Stamford Brings Home the Bacon

According to the Advocate this morning, Stamford just received a fat piece of government cheese for local public works. Among the projects allotted funding is the removal of Mill River Dam and the transformation of the pond back to a natural river. This is the first major step in creating the Greenway that will run from the Sound up to Scalzi Park.

The Mill River Collaborative’s website is vague in particulars and seems to be lagging with updates worse than this site. Effective use of Google though really is a skill, and one at which I excel, and I found a link to a power point that illustrates the master plan. Some very cool stuff, kayak launches, fishing piers, trails that dip under bridges for a continuous loop. I hope the plan continues to evolve if and when more land along the river becomes available. For instance, I’m sure the South End redevelopment opens up some possibilities. I’m curious why the city doesn’t make a strong play for the empty, fenced off lot next to the river along Washington Blvd.

The master plan calls for ripping down an office building and apartment complex, but the empty lot is not part of the plan. It seems to me that going after this blank slate of a tract would be the easier first step.