Support the Repair of Lakeside Blvd East 2016 update: On September 30, 2016, thanks to the support of Representative Jeff Berger, the State approved $375,000 Bonding for the Design of Roadway Improvements for Lakeside Boulevard West. A schedule for the effort is not yet available but we hope to have the opportunity to provide resident's input during the Design process. Please be aware that no construction funding has been allocated. Construction funds will need to requested after the design process is completed and good estimates are available.  Tom Harman, Governor Malloy, Representative Jeffrey Berger Speech Given At Board of Alderman Meeting January 21, 2014
By Tom Harman - President of WHNA
Mr.
President and Members of the Board:
I am here to request improvements to Lakeside Boulevard East. This road connects Park Road near the Western Hills Golf Course to Chase Parkway near the Greek Church. Although it was constructed as a windy local road, many decades of changes in the area, including the construction of I-84, expansion of the Naugatuck Community College and extensive residential development, have made it a through road and it cannot safely support this use under current design standards.
First and most significant, there is no storm drain system therefore runoff along the edges of the road rapidly degrades the paving with potholes and in many areas the asphalt curbing has totally disintegrated. In winter the resulting ice causes a severe hazard across the whole road, even with frequent sanding. And the amount of water drainage has greatly increased over the years as additional side streets and driveways were added due to housing development. Second, the width of the
road varies but at best it is barely wide enough to accommodate opposing
traffic flow so when cars are parked along the edges or when ice limits the
travel area, traffic is forced to weave and sometimes take turns passing though
the narrowest areas to avoid collisions.
And since this is a rural Postal delivery area with all boxes on the
east side, residents on the west side are forced to cross this weaving traffic
to get their mail. When combined with
the icing and constant speed violations it is a miracle that there have not
been injuries.
Finally, there are no
sidewalks in the area and since there is a Chase Parkway bus stop at Lakeside
Boulevard East, pedestrians must share the roadway with the cars and
trucks. This primarily affects residents
in the multi-family housing near Chase Parkway but during events such as the
highly popular annual Greek Festival many others are put at risk as well.
This issue has been brought to the attention of City officials before, including Mr. Spina of Public Works and members of this Board. We understand that improving the road will undoubtedly be a costly project. Adding sidewalks or expanding the road will be difficult due to many retaining walls and close construction in many areas. This will therefore be a multi-phase project and we ask for a start by allocating funding in the budget under consideration to conduct the engineering, planning and cost estimates, and to conduct meetings with area residents to finalize the plan.
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