NORWALK, Conn. – Some Norwalk political notes:
- Banning plastic straws?
- From the Walk Bridge project to Harbor Management Commission
- Kibbe and McCabe appointed
- Duff takes questions
- Wheels2U pilot extended through the year
- Stop & Shop strike called a success
- Zoning Commission to consider murals
Norwalk/Stamford look to ban plastic straws
Norwalk’s ban on plastic bags will go into effect on July 1, and Common Council President Tom Livingston (D-District E) is promising that plastic straws are next.
Norwalk and Stamford are working together to address environmental issues, Livingston said last week at an Earth Day event at Norwalk’s Maritime Aquarium. “As two of the largest cities in the state, we want to set an example for the rest of the state, if not New England and the country,” he said.
The first joint act will be identical proposals in front of their respective governmental bodies to ban on plastic straws and stirrers.
“Few people realize that straws are among the top 10 items found during beach cleanups and can do much harm to sea birds, turtles and other marine creatures,” Livingston said. “The average plastic straw is used for up to 20 minutes, yet it takes up to 200 years to degrade. When it does degrade, it breaks down into microplastics that are ingested by marine and land animals, working their way into our food chain.”
Stamford Mayor David Martin and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said the cities are working together.
“We cannot save this planet one person at a time… we must have collective action,” Martin said.
“This is a team effort,” Rilling said. “We cannot do it alone, and we can’t do it ourselves. We need to bring in all of our residents, we need to educate the public, we need to make them understand how we can keep our earth clean.”
“Plastic straw bans have faced opposition not just from business groups but also from disability advocates, who point out that some people need a straw to drink,” NBC News reports.
Ex-Walk Bridge project engineer joins Harbor Commission
Christopher MacDonnell, an engineer who oversaw the design of the Walk Bridge, has been appointed to the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission.
“I think he will be an asset to the city because of his knowledge,” Livingston said at last week’s Council meeting, where McDonnell was unanimously approved.
“I bring a varied 31 years of experience working for public authorities, contractors and consulting engineers,” MacDonnell states in his resume.
He’s been a senior engineer for STV Inc. since May and was with WSP (formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff) from June 2006 to May, according to his resume. He also oversaw the design for the Danbury dockyard and the “CP243” project, the interlocking switches north of the bridge.
McDonnell worked on the 2006-2008 Bronx Whitestone Bridge Bronx approach replacement and has recently helped address Holland Tunnel flood damage from Superstorm Sandy.
Harbor Management Commission Chairman John Romano called MacDonnell’s appointment a “surprise.”
Livingston said he met McDonnell two years ago and was impressed by his knowledge of Walk Bridge design and constraints.
“I happen to know him personally as well and I think he would bring a very positive temperament and background to the Commission,” Hosten (D-At Large) said. “He has worked on harbor management on a smaller scale, in the neighborhood of Village Creek, where we have done dock management, dredging, the works.”
Other appointments
Alan Kibbe is the kind of boater you would follow back to the harbor in a dense fog, Council member John Kydes (D-District C) said Tuesday.
Kibbe was also appointed unanimously to the Harbor Management Commission.
“Norwalk Harbor has been very important to my family for almost 40 years and I would like to help preserve that resource for others to enjoy for recreation and as a continued source of livelihood for our commercial users,” Kibbe states in his resume.
Barbara McCabe, an advanced practice registered nurse and former member of the NorWALKer task force, was appointed to the Bike/Walk Commission.
Duff hosts digital town hall
State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-25) fielded questions for about half an hour last week, with occasional interruptions from his dog, in his first Facebook town hall.
Much of the commentary echoed answers at Duff’s recent in-person forums. Duff said he doesn’t have a position yet on the proposal to put tolls on Connecticut’s major highways because there are unanswered questions, and said he isn’t ready to endorse any candidates in upcoming presidential primaries but has met “Mayor Pete,” and he’s a “good guy and thinker.”
The event gave David Mapley, the “Norwalk Taxes Too High” guy, a chance to push Duff on the charge that Norwalk only gets nine cents back for every dollar it sends Hartford.
“I don’t know where those talking points come from, that’s not the case,” Duff said. “That number is false.”
He said Norwalk gets state funding for infrastructure, for the Maritime Aquarium, for the Lockwood Matthews Mansion and other things.
Duff engaged in a bit of back and forth with Paul Passarelli on the $15 minimum wage issue; Duff announced support for the idea and Passarelli typed that it would increase unemployment.
“That hasn’t been the case,” Duff said. He added that the minimum wage since President Franklin D. Roosevelt has helped build a solid middle class.
Questions continued, but Duff ended the event after 35 minutes following commentary about net neutrality.
“We need to get back to a standard of discourse that is not personal and not attacking,” Duff said. “… A lot of people will make a statement behind a screen that they would never say in person, which I guess it’s better that they don’t say it in person but we want to make sure that we keep a good level of discourse.”
Passarelli replied: “I waited for the live session to end to write: ‘It’s difficult to be civil in discourse with the person who has his hand buried deeply in my wallet!”
The event has been viewed by about 1,200 people, according to Facebook.
NancyOnNorwalk asked Rilling if he’d hold a Facebook town hall.
“Certainly worth a try,” Rilling replied.
Wheels2U
Duff was asked about a free shuttle between Waypointe and The SoNo Collection.
“I think there will be,” he said.
A circulator was part of the discussion when the mall was first proposed, but that idea evolved into Wheels2U, an on-demand microtransit option which debuted in September, offering free rides as part of a six-month pilot program.
Riders use an app to call a van, which shuttles the rider and other passengers directly to their destinations within a defined service area. The service has been described as “Uber for public transit.”
The service area was expanded on March 21 to serve Glover Avenue apartments and Main Avenue hotels. Click the link below to see the service area:
The program has been extended through 2019, Norwalk Director of Transportation, Mobility and Parking Kathryn Hebert wrote last week. “The team is working with the SoNo {Collection} to include Wheels2U. West Ave is already included in the service area.”
“The program so far has been embraced by the public and continues to increase awareness and ridership. Our very preliminary information shows that people have downloaded the app and who use the service are very pleased,” Hebert wrote. She hopes to continue expanding the service’s coverage area.
The Micro Transit service is operated and maintained by the Transit District.
Chestnut Street sidewalk repairs projected for 2020-21
“{A}ny news on fixing the sidewalk on Chestnut street or Henry street to the South Norwalk train station,” one person asked Duff.
Duff said he’d forward that question to customer service.
“As part of renovations at at Side By Side Charter School, sidewalks were done on Henry Street heading east toward South Main Street. The Redevelopment Agency supplied additional funding to enhance the sidewalks and curbing in that area,” Norwalk Communications Manager Joshua Morgan wrote to NancyOnNorwalk.
The City repairs and replaces sidewalks in conjunction with its paving projects.
“Chestnut Street is on the forecast for 2020 or 2021, but ultimately depends on the proposed development in the area,” Morgan wrote.
ICYMI: Stop and Shop is no longer stopped
Stop & Shop workers returned to work last week and restocked shelves after an 11-day strike.
“We’re proud of what we did to stand up for ourselves in New England, and also proud of how we held the line for other grocery workers across the country. One good job should be enough,” Support Stop & Shop Workers wrote on its Facebook page.
“This is a very positive development that we could not have achieved without your unyielding support,” the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) union wrote.
UFCW local 371 voted unanimously Thursday to ratify the agreement helped along by a federal mediator. Stop & Shop called the deal “fair,” according to The Sun Chronicle.
Stop & Shop said the deal includes:
- Increased pay for all associates;
- Continued excellent health coverage for eligible associates
- Ongoing defined benefit pension benefits for all eligible associates
Ahold Delhaize, owner of Stop & Shop, estimated the cost of the strike as $90-110 million and predicted, on its website, a slightly lower operating margin for 2019.
Labor supporters have cried victory.
“In hindsight, the 11-day strike, the largest retail strike in the U.S. since 2003, could turn out to be one of the most important work stoppages of the past few decades,” John Logan wrote on The Hill. “…if Stop & Shop management had succeeded in gutting the health care and pension benefits of its unionized workforce in New England, it would likely have adopted these tactics actions in other states, and could have encouraged other unionized grocery chains to pursue similar ‘morally wrong’ bargaining tactics.
Sign regulation review on tap
The Norwalk Zoning Commission on Thursday is set to consider amendment to Norwalk sign regulations to “clarify that wall murals are not signs,” the meeting’s agenda states.
In November, Jason Milligan’s murals in the Wall Street area stirred a controversy which ended when the Norwalk Arts Commission stepped up to work with Planning and Zoning on revising regulations for wall art.
The agenda also states that amendments include reducing the number of off-premise signs.
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