NAUGATUCK — The borough is planning to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly with the help of a state grant.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation awarded Naugatuck a $399,735 grant through the Community Connectivity Grant Program. The money was part of $13.4 million in grants awarded by the DOT through the program, which is an infrastructure improvement program that provides construction funding for projects that will improve the safety and accessibility for bicyclists and pedestrians in downtown areas, a press release stated.
The grant is not a matching grant, which means the borough doesn’t need to put any money forward to receive the funding.
Borough Engineer Wayne Zirolli said the borough is looking to make improvements to sidewalks, add and replace signage, update pedestrian crosswalks, and add ramps at crosswalks that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The grant will also allow the borough to make upgrades specifically for bicyclists, such as replacing storm drain grates with “bike safe” grates that won’t catch a bike’s tire, Zirolli said.
According to a map provided by Zirolli, the borough is looking at potential improvements on several roads, including Old Firehouse Road, Rubber Avenue, Church Street, Meadow Street, Water Street, Cedar Street and Maple Street.
Zirolli said the map shows potential, not definite, areas where improvements will be made. He said how much is done will depend on how far the borough can stretch the grant.
Zirolli said the work will likely be bid out to outside contractors. While borough public works employees can be tasked with the quick projects, such as replacing the storm drain grates, they will be busy with other work, Zirolli said.
The work could start as early as this summer, Zirolli said, depending on when the borough is able to complete all the necessary paperwork for the grant and hire a company to do the work.
