NCBL, Public Works To Plant 150 New Trees along South Avenue

A major gateway to downtown New Canaan is getting a big upgrade.

South Avenue will see dozens of young trees planted next month as part of an effort led by the nonprofit New Canaan Beautification League in partnership with the town.

An initiative that’s been planned for several years, the “South Avenue Re-Leaf Project” will see 150 trees planted between Cherry Street and Surrey Road providing a “nice mix of color and size and shape,” New Canaan Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting Tuesday.

Members of the League joined local firm Keith Simpson Associates as well as DPW officials in placing orange-capped stakes along South Avenue (which doubles as state Route 124) in finding “the locations for each tree, find the best tree for the best location [and completing the] process of getting an encroachment permit with the state,” Mann said.

“Our tree warden is hopeful that we can have them in before the dogwoods bloom, which is around April 15th,” he said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “It’s a little aggressive, but we’ll see what we can do.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of a $54,545 contract with North Salem, N.Y.-based Hardscrabble Farms to purchase the trees. Mann said the funds were available in the department’s fiscal year 2025 tree budget. Carlson said the funds technically are an ARPA allocation that had been kept in the General Fund.

The selectmen asked about the funding as well as who is watering them (the town at least for the first year), whether the town is planting the trees (together with the NCBL, yes) and whether communications have gone out to residents along the planting route (yes).

Karl asked about ensuring clear sight lines from South Avenue driveways as the trees grow larger. 

Mann said that “was our biggest concern,” adding that the state also wanted to prioritize clear sight lines.

“There is a maintenance agreement that will be signed that states that we will have to maintain the trees,” he said. “So if in the future one has to be removed, the town will have to remove it. But that’s pretty much standard for any new installation on state property in the state right-of-way. So if we put granite curbing in certain areas that they want blacktop curbing in, we have to maintain it, as well. So we have several maintenance agreements with the DOT for several locations in town. This is no different.”

Karl said the trees will be “spectacular when they grow in.”

“It’s going to be beautiful,” he said. “It’s one of the gateways to town. And I think the last time we did a major planting, I’d say, was my great-grandfather way, way back—they did line South Avenue when it was first built, and it’s so exciting to be able to be part of doing it again. It’s really neat.”