Site plan approved for parking

WINSTED — The Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the site plan for a repaving and renovation project of the Walker Field access parking lot, located at the corner of Rowley and Willow streets, across from the baseball field.Public Works Director Jim Rotondo presented the plan to the commission and said the new parking lot will have four fewer parking spaces than it currently has, but that the area will feature new curbing, islands, catch basins and other enhancements to resolve drainage and erosion issues.“It’s basically the repaving of a parking lot, but it’s going to be a good-looking parking lot as you drive by,” Rotondo said, as he went through an outline of the plan.The repaved lot will feature the addition of three rain garden areas for bioretention, with four-foot-deep sump pumps in each of three catch basins to capture sediment. There will be two landscaped islands in the lower parking area and one in the upper area. Safety issues in the new parking lot will also be addressed, with new lighting and a stop sign at the exit onto Willow Street. The exit will be moved away from the corner of Willow and Rowley to avoid traffic safety problems.“I think this is a good project,” said Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Bruce Hillman. “It’s a nice improvement.”