City transportation staff updated the Bike Walk Commission Nov. 10 on a broad set of pedestrian and bike projects: an accelerated push on sidewalks across multiple corridors, a short-term fix to close a Route 1 sidewalk gap near Rambert Road, and proposed bike-lane connections at Calf Pasture Beach.

"I think we have a lot — about 12 miles of sidewalks, by the end of this year when it's all said and done," Greg said while reviewing the construction list that includes West Rocks, Hospital Hill (substantially complete), Flax Hill Road phases, Groban and Beacon Street. On Route 1, staff showed a design concept for a contact bridge that would span marshy areas and allow a continuous sidewalk where a worn informal path currently forces pedestrians into traffic. Greg said the Route 1 corridor study will finish later in the year with a December public meeting and that short-term 'quick-hit' projects are being prioritized.

At Calf Pasture Beach, staff described coordination with Parks & Rec and the Norwalk River Valley Trail partners to add bidirectional bike lanes on the park drive that feed a new 12-foot-wide multiuse path along the water. "This way, you can take it all the way into here into the park... when you leave, you can use the bike lanes exiting, which gives you a 6 foot bike lane with a 2 foot buffer," Greg said. Commissioners raised bike-parking, bollard access at pedestrian cut-throughs and transit service (Norwalk Transit District route 4) as related opportunities.

Provenance: the sidewalk program and construction status are discussed SEG 1543–1620; the Route 1 gap segment is SEG 1644–1708; the Calf Pasture Beach presentation is SEG 1758–1872.