Trouble Ahead for Greater Milford Businesses

This past week Foxwoods released their traffic study to the public.  In a question and answer forum that followed, Mr. Reardon, chief traffic engineer for Tetra-Tech, tried to walk back a comment he made a couple of weeks ago when he stated that the residents along Rt. 16 would, “take a bullet for the town” regarding traffic to and from the casino. Well, he may have stepped in it again with his latest comment that the new CD roadway and Rt. 16 interchange design is a “big, big, big deal for us because what happens is over 95% of the people that are coming to the site are using the highway and are NEVER going to touch the local roadways in the neighborhood of the site.” 

Mr. Nunes, chief developer of the casino, later attempted to clarify a resident’s concern over Mr. Reardon’s latest statement, wondering where the benefit of “spillover” economic growth would be for local businesses.  According to Mr. Nunes, people will venture out into the town.  “There’s going to be a curiosity factor.  People will say well maybe I don’t want to eat in the casino.  Maybe I’d like to go over to the McDonald’s or the Burger King.  We’re only going to have five or six restaurants on our property.” 

With all due respect to franchise restaurants, if Mr. Nunes knew anything about the greater Milford area, he would know that we have so much more to offer.  Competition with their casino will be greater than they let on.  Even the Foxwoods website claims ten casino restaurants.   

For the sake of the future of this town, I implore local business owners to listen to the mixed messages you are hearing from Foxwoods.  The writing is on the wall.  Foxwoods is trying to work both sides of the fence at your expense.

Cathy Mitchell