The headwalls on the two bridges that pinch two-way traffic into a single lane on the South Avenue side of the main road through Waveny Park will come down when it’s re-paved this summer, officials said Wednesday night.
In order to widen those two pieces of the road so that cars can safely pass each other and still ensure proper drainage of the wetlands they span, new culverts will be installed, Recreation Director Steve Benko said at the regular meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission.
“We’ve had a lot of people get into accidents—people go over with cars and actually hit those little headwalls and cause damage to their vehicles,” Benko said at the meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “[Department of Public Works Assistant Director] Tiger [Mann] is going to extend the pipe out both sides, and that will be good because the pipe is small and old. He’ll put a brand new pipe across that will handle the flow of water.”
The job is part of New Canaan’s regular street maintenance project and has already gone out to bid, officials say.
Commissioner Allison Freeman called the pinch points along the Waveny road “awful” as they are.
Commissioner Francesca Segalas said: “I’m sorry they’re taking the walls down on those bridges.”
The work will be done prior to the Fourth of July, Benko said.
Commission Chair Sally Campbell asked how long it would take to complete the whole road, including the culverts, and Benko said about two days.
What a shame! The narrowing of the road, as it currently is, slows traffic down and (one might hope) increases driver awareness in areas where there are many pedestrians and lots of activity.
If people are damaging their vehicles, it’s hardly the fault of the road. Drivers might consider slowing down, or looking up from their phones.
I predict a project to install speed bumps in the not too distant future.