1. INTRO 2. DOWNTOWN 3. GROVE STREET 4. BOARDMAN ROAD 5. PATRIOTS WAY
6. EAST - WEST CONNECTOR 7. HOUSATONIC BRIDGES 8. TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT

There have been many traffic studies and traffic improvement proposals over many years for central New Milford. It would be helpful to further decision making to have them summarized and presented in an overview.

As the HVCEO is the regional planning agency for New Milford and maintains a transportation planning program and list of proposed improvement projects for the community, it is the responsibility of the regional agency to provide such an overview.

The goal is to assist the Town of New Milford to make the decisions needed about its future transportation network. The completion of this summary was timed to coordinate with some very useful 2004 traffic analyses by the New Milford Economic Development Commission.

Compared to other area towns, even much larger Danbury, traffic circulation in Central New Milford is particularly complex. As local residents well know, this is due to the Town’s scenic but bisected geography, split as it is by the Housatonic River. Added to this mix are varying Route 7 and bypass proposals, raised and dashed expectations over several decades.

New Milford's population reached 5,799 in 1950, a few years before the first local traffic signal was installed at Main and Bridge Street. By 2000 the population had reached 27,121 and is expected to continue to climb. The dramatic growth in local traffic volumes reflects this change.

New Milford is a regional leader in lobbying to restore rail passenger service, last serving the New Milford Railroad Station 1971. New Milford is also served by a route of the Housatonic Area Regional Transit bus service. But however these transit services expand they are not likely to eliminate the need for more investment in traffic circulation improvements in and near the center of the Town.

New Milford has become a significant job center in the Housatonic Region, second only to Danbury, attracting commuters from elsewhere as well as sending its own local residents to other towns for their jobs. More than just another suburb of Danbury, from an economic and social perspective New Milford has its own tributary suburbs, including Sherman, Kent, Washington and Bridgewater. They, of course, also contribute to the traffic.

New Milford's traffic volumes have changed greatly over the years, and residents are now impatient with growing traffic congestion. They want traffic planning to move forward, funding for good projects to be found, and then to enjoy both the personal and community benefits of improved transportation service.

Above is an overview of the three key Housatonic River
bridge crossings in Central New Milford, to the south
near the designation Still River, in the center at "New
Milford", and to the north at "Boardman Bridge."

Many of the traffic capacity issues in Central New Milford are tied to the number of and limitations of the river crossings. The traffic capacity of the main Housatonic River crossing, from Route 7 to Downtown on Bridge Street (Veterans Memorial Bridge designated as combined Route 67 and 202), is critical to the Town but is permanently limited by the two lanes of the bridge span.

Looking east on Bridge Street, New Milford, CT

To its credit, for many years the Town has been working to divert some traffic from the central Bridge Street crossing to the Marsh Bridge crossing and adjacent Grove Street Corridor to the south. Significant federal grants have been received for this important project and more are expected.

Grove Street Corridor within New Milford, CT

Then to the northwest, some Boardman Road Corridor improvements were completed.

It was also Conn DOT policy for many years to provide New Milford with a new four lane limited access Route 7 Expressway, to parallel the existing two lane road on its west. This new facility would have eased congestion issues on existing Route 7, if not all of Central New Milford.

But Conn DOT's Route 7 Expressway Plan including a second, adjacent component to the north, leaving the Route 7 designation, crossing the Housatonic, and providing a bypass for Bridge Street and the Downtown. When the Route 7 plan to the south was changed in 1991, this northern component was dropped.

Now defunct New Milford bypass concepts;
East-West and North-South Connectors

We start this review of Central New Milford traffic issues in the heart of the community, Downtown New Milford.

1. INTRO 2. DOWNTOWN 3. GROVE STREET 4. BOARDMAN ROAD 5. PATRIOTS WAY
6. EAST - WEST CONNECTOR 7. HOUSATONIC BRIDGES 8. TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT