For the 2025 Wilton Municipal Elections, GOOD Morning Wilton asked all candidates to submit a 150-word bio; candidates running for the Boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education and the Planning and Zoning Commission were asked to sit for a video interview and submit an 800-word op-ed. In addition, candidates in the other races were invited to submit an op-ed if they wanted. More information is available in GMW’s Election Guidelines and Policies.
Candidate Submitted Bio
Phil Murphy moved to Wilton in 1996 with his wife, Nadia. They raised three children and put each of them through Miller-Driscoll, Cider Mill, Middlebrook and Wilton High Schools. He has contributed to the town and state as a member of the Wilton Conservation Commission, the Southwest Regional Planning Agency, and the Republican State Central Committee of Connecticut. He works as a communications consultant in New York City and has lived in the same house on Spectacle Ln. for nearly 30 years.
Murphy is an advocate for local control of zoning decisions and responsible development that enhances Wilton’s character without overwhelming its infrastructure. He also admires Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, a husband-and-wife team who helped pioneer New Urbanism — a movement aimed at reimagining suburbs and urban sprawl by designing walkable, mixed-use communities that emulate traditional town planning. Like many in town, he’d like to see a more walkable Wilton.
Candidate Submitted Op-Ed
Let’s Make Wilton Walkable
by Philip Murphy, Republican Candidate for Zoning Board of Appeals (Alternate)
Wilton is facing a housing reckoning. With hundreds of new apartments already approved or proposed, and the ever-present pressure of Connecticut’s 8-30g statute, the question isn’t if our town will change, but how.
Developers are moving fast: 20 units with retail on Old Ridgefield Rd., 208 apartments near the train station, 40 more on Godfrey Pl., even 10 homes proposed in the “red-door” stone church on Danbury Rd. Nearly a thousand units are now in the pipeline.
On paper, many of these projects claim to deliver “affordable housing.” But let’s be honest: under 8-30g’s state formulas, “affordable” doesn’t mean what most residents think it does. It rarely translates into housing that teachers, firefighters, seniors or young families can truly afford. What it does guarantee is leverage for developers and limited control for towns.
So here’s the real issue: if growth is inevitable — and it is — do we let it overwhelm us? Or do we make sure Wilton grows in a way that enhances quality of life? The answer lies in creating a downtown designed for people, not just cars.
Why Walkability Matters
For decades, Wilton Center has been built around vehicles: wide roads, surface lots and drive-through convenience. That might have worked in 1975. It doesn’t work today.
Families moving here want safe sidewalks where kids can walk or bike to the library or the donut shop. Seniors want to get coffee or run errands without driving. Local businesses need foot traffic, the kind that happens when people linger, not when they dash in and out of parking lots.
With hundreds of new residents on the way, Wilton has a choice: density with livability, or density with congestion.
Three Practical Fixes
We don’t need a billion-dollar overhaul to make Wilton Center walkable. We need vision and a few smart steps:
- Extend the sidewalks: From CVS to the Wilton Library, walkers must step into the street four times where driveways slice through the sidewalk. Each of these parking lots is already accessible from Hubbard Rd. Replacing those cuts with one continuous, grass-lined sidewalk would instantly make downtown safer and more inviting.
- Raise the crosswalks: Right now, pedestrians step down while cars speed through. It sends a subtle but unmistakable message that cars come before people. Raised crosswalks flip the dynamic: cars slow, people stay level and safety improves. Other New England towns already use them, why not Wilton?
- Reroute traffic: A one-way, counterclockwise loop — Hubbard to Godfrey to Old Ridgefield — would create space for parallel parking, which doubles as a buffer for pedestrians. And at Post Office Square, a mini-rotary could tame one of Wilton’s most confusing and dangerous intersections.
A Community on Foot
Wilton’s character shines brightest when seen on foot. Imagine broad sidewalks connecting the library and Town Green, lined with benches, plantings and a café or two. Library programs could spill outdoors. Neighbors could bump into each other, linger and talk.
That’s what walkability does. It transforms errands into encounters and space into community.
The Cost of Inaction
Some will argue Wilton doesn’t have the density to justify these changes. But with nearly a thousand units coming, density is already here. The question is whether Wilton Center becomes a true community hub or a clogged cut-through that people avoid.
If we don’t plan, 8-30g ensures developers will keep dictating the terms. We’ll get projects that add cars and units but do nothing to build community. If we embrace walkability, we can guide growth and keep Wilton’s identity strong.
Let’s Take the First Step
Generations ago, Wilton chose cars. Today, we must choose people.
Extend the sidewalks. Raise the crosswalks. Reroute the cars. Add green. Build a downtown where new and longtime residents alike want to gather, stroll and stay.
Wilton is growing. The only question is whether we grow wisely, or let the moment pass us by.
It’s time to make Wilton walkable.