By State Senator Dan Debicella

Connecticut’s Department of Transportation (DOT) recently released a plan to move Main Street near Sikorsky Memorial Airport to provide for a safety buffer for planes taking off or landing at the airport.

Stratford’s delegation in Hartford felt this was completely unacceptable because the DOT had not consulted with town officials, nor had the state agency received approval from Stratford town government. State Representatives John Harkins, Larry Miller, Terry Backer, and I met with DOT officials to get them to delay the decision until Stratford agrees to any changes.

Through meetings with the DOT, we have gotten them to agree to a public hearing and to get “consensus” from Stratford and Bridgeport before making any changes to the roads or the airport. The DOT plan is only that at this point—a plan. Nothing has been finalized or approved.

As this proposed plan advances through the public hearing process, and is discussed by Mayor Miron and the Town Council, I believe there are three principles that the DOT and state government must agree to:

1) Stratford must have final say on any changes to Main Street.
Stratford should be able to have final say about the roads within its own borders. The DOT always consults and gets at least informal approval from towns before undertaking major roadwork on our state roads, and this should be no exception. All of us in the Stratford delegation have proposed legislation to force DOT to get approval from Stratford, but we hope that they will give deference to the town anyway as a matter of principle.

The current DOT plan would move Main Street to make way for a “safety buffer” of gravel to provide extra space during takeoff and landings. The DOT claims that this is not an expansion of the runway, and would not allow larger commercial flights utilize the airport.

I have heard some people say this is just a first move towards expanding the runway. I have heard others say that this is just a prudent safety measure for the current users of the airport. Regardless, we need to have this debate in public and have the town approve of any changes before they take effect.

2) Stratford should have the “right of first refusal” to buy the airport.
State Representatives Terry Backer, John Harkins, Larry Miller, and I blocked an attempt by Bridgeport to sell the airport to the State of Connecticut. We all believe that the State should not buy the airport, but rather that Stratford should have the “right of first refusal” in any sale. We were successful this year, and will continue to fight against selling the airport to the state.

Again, we all believe that Stratford should be able to determine its own destiny. If Stratford wants to buy the airport (either to run as an airport to use for other economic development), they should have that right. Purchasing the airport would be very expensive, so the town might decide against it. But the people of Stratford (or their elected town representatives) should have the right to make that decision. State government should not be forcing its will on Stratford.

3) The airport footprint should not be expanded.
Finally, I believe the footprint of the airport should not be expanded. Even a small expansion of the footprint would allow large commercial aircraft to use the airport. The airport is a great regional resource for private aircraft and other small planes. But we do not want our local airport to become another Westchester Airport with large commercial flights coming in and out.

Expanding the airport would obviously hurt the quality of life for people in south Stratford, and it would not result in any economic benefit. Airports bring economic benefit only when the demand for them is already there; that is, when there is already a vibrant business and passenger community clamoring for it. That simply does not exist right now. Instead of talking about expanding the airport, we should be talking about how we can get more businesses into south Stratford and throughout the entire region. Expanding the airport under current conditions would simply result in a lower quality of life for residents without much, if any, economic benefit.

Stratford should have final say over Sikorsky Memorial Airport, and any changes to Main Street. State government and the DOT should not be allowed to implement any plan without town government—or voter referendum—approval. All three state representatives and I will continue to fight to make sure that Stratford has the final say.