Ansonia Riverwalk Park and Walkway
The Ansonia Riverwalk Park and Walkway is part of the Naugatuck River Greenway - a planned 44-mile multipurpose trail following the Naugatuck River from Torrington to Derby. When complete, the Greenway will link 11 municipalities, reclaim the Naugatuck River for recreation, provide an alternate mode of transportation, drive tourism and economic development, and improve the quality of life for residents.
The City of Ansonia acting by and through Mayor James T. Della Volpe and the Ansonia Development Corporation assembled a master plan to incorporate downtown revitalization plans to spur economic development with a Federal Transportation Enhancement Program intended to incorporate multi-modal transportation (rails, bus, car, bike, walking trails) elements into a Naugatuck River walkway. DeCarlo & Doll, Inc. was commissioned to prepare and develop a multi-use implementation plan that could be phased in based on available dollars.
The riverwalk captured the potential revitalization of the former Latex plant, a 10-acre former industrial plant destroyed by a fire, along with various other infrastructure improvements that incorporated the placement of walkways within existing rights of ways, including a greenway featured on top of the east and west banks of the Naugatuck River and running south of Bridge Street to the Derby town line. The Ansonia riverwalk connects to the Derby Greenway at Division Street.
The Ansonia riverwalk master plan included:
- railroad station parking
- station platform and signage improvements
- mid-trail park south of Bridge Street on West Main
- lighthouse at the bend of the Naugatuck River permitting and accommodating ADA access to the river walk from street/ground level with access elevator and stair tower
- various pedestrian crossings on Main Street
- eight riverwalk sections covering approximately 10,500+\- LF
- pedestrian bridge over the Waterbury rail line permitting the riverwalk to connect Pershing Drive to West Bank riverwalk platforms.