TOD Photo
Sidewalks, directional signs and a trolley bus would help connect the Shoreline East Train Station to surrounding neighborhoods. Those were some basic ideas discussed at a recent public workshop for the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) study. More complex ideas include the possibility of re-development and new zoning regulations.
The TOD team is studying the half-mile radius around the newly expanded Shoreline East Train Station, an area that includes the riverfront.
Diana Stricker Photo
“I’m really very excited to have this meeting tonight,” said Town Planner Harry Smith (pictured). He said the possibility of a TOD study was discussed 10 years ago during public hearings for the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). “We’ve seen some changes around the train station since then.”
Those changes include construction of the Stony Creek Brewery, the proposed Atlantic Wharf residential and retail complex, the possibility of additional condominiums at Anchor Reef, and plans to expand the Community House into a senior center.
“We want to know what town residents want to happen,” Smith said. “We also want to see what the market conditions are … and we want to have a better understanding of what this can do for the town, and what we might need to do to prepare for it.”
Ed Crowley, who owns the popular Stony Creek Brewery, talked about tourism. He said they are working on plans to take advantage of the train system to bring tourists from New York to tour the brewery, and then spend time at other locales in Branford. He said about 30 percent of cars in their parking lots are from out-of-state.
“We’re trying to get more people on the trains…it’s a heck of an asset that we have,” Crowley said.
Public hearings for the next 10-year POCD will begin soon.
Planning for the Future
BFJ Planning of New York City, who also have an office in Stamford, were hired through a $125,000 state grant to undertake the TOD study, along with the town planner and a steering committee.
Diana Stricker Photo
“We’re working with the town as your advisor,” explained Frank Fish (pictured), a founding principal of BFJ Planning. “The reason we have these workshops is to listen to you,” he told the packed audience at Canoe Brook Senior Center .
Fish said community outreach is a vital factor in a TOD study, and that information presented at workshops will be available online through the town’s web site. Monday’s session was video-taped for BCTV. A second workshop will be held June 22 at 7 p.m. at Fire Headquarters.
Fish said “zoning may have to be updated,” since a portion of the study area is zoned industrial, and opportunities for industrial development are slim. He said there are no plans to study re-development in the residential areas. “Our focus in not going to be on those neighborhoods,” he said. “We’re looking at preserving neighborhoods.”
Fish said they hope to complete a draft of the concept plans by September so that people may comment before it is finalized.
Noah Levine, of FBJ Planning, who serves as project planner, said there are currently 20 trains a week using the station, and 13 on weekends. He said they plan to talk with commuters during the study.
With Permission
The study will include ways to improve the streetscape.
“We’re looking at pedestrian connectivity,” Levine said, noting that some areas lack sidewalks and others have deteriorating sidewalks. The map above shows missing sidewalks in red and existing sidewalks in green. The dotted area is the study boundary.
What About Flooding?
With Permission
Jonathan Martin, project manager, discussed potential development areas that were identified in a study by the South Central Regional Council of Governments.
Martin said any development would have to take floodplains into account. “About 38 percent of the study area is in a floodplain,” he said.
The floodplains are depicted in the map above as purple and yellow. Photos of the frequent flooding on Meadow Street were also shown.
Martin said floodplains don’t exclude development, “but development has to be thought about and carefully planned within that context.”
Residents Have Ideas and Questions
Diana Stricker Photo
Jon Wilson, a Stony Creek resident, said he is concerned about Amtrak’s potential plans for track expansion for a high-speed express train from Boston to New York City and Washington D.C. Wilson is pictured at right with microphone.
“I have some questions about the uncertainty of the quad-track expansion between Branford Station and Guilford Station. To me, that has to be solved before anything can move forward,” Wilson said. “We need to have maps of exactly where that (Amtrak) easement’s going to go. You can’t plan something, and then have an easement go right through it.” Wilson is pictured at right with microphone.
Fish said the TOD study does not relate to proposals for quad-tracking between Branford and Guilford. “This is totally independent of anything Amtrak is doing,” he said
Fish said he will find more specific information, but that any Amtrak expansion is a long-range possibility that has no funding.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is working on proposals to doubletrack railways as part of a potential project to run Acela high-speed trains along the Northeast Corridor. State representatives Lonnie Reed and Sean Scanlon, and State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. have asked the FRA to meet with local officials and residents in Branford and Guilford. First Selectmen Joe Mazza of Guilford and Jamie Cosgrove of Branford have made similar requests. Click here to read a prior story.
Another resident asked how the TOD study relates to the Town Center. Fish said there would be no competition between the areas. “We’d like to develop a plan that is supportive and not competitive.”
Jacey Wyatt, who is running for governor, said she hopes any TOD plans take the historic nature of the town into account. She said the study should look at ways of enhancing the riverfront since the Branford River runs through the study area. She also said the TOD area could be conducive for construction of an inn or hotel.
Chet Blomquist, co-chair of the Branford chapter of the Shoreline Greenway Trail, said additional tie-ins with the trail in the TOD area would increase opportunities for walkers and bikers. He said a trail extending along the riverfront would be a great benefit.
A man, who did not identify himself, said more emphasis should be placed on the riverfront. “The riverfront is really a bigger asset that than train station,” he said.
Paul Muniz, the chair of the town’s Solid Waste Management Commission and a former member of the Representative Town Meeting, asked the study team to look at parking issues. “Ultimately transit area development comes down to parking,” he said.
Perry Maresca, chair of the Economic Development Commission, said the commission has been discussing a shuttle bus and looking into various options and costs.
Attorney James Perito suggested extending the streetscape and lighting from the Town Center to Montowese Street and Meadow Street. “The streetscape will tie everything together,” Perito said.
In response to a question about zoning, the town planner said the developers of Anchor Reef , Stony Creek Brewery and Atlantic Wharf had to utilize a Planned Development District (PDD), because the area was zoned industrial. Smith said one goal is to look at possible changes to zoning regulations that would relate specifically to some areas of the transit district.
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The failure of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) to provide maps showing the location of the proposed quad track expansion between Branford Station and Guilford Station has placed a dark cloud over the area around the station, our wetlands, historic sites, and homes that may lie is the railroad's path.
This new track doesn't even have to be built to impact development. Can a realistic redevelopment plan around the Branford Station be evaluated until the FRA/CTDOT Branford to Guilford quad track expansion is fully considered and/or removed from the FRA plans?