The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club.
New Canaan is pursuing an insurance claim after a Metro-North Railroad bus crashed into the canopy at the historic New Canaan Train Station last month, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage, officials say.
During an update at the Aug. 4 Board of Selectmen meeting, Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann said the crash occurred July 25, a Saturday.
“This time it really got hit,” Oestmann told the selectmen, noting that while buses have previously scraped mirrors against the canopy, this incident caused substantially more damage. “He smashed the whole windshield in his bus,” Oestmann said, adding that the town recently received a repair estimate of about $20,000.
Although the town maintains the station, the building itself is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Oestmann said that means the claim will not go through the town’s insurance carrier. Instead, he has contacted the insurance company for the bus operator, Coach USA, and is awaiting an adjuster to inspect the damage.
The crash did not compromise the structure of the canopy, according to Oestmann.
“Structurally it’s okay,” he said. “We got two spaces boarded up just so no debris falls down. We cleaned it up.”
The incident has renewed concerns about buses navigating beneath the station’s overhanging canopy, which extends roughly seven feet over the adjacent parking area. Oestmann said the design has led to multiple minor strikes over the years.
Department of Public Works Director Tiger Mann said staff are evaluating several options, including creating a dedicated bus drop-off area farther away from the canopy and directing passengers to walk the remaining distance under the station overhang. Other ideas discussed included additional pavement striping and installing more visible reflective markers on or near the historic canopy.
“We are looking to try to give them an area to drop their passengers off that is far from the canopy,” Mann said.
The three second rule: When the back bumper of the car in front of you crosses a crack in the road or a shadow, you should be able to count ‘one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand’ before the front bumper of your car crosses that same mark.