December 20, 2019
The public was given the opportunity to hear progress and give feedback on the East Norwalk Transit-Oriented Development Plan at a public forum in November 2019. The 50 + participants were updated on the progress to-date following two community workshops, one on what people envisioned for the area held in March 2019, and the other on the different kind of transit-oriented development options available, held in July 2019. The public also heard about the key drivers of the Plan and the broad recommendations that address these key drivers. The final in-depth recommendations being developed in collaboration with the Oversight Committee are based on these broad recommendations. Additionally, attendees were taken through a market analysis of the project from an outside consultant that looked at the feasibility of development in East Norwalk and Norwalk as a whole.
Public Priorities
During the public open house, participants were asked to vote on their priorities for various recommendations for development in East Norwalk. This was done via interactive boards on which attendees were asked to put stickers on the recommendations they preferred. Below are the results.
Highest Priority Recommendations:
- Enhance leisure opportunities with wider sidewalks, mid-block crossings, pocket parks, plazas, community gardens, and publicly accessible open spaces.
- Improve mobility for everyone with traffic calming tools and methods to slow traffic and discourage cut-through traffic.
- Preserve and enhance existing residential neighborhoods.
Lowest Priority Recommendations:
- Examine two-way traffic circulation options around the cemetery.
- Add road signage to increase driver awareness.
- Increase turnover of prime on-street parking.
Next Steps
The draft report, including recommended zoning and design changes, is expected to be completed in early 2020, and with Committee feedback, will be available for public comment.
Ultimately, the Planning Commission will amend the recently adopted Citywide Plan (POCD) to incorporate the recommendations within the East Norwalk TOD plan. As part of that process the Planning Commission will hold two public hearings and will also refer the plan to the Common Council.
