To our New Canaan town leadership:
Can we please ask our (truly wonderful) police department to be patrolling downtown New Canaan in the afternoons after school?
Every single day there are hordes of kids congregating downtown.
They are not social distancing, they are standing and walking in tight clusters and are huddled outside local stores with their heads together blocking doorways and flagrantly defying safety protocols. Parents need to get involved and start being parents. Work on your kids being responsible and respectful.
They are wandering around South Avenue and Elm Street in the afternoons with little regard at all for safety or the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic.
As for the town, if we need to raise money I suggest putting a fine of $1000 every time your kid is caught not social distancing and wearing a mask downtown.
Let’s all try to be responsible and get this virus behind us.
We have great leadership here and Connecticut has remained one of the safest states in the United States. Let’s keep it that way!
Cathy Kangas
Couldn’t have said it better. Thank you Cathy. It is frightening to see these kids behaving as if they are invincible.
So maybe the “Mask Education Walk” planned for noon today should have been scheduled during after-school hours? Maybe a later one next Friday…
I so agree. Downtown after school seems to be a mask free zone!
As of September 15, 2020 there already is a Connecticut mandate with fines starting at $100 for those who don’t social distance or wear a face mask:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/connecticut-puts-some-teeth-mask-mandate-will-start-issuing-100-n1240143
The issue is enforcement. Do we enforce it or do we ignore it? Do we have the manpower to enforce the mandate? If not, what can we do to prevent it?
According to the article in the above link, the Town of Simsbury, CT already enacted a $250 fine for not wearing a face mask or for not social distancing.
As long as the Town of New Canaan does not locally enact or enforce a fine for these violations, sadly nothing will happen. Our young people will just do as they please.
Cathy:
THANK YOU for writing this beautifully worded and much needed letter! I am appalled at what is going on everyday in Town…one can hardly pass by on the streets. The kids are not behaving responsibly ’cause their parents are not either!! Putting us ALL at greater risk again. The beautiful open-plaza at Starbuck’s is the worst. Our Police Dept. is the BEST!! Let’s hope they get ‘permission’ to enact some type of enforcement.
Very good idea to enforce this after school. I have also noticed it is a
cause for concern.
Please also discuss with the BOE. Running hybrid schedules and half day Wednesday for all results in many kids looking for something to do. Expect getting full 5 days per week school (no more half Wednesday) combined with enhanced in school and home focus on hygiene will go a long way to address this. Fines will be an issue for all not just kids.
I couldn’t agree more!! I thought parents wanted children in school. If these same children can not adhere to proper protocol in town, cases will increase and schools will have to close. The entire town will suffer. Police should be patrolling. Fines should be imposed.
What an excellent use of police resources! If the town wants to enforce a mandatory mask rule then they should educate the public on exactly what the rule is. The state of CT Executive Order is vague and virtually unenforceable:
“Masks and Face Coverings: Pursuant to Executive Order No. 7NNN, masks or cloth face coverings that cover a person’s nose and mouth are required to be worn when in public and a six-foot distance is unavoidable, whether indoors or outdoors. This does not apply to anyone for whom doing so would be contrary to their health because of a medical condition. ”
Perhaps the town should issue their own executive order that makes masks mandatory in downtown corridor regardless of distance or medical condition. If you have a medical condition that preempts you from wearing a mask, you probably should not be in downtown area regardless. The risk seems too high.
I have observed young people downtown without masks daily. They also are engaging in dangerous activities at night riding skateboards and bikes without helmets or lights on Elm and Main Streets I ask myself why the police or the schools are expected to deal with these issues ? What happen to parental responsibility ?