Hoyt Street Sidewalk Project Steps Forward [Video]

Most Darien residents who responded to a survey about building a Hoyt Street/Route 106 sidewalk are in favor of the project, town officials said Monday night.

Fueled by what they call dangerously and from those opposed, advocates for the project have cited safety reasons primarily in pushing for a study.

Now that an initial survey is done and its results indicate support for the project, Selectman David Bayne said the Board of Finance should be tapped to transfer money and pay for a second survey. The selectmen agreed, and the finance board next will be asked for $8,500 to conduct an engineering survey of the stretch of Hoyt Street between Barringer Road and Leeds Lane

“We clearly have enough support for this,” Bayne said. “Our next step is to see if it is possible.”

Of the 76 households on Hoyt Street, Barringer Road, Country Club Road and Leeds Lane who received the survey by mail—including all Darien residents who live within a three-quarter-mile radius of New Canaan's Talmadge Hill Metro-North Railroad station—42 of 55 respondents said they favored the sidewalks, Planning and Zoning director Jeremy Ginsberg said as he presented the results to the Board of Selectmen.

According to Ginsberg, six of the 55 respondents answered "No" to the question: "Would you like the town of Darien to install a sidewalk/walking path from Leeds Lane to Barringer Road?" Seven people had no opinion, Ginsberg said.

Because Hoyt Street is a state road, the state governs its usage including any possible alterations. Several residents in the northwest corner of Darien say they feel unsafe walking along the narrow, windy road to reach the Talmadge Hill station.

“We can bring it [a sidewalk proposal] to the state’s attention,” Selectman Jerry Nielsen said. “But we would have to build according to their specifications.”

"My concern is still the New Canaan side going from Barringer Road to Talmadge Hill Road," Nielsen added. "Talmadge Hill [Road] itself is very wide. But that last border is the most dangerous."

First Selectman Dave Campbell said that after hearing from the second group of residents in a new survey, three possibilities could emerge.

“We will find out that there is no problem—that there is a big enough area to build a sidewalk,” Campbell said. “Or we will find out that we have to buy people’s land to build a sidewalk. Or we will find out we have to deal with the state, to move the road, to build the sidewalk ... If we want sidewalks, we have to pay for them ourselves,” Campbell said.

“New Canaan is not going to install sidewalks," he added, referring to a in New Canaan that actually will allow that town to install sidewalks on a portion of its Main Street. That project, part of a far larger road repair effort in New Canaan, is still in its very early stages.

In Darien, Ginsberg raised lingering questions about a proposed Hoyt Street sidewalk.

“Where could a sidewalk or walking path be placed?" he said at the meeting. "Is it possible to install lights to improve pedestrian safety? People who are further away from the proposed sidewalk are less likely to use it.”

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