Thanks to you and all your hard work in making phone calls and sending letters - our legislators made this issue a priority and worked closely with state agencies to find another method of crossing Ash Creek. I just received a phone call from Mayor Fabrizi today letting me know that an agreement has been reached by the City of Bridgeport, Town of Fairfield, Connecticut Department of Transportation and the DEP to allow CL&P to cross the Ash Creek waterway by tunneling under the existing roadway bridge. This means that two lanes of traffic on the Post Road in Fairfield and Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport will be closed off for 2-6 months while the work is done. The HDD (Horizontal Directional Drill) method requires large equipment to be in place on the roadway on the two lanes that will be closed off. Two lanes will be open over the Ash Creek roadway bridge during that period, one going east and the other going west. I hope we can all agree that the inconvenience of the lane closures is a small price to pay for the elimination of this ugly bridge over Ash Creek:
We can't underestimate what an enormous undertaking this was and how greatly the odds were stacked in favor of the utility bridge. We want to thank Councilwoman Donna Curran for bringing this situation to our attention on August 1 and Councilman Tom Mulligan for working in partnership with her and meeting with the Mayor on this issue. Mayor Fabrizi wholeheartedly jumped into the fray once he was apprised of the issues and played a decisive role along with Selectman Ken Flatto in working out these issues with ConnDOT and the DEP. We also want to thank State Rep. Chris Caruso who sent a letter to the DEP Hearing Officer and copied in Governor Rell and other key legislators signed by himself, Sen. Bill Finch, Rep. Charles Clemens, Sen. Edwin Gomes, Rep. Thomas Drew, Rep. Joseph Mioli, Rep. Felipe Reinoso, and Rep. John Hennessy. Rep. Robert Keeley was away, but sent a separate letter. U.S. Congressman Chris Shays sent a letter to the Siting Council and the Army Corps of Engineers on our behalf. Sen. John McKinney from Fairfield was adamantly opposed to the utility bridge and spoke out against it at the public hearing, as did Mayor Fabrizi, First Selectman Flatto, State Rep. Chris Caruso, State Rep. Tom Drew, State Rep. Jack Hennessy, State Rep. Elect Kim Fawcett, Councilman Tom Mulligan, Councilman Bob Walsh, and Councilwoman Donna Curran's remarks were read into the record at that time although she wasn't able to be there.
We also want to thank Fairfielders Protecting Land (FPLAN) who joined with us on the intervention. We believe that by forcing the public hearing at DEP with the 700+ signatures pressure was put on the parties to hold the discussions that eventually resulted in this agreement. Without the DEP hearing the likelihood is that the Connecticut Siting Council would have given approval to the utility bridge plans which they had before them as the DOT and DEP were not allowing any other options and it is their role to get this $1 billion transmission line project moving ahead. We also deeply appreciate the support of Mill River Wetlands, Black Rock Homeowners Association, Black Rock Arts Center, and the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors - who allowed us to give presentations and forwarded on our e-mails to their members.
Our ACCA members, Gen Barthe and Jean Layton collected many of the 700+ signatures and handed out flyers. Thanks also to Elizabeth Van Tuyl who did initial research on this issue and to Andre Ruellan, who helped me prepare the rendering and was prepared to serve as a expert witness for Ash Creek.
Also we must thank Attorney Kathryn Braun and Steven Danzer, Ph.D. for their devotion to environmental causes and the high quality of their professional services.
This was truly an example of democracy in action. When citizens band together and speak with one voice our legislators listen and when they work together across party lines and across municipalities, what had seemed like an insurmountable obstacle was overcome. We are deeply grateful to everyone who worked on this and we should all rejoice in the outcome. Let's remember this victory and continue our commitment to work together to preserve and protect our beautiful Ash Creek tidal estuary.
Thank you so much, Gail
To find out more about the proposed utility bridge and alternatives please click here to download a powerpoint presentation on the Utility Bridge.
Here is the resolution based by the board and sent to the Connecticut Siting Council regarding the Utility Bridge:
The Ash Creek Conservation Association, Inc. unanimously approved this resolution on September 13, 2006
2. We have met with the Bridgeport Harbor Commission and formally requested that the Ash Creek Tidal Estuary be included in the upcoming revision of the Harbor Management Plan with special attention paid to preventing dock proliferation.
3. We have have also lodged formal complaints with the Council on Environmental Quality with regard to the misinformation included in the Final Decision Report regarding the existence of five docks in Ash Creek. Finally, our complaint regarding an illegal dock on Ash Creek resulted in its removal.
Town Acquires Ash Creek Marshland
by Andy Hutchinson
For years, Fairfield students of all ages have had an opportunity to learn in person and hands-on about shoreline wildlife in their hometown. Town officials assured that this opportunity will remain in place at Ash Creek for years to come. An expenditure that will give the town ownership of approximately 13-14 acres of previously privately-owned Ash Creek marshland has been approved by the Conservation Commission and Board of Selectmen.
The property at the mouth of Ash Creek will be purchased from the Massello family at no cost to the town. The $45,000 purchase will be paid by the H. Smith Richardson Conservation Trust Fund and the Aspetuck Land Trust in a 50-50 split. The purchase price is low, according to First Selectman Kenneth Flatto.
"It's a wonderful, beautiful parcel of marshland with very unusual bird habitat. It has the potential to be home to many rare bird species of of Connecticut," said Flatto, noting that ospreys are among the birds that live in the marsh.
"There are some unique habitat associated with it. It does serve some educational purposes - there are routine trips to the marshlands out there," added Land Acquisition Commission Chairman Stuart Manley, referring to school field trips to study the wildlife.
The location also offers a link to the region's historical past. It is the site of the old Tide Mill Dam from the 1700 and 1800s, and is a spot in which salt hay farming is believed to have taken place in colonial times, according to Conservation Director Thomas Steinke.
Steinke added that there are a variety of fish, crabs, clams, oysters and waterfowl that thrive in Ash Creek. "It's a really neat area," Steinke said.
By taking over the land, the town can ensure that the valuable waterfront property will not get built upon, town officials say.
"The value of waterfront property has gone up exponentially," Manley said. "There is a lot of pressure to develop coastal properties. I know there's a lot of interest in developing docks in Ash Creek."
"One of the fears is that (private owners) could try to put some docks on the property," Flatto confirmed.
| Fall Bird Walk with Milan Bull |
| Phone: | 203 335 6690 |
| email: | AshCreekAssoc@optonline.net |
| Mailing Address | |
| Ash Creek Conservation Association, Inc. | |
| 247 Harborview Avenue | |
| Bridgeport, CT 06605 | |
| Website: www.ashcreekassoc.org |
Please contact Gail if you left anything behind at the party
This web site is maintained by L. Kraig Steffen, please email me with corrections/deletions/additions. It was last updated on June 7 2006.