Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, State Senator Bob Duff and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling came together at a press event on March 21 to announce the allocation of $1.4 million in federal funds for improving the aging sidewalks in the area around Norwalk’s West Rocks Middle School.
The federal funds will cover two miles along West Rocks Road, with the goal of creating upgraded sidewalks along both sides of the major thoroughfare which shares its name. According to Rilling, these improvements address a safety issue as students living within two miles of schools are not eligible for school bus rides without special dispensation.
“This is Jim Himes’ doing,” Lamont said as he took the podium placed on a section of uneven sidewalk adjacent to the school parking lot. “He’s your Congressman ”“ he’s right behind me and he’s the guy who made this possible.”
Lamont also praised Rilling for balancing the continued development of the city despite the state offering relatively few directions for cities like Norwalk to expand.
“We’re a pretty busy state, a lot of people here,” Lamont added. “It’s not like the Wild West.”
Lamont stressed that walkable cities with good transportation and affordable housing that allow people to continue living in the towns where they grew up are key to building the state’s future.
Himes said he was proud to bring the money home through part of the revamped community projects grant which avoids some of the pitfalls of the old earmark system which yielded the infamous Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere” that featured prominently in the 2008 presidential election.
“What this really is,” Himes said, “is the opportunity for federal officials to take back a tiny bit of a federal budget which is funded to a great and disproportionate extent by the voters of the state of Connecticut. This is an opportunity for us to get just a little piece of that back to transform our cities, our towns, our neighborhoods.
“I’m just thrilled to death that we can bring a little bit of federal money to really transform a neighborhood here in the city of Norwalk,” Himes added. “We need to keep this up, we need to commit at the federal, the state, and the municipal level to keep building out Norwalk in the way that makes it the really vibrant community that every resident deserves.”
Duff admitted he had a personal connection with the project, since as a frequent jogger who lives in the neighborhood he has first-hand experience dealing with the state of the sidewalks.
“It is difficult for anybody who wants to walk or jog on some of these sidewalks that have been neglected for the better part of 50 years,” Duff said.
Rilling also shared a personal connection with the school.
“I graduated from what was at that time West Rocks Junior High School,” the mayor recalled. “Every morning I had to walk up that hill over there, on Aiken Street, and then every afternoon I’d walk down which was a lot easier.”
Improved sidewalks are only part of the equation for enhancing the city’s walkability. Rilling also said that the city is considering reviews of zoning regulations to strike a balance between allowing for more residents and walkable areas and avoiding overbuilding.
“Norwalk is very land strapped,” the mayor said. “We don’t have a lot of vacant land. So we have to start looking at density in our downtown urban core in order to get people out and about on the street in order to get business to want to come in, so we’re looking at it very carefully.”
West Rocks Middle School Principal Adam Reynolds, who was joined at the event by several students, also took the opportunity to thank Himes for his efforts, which he described as instrumental to improving student safety.
“Out of our 730 students, about 500 to 550 that are eligible for bus transportation,” Reynolds explained. “That leaves over 200 students on any given day required to either find transportation from a family member or guardian, or they’re walking or riding a bike. This will enable all 200-plus to walk to school safely and hopefully increase their nutrition and health.”
Promotional sunglasses were distributed at the end of the event to prepare attendees for the city’s “bright future.”
Photo: Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, joined by Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Rep Jim Himes and State Sen. Bob Duff at the March 21 press event announcing the new federal grant. Photo by Justin McGown.
