NORTH CANAAN — In recent years, downtown North Canaan has welcomed new businesses, infrastructure improvements and spruced-up building facades.
In an effort to continue the positive momentum and identify funding options, First Selectman Brian Ohler toured Railroad Street with state officials Friday, April 4.
The group included State Senator Stephen Harding, R-30, Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto and Transportation Engineering Administrator Mark Carlino.
Ohler relayed a number of ideas for innovation on Railroad Street regarding pedestrian walkways, power line relocation and railroad track upgrades.
“Canaan is the welcoming committee for Connecticut with Route 7, all the travelers coming down,” Ohler said. “We want to roll out the red carpet, but the carpet really isn’t what it should be aesthetically right now.”
A Railroad Street crosswalk abuts a tall curb.photo by riley klein
Ohler pointed out a crosswalk on Railroad Street that abuts a seven-inch curb. “There’s no ADA consideration,” said Ohler.
Eucalitto explained that while the state does not directly fund sidewalk construction, DOT supports municipalities seeking grants for such projects. He noted the Community Connectivity Grant Program and Transportation Rural Improvement Program as two potential avenues for funding.
Eucalitto said grant applications approved by CCGP and TRIP typically fund construction, but municipalities are expected to pay for an engineer to design the project.
Eucalitto said TRIP applications can receive up to $800,000 and CCGP applications can receive up to $1.2 million.
With the help of Northwest Hills Council of Governments and Mark Carlino at DOT, North Canaan can itemize the specific work required to improve the pedestrian infrastructure, enabling the town to apply for grants.
The group addressed the dated power lines and utility poles along Railroad Street. Ohler suggested moving powerlines behind the buildings or underground.
Carlino said the cost of relocating powerlines is immense. He suggested the town partner with Eversource to install new utility poles and clean up some haphazard wiring.
Newer utility poles — like the ones nearby on Main Street — are taller, allowing for wires and tranformers to be placed above building facades.
Ohler agreed that would be an efficient option, but said he still plans to research the cost to relocate power lines to the municipal parking lot behind the buildings.
The group considered upgrades to the railroad and how to achieve varying levels of improvement.
Ohler noted ongoing efforts to extend passenger rail from Danbury to New Milford, as well as a desire on the Massachusetts side of the border to connect passengers from Danbury to Pittsfield.
Eucalitto said the existing railroad track that runs through North Canaan is graded for freight trains and would require considerable upgrades to permit passenger trains. He said there is a third rail option: “holiday trains,” such as the scenic and historic train rides between Thomaston and Torrington on the Naugatuck Railroad.
While a passenger railroad requires full-length electrification for signaling and equipment, a holiday train “is much easier to accomplish by investing in a freight railroad,” said Eucalitto.
Ohler and Harding envisioned a “foliage train” for the autumn season.
“Then you kind of get the tourist feel to it,” said Harding, who compared it to another holiday train in Essex, Connecticut. “They bring in hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of people per season.”
“We have funds that can help a freight railroad upgrade their tracks,” said Eucalitto, adding the money can be used to build a passenger platform where people can onboard.
The group identified a potential landing spot for a platform north of the auto dealer on Railroad Street. Utilizing Union Deport for onboarding was also considered.
To be awarded funding, Housatonic Railroad Company would need to apply to DOT and the federal government for track upgrades.
Gus Tripler prepares to jump from the new 36-meter jump.
Satre Hill and SWSA are celebrating their 100th Anniversary of ski jumping in northwest Connecticut this week. As part of this week’s festivities, Salisbury Central School was invited to watch a demonstration of jumping on the 20-meter and the newly installed 36-meter ski jumps.
The event began with Coach Seth Gardner welcoming Salisbury Central School to the jump complex and explaining the sport and training that goes into ski jumping.
Ski jumpers Oona Mascavage and Camden Hubbard assisted Coach Gardner by showing off equipment used in the sport from the oversized skis to the aerodynamic jump suits as well as the proper starting form known as the in-run position.
Salisbury Central School with SWSA jumpers.Dan Hubbard
Then, Willie Hallihan of the SWSA offered students a brief history of ski jumping in Salisbury, tracing the sport’s local roots back a century to when the Satre brothers first launched themselves off a barn before going on to construct the area’s first ski jumping hill. After the history lesson, younger jumpers showed how to begin the sport by skiing down the landing portion of the hill called the outrun.
Jumpers proceeded to show basic jumping from the 20-meter hill, where most beginners start. The event was capped with a demonstration of jumping from the bigger 36-meter hill, where the real flying begins led by one of SWSA's veterans, Gus Tripler.
Willie Halloran of SWSA, Coach Seth Gardner, and ski jumpers Oona Mascavage and Camden Hubbard giving a history of Salisbury ski jumping and equipment demonstration.C Tripler
The SWSA operates one of the oldest ski jumping facilities in the United States and is the home club of 1956 Olympic ski jumper Roy Sherwood and legendary ski jumping coach Larry Stone. The organization has hosted Olympic ski jumpers over the years, including many members of the current U.S. Olympic ski jumping team, now competing in Italy at the Winter Games.
The future of ski jumping at SWSA remains strong, with plans underway to install artificial grass that would allow for summer jumping and year-round training. Islay Sheil, a homegrown jumper, is currently competing on the Junior National Ski Jumping circuit, which includes Olympic-size 100-meter hills.
The 100th anniversary celebrations will continue Feb. 6–8 with Jumpfest, which will feature ski jumping events at Satre Hill in Salisbury.
The jumps at Satre Hill are groomed and ready for launch of the 100th annual Jumpfest Feb. 6 to 8.Photo by Lans Christensen
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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
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Antonio Alcalá
As part of the Norfolk Economic Development Commission’s campaign to celebrate the Norfolk Post Office and the three women who run it — Postmaster Michelle Veronesi and mother-and-daughter postal clerks Kathy Bascetta and Jenna Brown — the EDC has invited USPS art director and stamp designer Antonio Alcalá for a visit.
Postage stamps designed by Antonio Alcalá.Provided
On Sunday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m., the Virginia-based designer will give a talk at the Norfolk Library titled “The Art of the Postage Stamp.” The free talk is open to the public, with a reception following. Reservations are required: norfolklibrary.org.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a Children’s Valentine Stamp Workshop with Alcalá and children’s librarian Eileen Fitzgibbons. The workshop is open to children ages 6–14 (limit 14; registration required at norfolklibrary.org). The invitation: “Come create a stamp you love!”
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Ann Havemeyer, executive director of the Norfolk Library, said, “It’s always fun to see the new stamps issued by the USPS and learn more about the process of bringing a stamp to life. Antonio Alcalá will speak about the history of stampmaking, the design elements involved, and his own journey that brought him to this work.”
Alcalá is the founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. He lectures at schools including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, the School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute and the Maryland Institute College of Art. His work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an American Institute of Graphic Arts Fellow. He serves on Poster House museum’s CMYK Council and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s advisory council. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design. Alcalá earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and an MFA in graphic design from the Yale School of Art. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and Studio A partner, Helen McNeill.
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The Brookings Institution recently stated that “two and a half centuries after its founding, the Postal Service’s universal service mission continues to support local economic life, particularly in rural areas where stable, place-based infrastructure remains central to small-business activity.” Members of the Norfolk Economic Development Commission agree: “The Norfolk Post Office plays a unique and essential role in town life. Beyond its core function, it serves as a daily point of connection for residents and businesses and is a critical piece of local infrastructure that supports commerce, communication and community.”
