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Residents press committee over Marjorie Reservoir Trail plans, citing eagle-nest and safety concerns
Summary
During public comment on the Marjorie Reservoir Trail concept website and survey, residents raised detailed concerns about a bald-eagle nest buffer, wetland protection, traffic and parking on Route 37, construction impacts and long-term maintenance funding.
At the Marjorie Reservoir Trail advisory-committee meeting, multiple residents used the public-comment period to press the committee to ensure wildlife protections, public safety and long-term maintenance are fully addressed before design decisions are finalized.
A long public comment from a resident (identified in the transcript as a member of the public and who said they live in New Fairfield) raised several concerns about the Route 37 corridor linking Danbury and New Fairfield: potential for cars to park near residences to access the trail, the need for crosswalks and lighting, impacts to tree roots and wetland habitat from trail construction, the burden of future maintenance costs after grant funding ends, and limits on local police resources to patrol new trail areas. The speaker asked whether parking and access points are defined and questioned whether the committee had a maintenance plan and funding source beyond the grant.
Mary Lincoln of New Fairfield, who spoke later in public comment, urged the committee to adhere to federal guidance for protecting bald-eagle nests. Lincoln told the committee that federal recommendations call for a 330-foot buffer from a nest at all times and 660 feet during the breeding season; she said surveyors had reportedly come within roughly 60 feet of an identified nest and said that work near that area could encroach on the bird's protected area. Lincoln also asked the committee to ensure the design and any construction avoid wetlands and to confirm that protection measures noted in the RFP are actually implemented.
Chair Holly Robinson and members said they have required the design consultant to consider public comments in the RFP and that the concept website (posted by the committee's design consultant, referred to in the transcript as "B and L" / Barton & L) has received about 266 responses so far. Robinson said the committee is still in a preconstruction/design phase, that survey results will be compiled and presented at the next meeting, and that no final design is approved at this stage.
The committee set its next meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Fairfield Senior Center; Robinson said the Feb. meeting will include a concise report on each survey comment and the consultant's compiled results.
The committee did not vote on any design or permitting actions at this meeting; public comments were recorded for consideration in the next-stage design work.
