Canton — A Divided Town

Some probably anticipate this letter will be about our new town "agency," C.A.R.E. It is not.

Some currently say they desire to maintain "the character of Canton." I am never quite certain to which or what character they refer. While I may think I have character, the less informed may think I am one. At any rate, there are many differing views about the character of Canton.

One thing for certain is that it has long been a divided town. For many years while the Collins factory thrived, it was not unusual for some who did not work in the factory to refer to those who did as "factory workers." This was sometimes meant to imply a somewhat lower class. Then, because some of the more expensive homes were located near the Collins office (for its officers), with the Main Street stores and the doctors' offices located east of the river, it was considered a bit more upper class to live on the "right" side of the bridge—or tracks, if you will.

Then, of course, we had the farmers north of Route 44 and the factory village of Collinsville to the south. Not anymore, of course, but there we see a hint of a new divider that may have even greater impact than those of the past.

The river, the factory, and the bridge no longer divide us, but we have found something that may divide us forever—Route 44. Compare the development on the north and south sides of Route 44. Even along the highway itself, the south side has been almost completely developed into commercial use, apartments, or low-income housing; the north side, however, has no low-income housing or apartment complexes, but still has some homes, and commercial land is still available.

The state requests/ demands each town in Connecticut to provide some low-income housing. Why has our town put the two most recent low-income housing developments on the south side of Route 44? Have we zoned such development out of the north side? Why?

When Canton, after some twenty years of planned procrastination, decided to sell the land it owned off Dowd Avenue (south of Route 44), why did it sell it for development into an industrial park? It is almost entirely surrounded by residential property—unlike the recently considered Lawton Road property. Apparently what is okay for the town to do south of Route 44 doesn't apply to what a developer wants to do north of Route 44. The north rejects a fine department store—but without a murmur, the south side gets Ocean State Job Lot. Perhaps we need just two zones—north and south of Route 44.

When a Canton Village is built or even where a lovely fixture of our town like the Canton Golf Course is developed into a shopping mall, no one—no agency, no board, no commission—objects, not even C.A.R.E. These developments, you see, are all south of Route 44.

One cannot help but wonder if those who profess to be concerned about preserving the "rural charm" and "character of our town" may be referring to that part north of Route 44 in which they live. If not, I await the next industrial park and low-income housing units to be developed—north of Route 44.

It is still a great town with good people on both sides of the divide, but never let it be said we don't CARE.