Plastic-Wrapped Planters

Planters remain wrapped in plastic months after being dropped off along a pathway that runs east-west from Flower Street to Broad Street, under the I-84 viaduct. Vegetation, arranged haphazardly, peeking out from beneath the elevated highway.

Originally, Mayor Segarra had supported the fight to keep the city street open to thru-traffic, but later stepped aside when the State pressed. During discussions between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and constituents, the State agency promised a number of measures would be taken to soften the blow of the closure of this north-south street. Residents and business owners were told that a linear park type of space would be created, complete with benches and native plantings.

Some benches have been placed on the Flower Street end, north of the railroad crossing. The lighting has improved and a trash can has been added. While the vegetation arrived months ago, the condition and placement raises questions. A local landscaper confirmed that leaving planters in low-light conditions, still wrapped in plastic, is not a norm of the industry. The only resemblance to the plan shown to neighborhood groups is a small patch of greenery planted in the ground at the Flower Street entrance to this path.

This walkway has been described as “temporary,” but work on a permanent court-ordered mitigation strategy appears to have stalled, with questions between constituents and the DOT going unanswered. The last public meeting regarding Flower Street pedestrian bridge options was in May 2014, and it did little more than rehash the design alternatives presented in preceding months.

The east-west detour for the closure of the north-south Flower Street has been closed some days while construction is simultaneously underway on Sigourney Street and Broad Street, the other nearby north-south roadways.