Walking in Stamford Challenged by Drivers

STAMFORD, Conn. – Tired of sitting in traffic in Stamford? Walking around the city is not that much better.

Sue Sweeney, who does not own a car and walks and uses public transportation to get around Stamford, lives in the Downtown-Ridgeway area and said it is “very walkable,” except for the state roadways, which are geared for cars.

“The state has the idea that its job is to move cars as quickly as possible,” she said adding that even the pedestrian cross walks are not much help, because vehicles don’t always stop. “You’re really taking your life into your hands.”

Charles Glaser, who owns a car but uses it only to see his kids in Weston and go grocery shopping, moved to his house in downtown Stamford because of its convenience to the train station, restaurants and shops. However, he does not find it convenient when he has to dodge bicycles on the sidewalks and cars while he crosses the street. He was even once hit by a truck outside of Black Bear Saloon and the driver of the vehicle did not stop.

“I assume he was either drunk or didn’t see me,” Glaser said.

A website, walkscore.com, has rated towns all over the country for their “walkability.” The site’s goal it to provide people looking for homes with another factor in their search: how easy is it to get around town without a car.

Overall Stamford was ranked at 59 as “somewhat walkable,” with the downtown, 87, Ridgeway, 77, and West Side, 75, receiving the highest scores, and Palmers Hill, 40, Roxbury, 31, and North Stamford, 17, ranked the lowest.

Scored out of 100, towns are graded on public transportation, ability to do daily errands on foot and the necessity of having a car.

Of all the towns in Fairfield County, only two scored above 60, Fairfield and New Canaan, both of which were graded as “walker’s paradise,” with grades of 97 and 98, respectively. Norwalk, 56, was also considered “somewhat walkable,” while most others were categorized as “car dependent.”

Glaser and Sweeney both recommended that the city can become more pedestrian friendly if there was more signage and enforcement of rules by police.  

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