By Sarah O pdahl

The Connecticut House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the passage of Bill 5009 in the first week of June, “An Act Concerning the Public Safety Capacity of Squantz Pond State Park.” Introduced by New Fairfield Representative Mr. Patrick Callahan in January 2023, the bill will take on the challenges that are presented when visitors search for and park in locations other than the state park and walk in.

The bill is heartily supported by both local and state officials. Local officials have long cried for the need to regulate admission into the park due to safety issues with visitors walking on the near shoulderless Route 39, in addition to the vehicular traffic and illegal parking that perpetually create headaches.

The approved bill states that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner “must use the following factors when determining the capacity limit: 1. the number of visitors and swimmers that can be safely supervised given the park and lifeguard staffing levels, 2. the park’s parking and public restroom capacity, 3. pedestrian and vehicular traffic on any highway without a sidewalk leading to the park that may threaten pedestrians’ public safety or impede emergency vehicles using the highway, and 4. the commissioner’s authority to use the number of vehicles entering the park as a proxy for the number of park visitors.” The bill stipulates DEEP’s coordination with municipal and state law enforce ment to implement traffic control efforts to minimize public safety concerns on local and state roads and for the Commissioner to close the park to new entrants when the capacity limit is reached.