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DARIEN, Conn. Walking down Hoyt Street from the Talmadge Hill train station can be a nerve-wracking experience with cars often speeding down the long and winding road. Darien is looking to solve that problem and is conducting a property line survey to see whether adding a sidewalk is an option.
The Board of Selectmen voted Monday night to approve an $8,500 transfer for the Department of Public Works do a survey from Country Club Road to Barringer Road. The decision came a few weeks after a survey found that 76.3 percent of the residents on the street would like a sidewalk or walking path installed.
Selectman David Bayne asked that the property line survey be extended to cover the area between Leeds Lane and Country Club Road, because that area was covered in the poll. "I don't think it would cost that much more to do that quarter-mile. If it's only a couple hundred dollars more I would be happy to approve that as well."
Workers from the Department of Public Works will map the road and see what problems might be presented by adding a sidewalk. There would be trees, mailboxes, stone walls, fences and utility poles that come within 20 feet of the edge of the pavement.
The poll of homeowners found that 74.5 percent would be more likely to walk to the train station if there was a sidewalk. Some respondents added that because they cannot walk to the Talmadge Hill station, they instead drive to the Noroton Heights station and take trains from there.
At the last meeting, Callie Sullivan pointed out that by having more people walk to Talmadge Hill in New Canaan, it could alleviate the parking problem at the Noroton Heights station.
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