STRATFORD -- The comprehensive vision of the
Stratford Waterfront and Harbor Management
Commission to improve use of the town's
coastal resources has earned the agency an
award for Waterfront Achievement from the
Connecticut Harbor Management Association.
All harbors, waterfront commissions and
municipalities throughout the state are
eligible for the award, which is not
handed out yearly but only when CHMA
feels it is merited. It was last awarded
three years ago to Milford.
Stratford Waterfront Commission Chairman
William Rock was presented the award
last week at the CHMA's annual dinner
meeting in Branford.
"The award speaks very well of the hard
work that the commission has done to try
to improve the development and, at the
same time, the preservation of the
Stratford shoreline and I'm very
honored," Rock said.
Association President John Pinto said
the Stratford commission received the
special recognition for development and
conservation of town properties on the
Housatonic River, Great Meadows Marsh
and Long Island Sound. "The Stratford
commission put together a rather
remarkable plan. They certainly met the
standards of stewardship. Rather than
having everyone develop something on
their own, they are trying to coordinate
development and tie in beneficial land
use in the public interest," Pinto said.
The commission's plan, or vision
statement, includes goals, most of which
have been accomplished, among them
improvements at the Birdseye
Street launching ramp. Commissioners
installed new signs for boaters approaching
the main T-dock; two new racks -- one for
kayaks, canoes and non-motorized vessels,
and a second one for bicycles; lighting;
picnic tables and a 24-hour, 360-degree
camera accessible on the Internet.
Rock said the camera can be use by
boaters to see what the real time
conditions are before going out on the
water.
Other improvements include the creation
of a new mooring field and a "no wake
zone" on the Housatonic River between
Washington Bridge and Peppy's Rock, or
Buoy 23, the maintenance and service of
the town's pump-out and harbormaster
boats, and leadership in the dredging of
the river.
"Recently we have worked with the Army
Corps of Engineers for alternative
methods of dredging the river," Rock
said. Instead of dredging the whole
river they fixed only those bends that
were clogged because of sediment
collection, "kind of like an
angioplasty," Rock said.
The commission was also the prime mover
in promoting the creation of the
"Greenway" walking and bicycle path
adjacent to the river.
The most recent and ambitious project on
the commission's "to-do" list is the
construction of a municipal pier, which
is currently in phase two, the
permitting process from the Army Corps
of Engineers and the Department of
Environmental Protection. Phase three,
which is a couple of years away, is the
actual pier construction, which Rock
estimates at about a half-million
dollars.
The municipal pier will be tied into the
existing pier with a string of floating
docks for both commercial use and to
expand public access. It will include a
lift for accessibility for the disabled,
Rock said.