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Community Corner

Add Noise and Air Pollution to Growing List of Detrimental Casino Impacts

I left the Foxwoods traffic presentation this past Wednesday even more convinced that building a casino here is a bad choice for Milford. Our home is located three-quarters of a mile west of I-495. When we first moved in, the neighborhood was quiet. Over the years as traffic has increased on I-495, we have begun to hear more and more highway noise in our yard. If a casino is built, the traffic on I-495 will increase by approximately 50% every Saturday according to Foxwoods’ own study. Combined with the removal of trees in the I-495 median to make room for the highway expansion, we can expect a substantial increase in not only traffic noise but also in air pollution.

I asked Wednesday night why noise and air pollution were not addressed in the Foxwoods traffic report. The answer:  These critical issues, which undoubtedly will adversely affect our quality of life and public health, will be considered at a later date by the state, AFTER the host community agreement has been signed. Therefore, we have no guarantees that Foxwoods or the state will erect sound barriers or plant more trees to alleviate the noise and air pollution.

Allowing a casino to be built here would be like opening a Pandora’s Box that unleashes a multitude of damaging effects on our community, altering our quality of life here forever. The much-hyped Foxwoods revenue would come at a considerable cost to Milford residents. I urge our Selectmen and all other Milford residents to say NO to the casino!

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Geri Eddins, Milford

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