School officials said Monday that they were both surprised by and pleased with a new crosswalk at New Canaan High School that some had called for two years ago.
The new crosswalk at NCHS. GK photo
The New Canaan Department of Public Works tore up the area just outside the high school’s main entrance the day before school started and “we were all surprised,” according to Bob Willoughby, the district’s manager of facilities operations.
“But [DPW Assistant Director Tiger Mann] was able to get it done,” Willoughby told members of the Board of Education during a meeting Monday night, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS.
“He poured the concrete, I think, a couple of hours before school started to get it finished. We are hoping that it’s going to really help some of the issues with the students crossing that road, taking their lives in their hands at times. It’s probably a precursor for another one at some point in time. But we will be able to bring students much safer.”
Police Chief Leon Krolikowski in 2014 called for the creation of the designated crosswalk, since students as it is, approach the high school’s main entrance from multiple points in a parking lot located alongside the track that forces them into the access road through the NCHS campus, which is bustling each morning.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said officials now are looking at “different ways to encourage students to use the crosswalk.”
“It is important to always note that people need to really slow down as they come in and out of that parking lot, because students do pop out from behind cars all the time,” he said.
The comments came during an update from Willoughby on improvements to facilities across the district, including: repaving of the South School parking lot, East School curb and sidewalk repair, new catch basin at East, West School bathroom partitions, vertical window blinds and darkening shades at West, domestic water heater at Saxe, and new library lab at New Canaan High School.
Board of Ed member Penny Rashin said she was happy to see the new crosswalk and asked whether accompanying signage also is planned.
“Because all students obviously are not going to go to this spot to cross,” Rashin said. “I just want to make sure we have signage there so that drivers do not think, ‘Oh I only have to watch out for students in this particular area.’ ”
Willoughby said that Mann is looking at more signs and possibly a second crosswalk.
Luizzi noted that the speed limit on the NCHS campus is 5 mph and “there is a big difference from 5 mph to 15 mph.”
School board member Jennifer Richardson said she was pleased to see the crosswalk installed and that she hoped plans were in place to ensure that it’s clear during the winter.
“I have literally seen girls jump over snow banks and fall into the street in the path of cars whizzing by,” she said.
During an interview after the meeting, Kimberly Norton of Slow Down In Our Town said that the organization “initiated and helped to implement the crosswalk” with Tiger Mann and NCHS Principal Bill Egan.
“The crosswalk came about after a mom mentioned how dangerous the high school main road was at a NCHS PFA coffee with the principal,” Norton said in an email.
According to Norton, the crosswalk is getting “rave reviews” and students are using it.
“Bill Egan was very supportive of this as it dovetailed nicely with the beautification and new NCHS banners,” she said.