the primary. There are more Democrats in the Windsor section of District 60 than their are in Windsor Locks. Peggy will have to get out the Windsor Locks vote to have a shot.

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02.28.08

Posted in Step Up Main Street at 6:52 am by Maria

Beauty and Main Street

If you spend any amount of time on Main Street, one sees not a traditional New England Main Street, but an archipelago of parking lots. The asphalt and cars contribute to the strip mall appearance of the Main Street corridor. Are all these parking spaces needed? Based on frequent observation, it appears to me that many of these spaces are unoccupied most of the time. It would be helpful if some sort of informal study could be done to determine how many of these spaces are occupied on a day-to-day basis.

So what to do? Long-term solutions would require time and study by professionals and I am not qualified to address those here. But short-term (a year or two) wouldn’t it be possible, for relatively little effort and cost, to convert the first two lanes of parking spaces in each lot into a ribbon of green that would run adjacent to the sidewalk and street. Plantings of junipers, flowering shrubs (for example, roses, azaleas, rhododendron, hydrangea) and dwarf ornamental trees could be planted in the space that is now occupied by two parking spaces. The plantings could be staggered by height and should take into account visibility for drivers and pedestrians. Entrances into and exits from the parking lot would be clearly marked and visible. Removing parking spaces is probably not feasible for the parking area that fronts CVS and Subway, but their current green space next to the sidewalk could be improved. If such a landscaping plan were implemented, Main Street would lose a minimal number of parking spaces, and gain a more uniquely beautiful character that would attract more pedestrians and shoppers.

I believe the cost of this proposed project should be shared by everyone–commercial landlords, businesses, industry, and residents. The cost should include the services of a landscape architect to design the space and select plants that are ornamental, hardy and require minimal maintenance. Volunteers and the town’s very competent Public Works Department could ensure proper care (water and fertilizer, pruning, weeding) of the young plants and trees until they are established (I would say about two years).

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