Walking Tour Focusing on Smart Growth

"John Thomas, a resident and one of about a dozen who joined a Connecticut Trail Days tour, attempted to enter through the building's front doors, which were locked. The only access to the building then was through the parking garage.

The tour focused on smart growth, a concept that favors foot traffic over automobiles. It passed Mill River Park, the now-occupied RBS building, Metro Green affordable housing and the transportation center.

Smart growth involves concentrating development where the needed infrastructure, such as transportation and sewer, already exists, Stein said. Before the term became common, in 1977, Stamford's Planning Board put an end to commercial development north of Bulls Head, effectively adopting a smart growth policy, he said. All major development under way or being planned is within a 15- to 20-minute walk of the transportation center."