In the post-war period, Downtown Stamford was completely destroyed and rebuilt to try to make driving easier. Entire streets were wiped off the map, literally.
The city’s old, historic, downtown, that could have been the envy of countless cities throughout the country, was completely wiped out in one fell swoop. In its place, city planners built massive six-lane and eight-lane roads designed to move as many cars as fast as possible, and giant monolithic office complexes designed to face away from the city streets. Zero consideration was given to anybody walking, biking, or using public transit.
The thinking at the time was that Stamford’s respectable office workers wouldn’t be caught dead doing any of that anyways.
And this is exactly where I find myself: an office worker in Stamford, without a car, commuting on the regular to these very same office buildings designed to inconvenience me as much as possible. I’m not alone. Census data shows that only 59% of Stamford’s workforce actually drives to work. Times have changed.
Unfortunately, the scars of Stamford’s urban redevelopment have yet to heal. The current administration has plenty of great ideas, but change is happening at a glacial pace, as the city is short-staffed at every level, and much-needed grants to improve the city’s dangerous roads have been thrown into jeopardy by a change in the federal administration.
However, I and countless others in the city find some solace in one humble little piece of safe pedestrian infrastructure: the West Main Street Bridge. The bridge, which only opened in 2023, is a quaint little spot, crossing the Rippowam River, located in the city’s Mill River Park right next to a large playground. It is quiet, scenic, and most importantly, safe. That is because the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic.
You can walk across it, and you can bike across it, but you cannot drive across it. It provides a safe pedestrian link between Downtown and the West Side, which I personally use to walk to work and other places.
This is a place where people go on leisurely strolls, parents push their children around in strollers, local residents set up lawn chairs and listen to music, and elderly people walk at their own pace with no timer telling them to hurry it up. This last part is especially important, as the bridge is also located directly next to Stamford Manor: an affordable housing community for seniors and people with disabilities. The bridge gives them a space to walk around, and get much needed exercise and fresh air, without having to worry about coming into conflict with speeding drivers, or rushing to make the cross signal in time.
The surrounding areas are, sadly, a stark contrast.
Less than a block away, Main Street intersects with Washington Boulevard, Stamford’s “Boulevard of Death”. Washington Boulevard spans six lanes, wider than the Merritt Parkway, and just as wide as I-95. It’s a car crash hotspot, with one stretch of the road hosting approximately 550 crashes over the span of five years. That’s about one crash every three days, just on one stretch of one singular road. Right at the crossing of Washington Boulevard and Main Street, less than one block from the West Main Street Bridge, a driver killed two people in a horrific incident. He was driving 86mph.
In a city designed entirely for cars, where roadways can accommodate reckless idiots driving like it’s the Daytona Speedway, this one small bridge located in the middle of a park is a refuge for anyone who wants to walk or bike safely and comfortably.
But some on Stamford’s Board of Representatives want to get rid of it, and add a stream of cars right through the middle of Mill River Park.
The Stamford Board of Representatives is led by “Reform Stamford”, a political faction in the city which is fresh off of several major political losses. The Board of Reps is its last bastion of political power, but it is fighting for its life ahead of the city’s 2025 elections. In an effort to avoid being completely wiped out at the ballot box this fall, the Board of Reps is trying to drum up controversies to win support.
They have their sights set on the West Main Street Bridge, proposing to replace it with a bridge designed for vehicular traffic, hoping that drivers will come out and support them. The current pedestrian bridge was only built after narrow approval from – you guessed it – the Board of Reps themselves. Destroying the West Main Street Bridge and replacing it with a bridge designed for cars will cost millions of dollars, and take several years. All the while the city’s pedestrians, parkgoers, families, elderly, and disabled people bear the brunt of it.
Playing politics with our parks, and trying to ignite a mini culture war to try to get re-elected is disgraceful. It tells you all you need to know about Reform Stamford that in the anxiety-inducing politics of our age, it has its crosshairs set on our urban greenspaces. Reform Stamford is trying to waste precious taxpayer money and time to rip up a brand-new bridge to make one of the city’s largest parks more polluted, more loud, and more unsafe. It is no surprise that multiple leaders of Mill River Park came out to speak against this plan.
In the meantime, I will continue to walk across the West Main Street Bridge. I will use it to walk to work. I will use it to walk to shops and restaurants. I will use it to walk, just because I feel like it. And I will feel safe, comfortable, and happy using it. In a dangerous sea of speeding drivers in a city bulldozed to make way for cars, the pedestrian West Main Street Bridge is an oasis for anyone who wants to take their foot off the gas.
The Stamford Board of Representatives will be holding a public hearing to discuss the future of the bridge on March 20th. I will be there, and I hope this piece inspires some of you to join me, or fight for pedestrian spaces wherever you live.
Angelo Bochanis is a member of the Connecticut Mirror’s Community Editorial Board.