Westfield Residents Association
Middletown, Connecticut
P.O. Box 373
Middletown, CT 06457
Promoting responsible development of our city since 1981
WestfieldResidents@gmail.com
WRA Home Page
Environment
Economic Burden
Legislative Intent
Safety
    • DANGEROUS TRAFFIC ON RESIDENTIAL STREETS:  Quiet weekends will be replaced with hundreds and hundreds of trainees coming to the area driving down small country roads where residents -adults and children- walk, jog, ride bikes, walk their dogs and generally enjoy the peace and relative safety of neighborhood life. Add to that the trucks and heavy equipment and life changes forever.
    • APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT:  The WRA is not opposed to the type of development that is zoned Interstate Trade at the site, but an Army Training Base is so significantly different that the impact will be negative on the safety and quiet enjoyment of one’s property. An office park or industrial building generally has most of its use during the week, quieter on the weekends when the adjacent neighborhood people are home, and most of the employees live in and around the community.

    • The Boardman Lane site is devastating for the safety and quality of life of Middletown Residents.

    • FLOODING: The Federal Emergency Management Agency indicates that Middle, Bell and Boardman Lane (the latter in 3 diffrent locations) will each be inundated in a 100 year flood. The WRA is opposed to the siting of a National Guard facility in a location where it would be inoperable and inaccessible in a flood.
      This is shown in the satellite map at left, a larger image is available here.
    • BLASTING: The steepness of the site requires extensive site grading and blasting to create a buildable site of approximately 20 acres.  Blast forces in can travel 2000 feet in traprock, and most of the homes in the area have wells that could be damaged by the blasting.  Many of the existing wells in Old Farms (some of them only 300 feet away) are currently problematic, and in great danger from blasting.
    • AESTHETICS:  The nature of the area will be drastically altered - Westfield is one of the last remaining "country" areas making up a good part of the diverse mix of communities in Middletown.
    • NO TRAFFIC STUDY: Traffic of the magnitude to be expected from 150 full-time staff and up to 800 reservists is utterly inappropriate on the small country roads that lead to this site. Extensive hazards and nuisance will be created at the intercsection of Boardman Lane and Middle Street. The army is not required to submit a traffic study to the Middletown Police Department or to the Public Works Department.