Town Approves Funds for Design of Route 106 Sidewalk Extension, Parking Area for Bristow Bird Sanctuary

Town officials this week approved a contract designed to make it easier for pedestrians and motorists to access an increasingly popular bird sanctuary that’s undergoing a major restoration ahead of its centennial. The Board of Selectmen approved a $16,000 contract with Bridgeport-based Cabezas DeAngelis Engineers & Surveyors for an extension of a sidewalk along Route 106 to the entrance of the Bristow Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve and new parking area. The firm “has done excellent work for us in the past,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held Tuesday via videoconference. He referred to the design of new sidewalk on Main Street, Park Street and Richmond Hill Road. “They are aware of that entire area,” he said.

Letter: Bristow Bird Sanctuary a ‘Most Treasured’ Hidden Gem

We in New Canaan are truly blessed with Waveny, Irwin, and Mead Public Parks as well as our many Land Trust Preserves, but one of our most treasured hidden gems must be The Helen and Alice Bristow Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve. Yet, in spite of this, I suspect many of you might rightly ask – where is it, I’ve never even heard of it? Answer: Bristow Park is located right next to Mead Park. A little history lesson: Way back in 1918 the Migratory Bird Treaty Act made hunting migratory birds illegal – a practice mostly done to harvest brilliantly colored feathers to adorn women’s hats. Thanks to a group of far sighted New Canaan conservationists seeking to encourage interest in bird-life and protect native birds, the Bristow land was acquired in 1924 creating the third oldest private bird sanctuary in the nation.