Upper Canal Street - HuntHrld request

I was a little disappointed with the final article of Aug30 in the HuntHrld that focused on the locks of the canal. I understand that editing must take place, but my response to his request for comment contained 1 paragraph about the locks, 3 on the riverwalk, and 1 expressing excitement over the re-cycling of the buildings. here is my full response to Ed Harris of Huntington Herald:

From: Thomas Harbinson Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:31 PMTo: 'Harris, Ed'Subject: Upper Canal St.

The locks are one of the hidden jewels of history in town. Shelton would never have been the industrial giant it was without the dependable water power from the Housatonic to run it's factories. The locks are a remnant of that past. While they will never become functional again, they do serve as an example of what was required engineering wise as part of the construction of the Ousatonic Dam (yes it's without the "H").

The locks are "off property" to the development proposal by Primrose Development, but they will serve as a destinational draw for riverwalk users. A project of this scale will require considerations for off-site improvements such as streets, utilities, linkage of pedestrian activity to the business of downtown. The proposal is conceptual and there has been concern expressed by the Conservation Commission that the introduction of such quantity of residents to that area with no greenspace, even as a pocket park, is not wise. The most appropriate location for such a greenspace we feel would be the area near the locks. The proposal is a bit ambiguous as to where the riverwalk would be at this location, but certainly the degree of residential, commercial and 2 tiered parking currently conceived would have much impact to the parcel.

The existing riverwalk success is due to architectural elements that break up the walk, or features that draw the user further into the walk. Examples are a Farmer's Market, allee of trees, the war memorial, the "plaza" area of the walk, a bench, landscaping of flowers or willow trees. They all work to draw the user to the next element. It is subtle, but this illustrates good landscape architecture.

Additionally the success of the current riverwalk's use is due in part to it's looping nature. That is poorly achieved on Canal Street North by using sidealk infrastructure that will have numerous curbcuts creating pedestrian/vehicular conflict at many locations. If a way could be found to route a return section between the existing rail line and proposed parking areas on the current burm, that could be very successful.

It is exciting and encouraging to see investment being made in "recycling" many of the old buildings. It is in the "spirit" of what conservation is about. These proposals are conceptual, and we were asked for comment to help bring input to the final design. I'm confident that our comments will be received in the spirit they are intended and the end product will be a better one for all of Shelton, and specific to our concern, users of a riverwalk that would enjoy the environment adjacent to the Housatonic River.

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Ed I will blog this reply after your publication date of Wed. - Glad to help - Tom.

-----Original Message-----From: Harris, Ed [mailto:eharris@jcpgroup.com] Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:36 PMTo: Thomas Harbinson
Tom,I've heard the Conservation Commission is interested in preserving the locks around Canal Street downtown. Below is all I could find on your blog. Do you have anything else or any background information somewhere accessible?Thanks.canal locks: have historic character and development site could better provide access to the vistas upriver