Selectman Corbet Raises Pedestrian Safety Concern at Farm and South

Town officials say they’re asking police to speak to the school crossing guard at Farm Road and South Avenue about parking his vehicle more safely for those using the sidewalk there.

Farm and South. Streetview

Selectman Kathleen Corbet said Tuesday that a constituent had voiced a concern regarding the crossing guard’s car or truck being “adjacent or on the sidewalk” on the northeast corner of the busy intersection, “forcing pedestrians to kind of go off the sidewalk, to go around.”

“If we could just assure that the crossing guard has a proper place to park so it’s not over the sidewalk, that would be great,” Corbet said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

The comments came during discussion of a Department of Public Works request to approve $180,000 to replace the sidewalks on Farm Road between South Avenue and Main Street. 

Public Works Director Tiger Mann said the town “created an area for him to pull off and we try to maintain that for him, especially during inclement weather but sometimes he forgets and parks over atop of the sidewalk.”

Mann said he would speak to the New Canaan Police Department, which oversees crossing guards.

“Then when we come forward, we will be redoing that portion of sidewalk and then we will try to make it even more inviting place for him to park,” Mann said. “So he will park off the side.”

The selectmen voted 3-0 to approve the $182,400 sidewalk replacement contract with New Canaan-based Peter Lanni Inc.

Mann said that over the winter the sidewalks “started to literally come apart down at the bottom of the hill.”

Funds for the sidewalk replacement are available in a budget set aside for such projects, Mann said.

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, Corbet and Selectman Nick Williams voted in favor of the contract.

Moynihan noted that the sidewalk work was an important safety issue with all of the school kids who use it.