Town officials this week approved funds to create a new pedestrian path at Waveny that’s designed to get people out of a frequently used roadway.
Proposed two years ago by the recreation department, the new path will run parallel to the road that comes off of the main road through Waveny and runs toward Lapham Community Center, according to Tiger Mann, assistant director fo the New Canaan Department of Public Works.
The idea is to get pedestrians “onto a trail system on the side of the road, because it does access our senior center and it is quite heavily traveled,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting on Tuesday, held at Town Hall.
“We would like to see all of our residents walking their dogs or running or what have you utilize the trail instead of the roadway, especially in inclement weather.”
The selectmen unanimously approved a $43,000 contract with a Norwalk company that will create the processed stone trail.
Recreation Director Steve Benko first proposed the trail two years ago, and it has garnered support from the town’s funding bodies since then.
Selectmen Nick Williams called it a “really good project.”
“From a safety standpoint alone, this is a home run,” Williams said.
Eventually, Mann said, a crosswalk would be created where the main road through Waveny meets the “pool road,” with a new path that would run up toward Waveny House. Out front of it, thanks to the Waveny Park Conservancy, a new Flexi-Pave trail extension now is going in that’s also designed to get pedestrians out of the main road.