Government

Police: Speed Enforcement Won’t Solve Mill Road Problems

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Most motorists are traveling at reasonable speeds on Mill Road, according to new data released by the Police Department, meaning a perceived public safety issue on the residential street cannot be solved by radar enforcement alone. Residents about two months ago raised concerns to the Police Commission about speeding motorists zipping by pedestrians and others on the narrow, windy road in southeastern New Canaan. The department followed up by gathering data on driver volume and speed over about two months, getting consistent results, according to Police Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh. 

The 85th percentile of motorists on Mill—a data point that traffic consultants view as indicative of overall speeds—travelled at about 28 mph at last count, while the maximum speed on the road was 45 mph, Walsh told members of the Police Commission at their Nov. 21 meeting. “In looking at it, it seems to be less of an enforcement possibility to be dealt with,” Walsh said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “We had our officer set up a few times, and to no result. The speeds are spread out.

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Podcast: CinemaLab Co-Founder & CEO Luke Parker Bowles 

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Luke Parker Bowles, co-founder and CEO of CinemaLab, the company that operates The Playhouse movie theater, event space, pub and concession on Elm Street (here on Instagram). Note that CinemaLab recently entered into a partnership with London’s famed National Theatre and now has the ability to broadcast live select multi-award-winning plays on the big screen at The Playhouse. While “Hamlet” and “Frankenstein” (both starring Benedict Cumberbatch) already have been screened this month, future broadcasts include “Vanya” (Dec. 4), “The Motive and the Cue” (Dec. 11) and “Present Laughter” (Dec. 18).

Business

What’s Open & Closed: Thanksgiving in New Canaan

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The biggest football game in the state will take place at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning as the fourth-ranked New Canaan Rams visit the third-ranked Darien Blue Wave in the annual Turkey Bowl. This year’s matchup is the 99th time these two powerhouse programs and arch rivals will face each other, this time with state playoff seeding on the line. For those unable to go in person, the game typically is broadcast live on NCTV 78 here (here’s the Darien feed as a backup). What follows is a look at what’s open and closed for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Town Hall will close at 1 p.m. Wednesday and reopen Monday.

Government

New Canaan ‘Community Garden’ Proposed for Kiwanis Park

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Led by residents who live in the neighborhood, a group of locals is seeking permission to create a “community garden” for New Canaan in a largely disused area of Kiwanis Park. An expanse of grass in the northeastern part of the Old Norwalk Road park could lend itself to an approximately 6,000-square-foot garden that town residents could use to grow mostly vegetables as well as fruit and flowers, New Canaan’s Lisa Creighton told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their Nov. 13 meeting. “The garden itself will increase the appeal and usage of Kiwanis Park,” Creighton said at the appointed body’s regular meeting, held at Lapham Community Center and via videoconference. During a presentation to the Commission, Creighton listed some of the expected benefits of the garden, including community beautification, social connection, educational opportunities, food security and sustainability. 

Creighton, who’d been involved with community gardens in Washington, D.C. in the past said that in her experience such gardens “build social cohesion,” bringing together people who normally wouldn’t interact. 

She added that a community garden such as what’s envisioned for Kiwanis lends itself to wide “peer-to-peer education” where adults learn from each other “about the stewardship of land, planting and seedlings.”

Though the organic plants grown in a community garden are designed to serve those who have secured plots, there often is excess, Creighton said.

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New Construction Planned for Greenley Road

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The New Canaan Building Department on Oct. 28 received an application for a new 9,967-square-foot home on Greenley Road. The six bedroom home at 255 Greenley Road will include seven full bathrooms, one half-bath, sauna, rec room, theater and wine room and a 3-bay garage, according to a building permit application. It will cost about $1,680,000 to build, the application said. The contractor on the job is Westport-based Barrington Building Company LLC, the architect RO & CO Architecture LLC of Stamford. 

The vacant 2.17-acre lot sold for $1,437,500 in August, property tax records show.