Town officials on Monday approved an approximately $30,000 contract with a Bridgeport-based engineering firm to prepare for the installation of a new sidewalk in New Canaan.
The Board of Selectmen during a special meeting approved the contract with Cabezas DeAngelis for survey and design work on a proposed sidewalk on Lakeview Avenue between Millport Avenue and Main Street.
The sidewalk likely will run along the northern side of the road, in part to connect directly with cul-de-sacs at Graystone Circle and Lakeview Lane, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.
The town for years has received requests for a sidewalk along that stretch of Lakeview (there’s already one in place on the northern side of the street between Millport and Route 123), Mann told the selectmen at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.
“Right now, it’s one stretch that’s not connected,” Mann said. “So right now we have the Millport housing area, we are redoing Canaan Parish, you have Avalon and then you have East School. And so you have all those areas trying to access Main Street. And Lakeview is a little windy. It’s wide but it’s a little windy and people don’t necessarily feel safe walking along the edge of it.”
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the $29,500 contract. The same firm did survey work for sidewalk installations on Main Street and Old Norwalk Road, Mann said.
“We really do need that,” Williams said. “It’s a missing link. I remember walking up from the Memorial Day graveside service and it struck me that, ‘Oh we don’t have a sidewalk here.’ ”
Mann noted that there’s already a short sidewalk that runs along the southern side of Lakeview from the corner of Main to the entrance of Avalon Drive West.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the physical work of installing the sidewalk is expected.
In a cover letter to formal petition addressed to Mann and dated April 30, 2021, Jeannie Hart, Katherine Norton and Louise Reid said, in part, “As you are aware this is a very busy street with trucks, ambulances, school buses and cars going to and from Route 123 to Main Street.”
“In addition, there are cars parked on the hill along Lakeview which makes it even more challenging to walk safely on Lakeview,” continued the letter, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. “There are people walking their dogs trying to stay out of the way of the cars, mothers with strollers and toddlers and dogs in tow trying to get to Main Street safely, people with disabilities, children of all ages and our senior citizens all attempting to safely navigate this busy street. It is our hope you will consider making this sidewalk request a priority for the Lakeview Avenue neighborhood.”
More than 50 others signed the petition.
As an avid town walker even to the Transfer Station, I applaud addressing this very important issue. Thank you