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Transforming Spaces: Rapid growth of public art is reshaping Norwalk and Fairfield County
Across southwest Connecticut, artists are painting new murals, communities are establishing arts and culture districts, and municipalities are seeking grant funding to create more art in public spaces. Officials throughout the region believe art can help connect parts of the city or town together, turn places into destinations for visitors, and provide a sense of…
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A growing need for improved school facilities in Norwalk and across southwest Connecticut
Craig Berendowski, a parent of three children in the Greenwich school district, stood up in front of dozens of his fellow parents and residents during last year’s budget hearing. For Berendowski, facility challenges at his son’s school, Old Greenwich, hit close to home that year. “My 9-year-old broke his leg a few weeks ago and…
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The Unsafe Roads of Southwest Connecticut
Walking across the street to pick up mail from a mailbox. Going for a walk on the side of the road. Crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. These are just three ways that residents of southwest Connecticut lost their lives over the past two years, as the region and the state as a whole…
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All aboard at South Norwalk Train Station
The South Norwalk Train Station is one of the busiest in the Metro-North Railroad system. It serves as a hub and connection point both for trains on the New Haven main line (running between New Haven and New York City) and trains on the Danbury branch (between Danbury and South Norwalk). “South Norwalk had the…
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Microtransit to Expand in Norwalk and Across Region
By Kelly Prinz, Coastal Connecticut Times Microtransit “is basically a cross between transit and Uber so it’s on-demand shared rides,” according to Frank Petise, Stamford’s Transportation Bureau Chief. The service usually involves a smaller vehicle th an a city bus—think minibus or SUV—paired with an app and phone number that allow users to request a…
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Parking-Violation Frustrations Boil Up from City Streets to City Hall
Tightly parked vehicles crowd the edges of city lanes. Idle commercial trucks hog scarce residential parking spots on residential streets. Requests for neighborhood parking passes are left unanswered. Public frustration is growing with Norwalk’s endemic parking woes, spurring Common Council members to ask for stricter enforcement of parking rules. “It’s getting frustrating at this point…
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Wall Street Corridor’s Phase 1 Plans Move Forward
The Norwalk Public Works Committee voted unanimously to advance a $2 million contract with Waters Construction Company to construct “phase 1” of the Wall Street corridor project. Garrett Bolella, the city’s assistant director of Transportation, Mobility, and Parking, said that they were thrilled to bring this piece forward, stating that this was just the first…
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$275 Million+ in School Building Projects Advances to Common Council
Construction contracts for both the South Norwalk Elementary School and Norwalk High School were advanced on February 7 by the Land Use and Building Management Committee of the Common Council. The committee voted unanimously in favor of a contract with the Newfield Construction Group with a “guaranteed maximum price”—or as Alan Lo, the city’s building…
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“Streets for Everyone”: Norwalk Committee Receives Update on Complete Streets Work
“Streets for everyone and streets about the people.” That was how Garrett Bolella, the assistant director of Norwalk’s Transportation, Mobility, and Parking department defined the Complete Streets work taking place in the city at the Economic and Community Development Committee meeting on February 1. There are four main parts that will help the city in…
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Norwalk’s Transportation Department Highlights Projects Funded with $40 Million+ in Grants
In 2023, the Transportation, Mobility, and Parking department used more than $40 million in grant funding to help launch projects across the city—from the redesign of Wall Street to improvements in the Hospital Hill neighborhood, from adding sidewalks in Rowayton to finishing the missing link section of the Norwalk RNorwalk iver Valley Trail. “We are…
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Norwalk Committee advances plan on how to realign Council Districts
The Norwalk Ordinance Committee moved forward a proposal to establish an advisory committee that would look at how to reapportion the Common Council districts in the city, despite push back from Republicans and Independents. The committee voted 6 to 1 to move the ordinance that establishes the committee to a public hearing, which will take…
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Golf carts on Norwalk streets? Traffic Authority says no
A proposal to allow golf carts on city streets in “specific shoreline neighborhoods in Norwalk” was unanimously opposed by the Norwalk Traffic Authority. Fior Lostumbo, owner of Connecticut Custom Carts, a golf cart dealership based in Norwalk—along with consultant J. Kevin Smith, who made the presentation—proposed regulations that would have allowed golf carts on streets…
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Norwalk introduces arborist as part of tree efforts
As a part of the City’s plans to plant and maintain more trees, Norwalk has added Sarah Cruz as a new member to the Recreation and Parks department. “Sarah comes to us [with] a pretty good background particularly with urban forests,” Recreation and Parks Director Robert Stowers told the Tree Advisory Committee on Tuesday. Stowers…
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Traffic News: Updates on Chestnut Street partial closures; Rowayton Elementary School speed limits
The Norwalk Traffic Authority tabled a proposal from the Department of Public Works that would make Chestnut Street into a temporary one-way road. Vanessa Valadares, Chief of Operations and Public Works, had requested the temporary one-way authorization to allow for underground utility and other work to take place related to the South Norwalk transit-oriented development…
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How to redistrict the city fairly: Norwalk Committee works to find an answer
Norwalk’s Common Council districts need to be adjusted for population and to make them more equitable, so each voter has about the same level of representation, according to City officials and Attorney Steven Mednick, who has been working with the council on charter-related issues. But in order to adjust the districts, the City needs to…
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Marriott SoNo Residence Inn expansion plans receive extension
Last year, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for an eight-story addition featuring 48 rooms to the Marriott SoNo Residence Inn on South Main Street. At its meeting on January 17, the commission granted the developer a year’s extension to get started on that work. “We are asking for a one-year extension of time,…
You missed what may have been the most interesting, for me at least, hearing of the week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEUDhcWdo7I Here you…