Fairfield is on its way to becoming more bicyclist and pedestrian-friendly. Come springtime 2013, the first designated bike route in town will be added to a portion of Mill Plain Road – a big step for the grassroots effort to create a bike and pedestrian master plan for Fairfield.
The Representative Town Meeting approved last month a $15,070 grant, which will fund the striping and bike path signs on the designated route -- the portion of Mill Plain Road between Brookside Drive and Unquowa Road.
"This is a really remarkable first step for Fairfield," Andrew Graceffa, president of the nonprofit Fairfield Bike Walk Coalition and Chair of the town's Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan Advisory Committee, told Patch in a recent interview.
"We couldn't be any more excited for a chance to put paint on the road."
This "first step" has been a few years in the making. The Bike Walk Coalition was founded in January 2010 to advocate for the needs and safety of bicyclists and pedestrians in town.
Shortly after the Fairfield Bike Walk Coalition was formed, Graceffa heard about the town's plans to form the Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan Advisory Committee to work with the Greater Bridgeport Regional Council and all applicable town departments to survey residents and create the aforementioned master plan.
He and eight others appointed to the committee by the Board of Selectman worked to survey residents. Based on the 750 responses they received, the committee chose Mill Plain Road as the first road to incorporate a bike route.
According to the committee's plan presented to the RTM, the reasons behind choosing Mill Plain Road include:
- General ease and cost of implementation: the work -- which will be completed by the Department of Public Works -- will be done in conjunction with the Mill Plain Road resurfacing and will not require road widening or substantial modification;
- Enhancing the safety of the neighborhood by raising driver awareness and slightly slowing traffic through signage, striping, and sharrows (shared lane markings);
- The close proximity to several schools, parks, and Fairfield Center.
Other advantages to adding a designated bike route in Fairfield include encouraging more outdoor activity and exercise -- which meant that this project qualified for the state's cardiovascular disease prevention program grant providing its funding -- and cutting down on the need for driving.
Eventually, according to the plan presented to the RTM, the master plan created by the advisory committee will lead to significantly upgraded walkability in town and a town-wide network of bike routes. Mill Plain Road is just the beginning.
Fairfield Police will be readying the road for the bike route, too -- from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30, the Traffic Safety Unit will conduct a "Living Streets" campaign on Mill Plain Road. Living Streets educates the public that pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles must share the road and traffic enforcement officers will be handing out colored flyers to motorists warning them of the posted speed limit.
To learn more about the Fairfield Bike Walk Coalition, visit the group's website and Facebook page.
As for the town's master plan, see the Vision Statement created by the members of the Fairfield Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan Advisory Committee:
The Town of Fairfield recognizes the need to encourage walking and bicycle travel for transportation, recreation, exercise, and quality of life. Walking and bicycle use conserves energy, improves air quality, reduces traffic and the need for parking, improves health and fitness, and improves the local economy through a better quality of life, increased access to local businesses, and greater potential for tourism in the area. These goals will be achieved through education, encouragement, enforcement, and infrastructure.
Will you be encouraged to walk and bike around Fairfield as more of the master plan's steps are integrated? Where else would you like to see designated bike routes in town? Tell us in the comments.
You call Mill Plain a "major thruway". That's interesting -- I call it my neighborhood. You see, I live on this "major thruway". The bike lane will pass directly in front of my driveway. My family's right to safety far outweighs your right to treat Mill Plain as an adjunct of I-95. Ms/Mr Fairfield Resident, our Fairfield children walk and bike to/from ALL 3 schools along this self-proclaimed stretch of "major thruway". There is NO BUS. Please obey all traffic laws in my neighborhood. Wherever you are going, it will be there when you arrive, safely, I pray, for your sake and ours. This is my town. We really live here. You're obviously just "passing through". Happy Thanksgiving, Mark Lee 1135 Mill Plain Rd.
Thank you also for taking advantage of a state program for which money has already been approved and budgeted.
We have a poor history of overbuilding. Trains station anyone? Bike paths are a nice to have, but I do not think they are a requirement. For all of the good they will do bikers, they will create other negative knock on effects for the remainder of the non-bikers and residents. And to be honest, I do bike.
Pedestrian friendly? Seriously? This is an awful town for pedestrians. Look at all the money spent redoing the No. Benson Road railroad bridge...and they didn't bother to put in a protected sidewalk as at the Round Hill Road bridge. In fact no sidewalk at all. That place is a meatgrinder. Pedestrians, children on bikes, moms with strollers, Fairfield U X-C team all dart through there taking their lives in hand. The Walk/Don't Walk signs at the intersection with Post Rd are all positioned cock-eyed so that you cannot tell what the signal is prior to crossing. For the entire length of Post Rd through this town crossing the street . . . both along or across Post Rd . . . is A GAMBLE. It's nice that the bike afficionados are getting a stripe pinted on the road. That's not going to help us pedestrians.
That said the thinking of this is "free money" is a large part of why we are approaching a fiscal cliff. Hope this works out well for everyone.
Mill Plain is your neighborhood; you should have the loudest voice. The opinions and concerns of anonymous commuters who tear through your neighborhood offended by a 30 second delay in their commute should be relegated to the bottom of the stack. If their true concern is the allocation of state and federal funds in the midst of a recession, I encourage them to post their own street to this string so that we may all vote in unison to deny any future street repairs, improvements, etc, all of which are surely more costly at hundreds of thousands per mile for an average 2 lane road. We could all see some real savings!
You'll be very happy to learn that for 17 years, you have paid nothing for my children's transportation to/from school. We live just under 1/2 mile from both Riverfield Elem. and the Ludlowe campus. Kids around here walk to school, and just like you and your neighbors, we have a right to safe passage. This means good sidewalks, crossing guards, and yes if our leaders and experts deem necessary for safety, a $15k bike lane. (continued)
Tell me sir, what exactly are "knock-on effects for the remainder of non-bikers and residents"? If you don't live near me, how does a bike lane on my road affect you? Lacking an explanation, I conclude that you don't want to drive safely on Mill Plain. You don't care if my children and my neighbors are safe. "Nice to have" vs appropriate is where we disagree. Is public infrastructure to assure safety OK for your neighborhood, but when it's mine, then we can't afford it? If I'm right, then you actually don't love Fairfield.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904881404577603301566976464.html#articleTabs_article%3D1 http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333519/connecticut-s-fiscal-mess-jillian-kay-melchior#