If you read between the lines of the article posted below this one, what the developers did was to create a “new city” away from the heart of the original downtown. This is what I believe will happen to Cheshire if and when the Shoppes at Cheshire are built. The focus will shift away from central and southern Cheshire and will focus on the Shoppes.

This could be a good or bad thing depending upon how ones looks at the situation. As far as taxes and revenue go, the Town could be on the positive receiving end. On the other hand, if the rest of the town falls into abandonment, what will the cost factor of that be?

I suggest the developer W/S if it is to do anything for the town, supply a shuttle bus or two that could travel between the Lifestyle Center and make stops at Maplecroft Plaza, Everybody’s Plaza for starters and circulate the people around to the different businesses so they stay open for starters.

Cheshire has a “signage” problem, as we see with the Area 51 Pool, so if and when this Lifestyle Center is built, I hope Cheshire Town Government has enough sense to put this sign up advertising the pool that is open to ALL PEOPLE, to take advantage of the increase traffic that will most likely occur on Rt. 10. I am telling you, six word would solve the Community Pools financial problems: “CHESHIRE COMMUNITY POOL-ALL ARE WELCOME, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the pool. Cheshire needs to learn to stop its nonsense and welcome all people and stop calling people from other towns “outsiders.”

I feel like I’m in an episode of the Twilight Zone when I hear that one.

I know another article I read about a Lifestyle Center in another state mentioned that they were limiting access to the facility by highway only. That could be done in Cheshire, but it could tie up traffic on the off ramp into the Lifestyle Center as is the situation on Exit 48 on the Merritt Parkway south when one tries to get off to go to Trumbull Mall.

Even though the state spent millions widening the bridge that goes over the Parkway onto Main Street, the traffic, especially around November and December still backs up into the right lane of the parkway, making for a hairy situation to say the least, especially when someone decides they won’t wait in the line and just pulls out into traffic.

If that idea was adopted there would have to be a limited access road for emergency vehicles. Probably Dickerman Road.

Another idea was to incorporate all the surrounding roads into the main shopping area. I don’t know if this will work or not. But the main idea is for Cheshire Town Government to make sure all people feel comfortable traveling through Cheshire so they will have a pleasant experience (not a traffic court experience) get it?

A few residents went out this weekend with their two-pronged petition: one against the entire project ) and one petition just against the housing. I personally am not against the Lifestyle Center, just where it is located.  I would like to see a scaled down version of it on West Main Street in the Ball and Socket Factory, which could be paid for by the government in full under the “historic building grant.” That is how the City of Bridgeport funded the old Read’s building restoration and made the six story department store into professional housing for artists. No children. All adults. And, they have an 80 year lease. So you can have housing and retail without burdening the school system.

These people who collected signatures wrote down some of the comments people made while signing the petition. They are very interesting. Here are some of their statements:

Apparently a number of people referred to the pool and that the Lifestyle Center will end up like it.

“We don’t need another mall.”

“They should have the stores built closer to the town center  and we wouldn’t have to drive so far.”

“To drive to the mall from the town green is 4.2 miles. To drive to Rt. 5 in Wallingford is 5 miles.”

“The least of our needs is residential to fill our schools.”

“Why don’t they make the residential age restricted.”

“You can’t build classrooms overnight and our schools will be overcrowded.”

“I don’t like the way they pushed this through.”

“I’m against the mall, but I work for the town for 23 years and I’m afraid of repercussions if I sign.”

“What is going to happen to our existing businesses.”

“This will give us a paid fire department.”

“Where I live, we still can’t hook up to the sewers.”

The petition gatherers noted that many people told them they were wasting their time that the town won’t listen and will do what they want.

Other comments:

“As soon as I retire, I’m getting out of Cheshire.”

“We already have a traffic maze.”

“I don’t think the mall will last.”

“Why couldn’t we vote on it?”

“The state should buy it for a park and wildlife refuge.”

“A lot of people I know left Cheshire right after their children got out of high school and found they could buy the same or better condo’s outside of Cheshire.”

“It’s just a mall, where did they get Lifestyle from”?