Government

Police Commission Chair Vows To Support Homeowner Seeking Wider Curb Cut for Driveway

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The chair of the Police Commission said last week that he would sign a letter to the state supporting a New Canaan homeowner’s bid to widen their curb cut along Route 123 by about 30%. 

As it is, the driveway at 507 Smith Ridge Road is 26 feet wide at the curb cut, or four feet wider than what the state Department of Transportation would normally allow, a representative of the homeowner told members of the Police Commission at their Oct. 20 meeting. Saying that traffic on the busy north-south artery often exceeds the posted speed limit, the homeowner is seeking to widen the driveway by eight feet more, to 34 feet total, landscape architect Allan Broadbent said during the meeting, held at New Canaan Police Department headquarters as well as via videoconference. 

Broadbent said his client purchased the property earlier this year “and within several weeks had a few near-misses of almost getting rear-ended.”

“You all know how it is to drive on Smith Ridge,” Broadbent said. “Traffic flies, and so you have to really slam on your brakes to get into the driveway. So I was hired as landscape architect to investigate if we could make that safer.

Government

Town To Market Waveny Fireworks as ‘Residents-Only’

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Though police say they’re not anticipating a major rise in attendees for this year’s Independence Day weekend picnic and fireworks at Waveny, the volunteer committee that organizes the event is marketing it as “residents-only.”

The Family Fourth Committee long has urged those planning to attend the event, scheduled this year for Saturday, July 3, to buy parking/entry passes and typically sells more than 2,000 of them. Of those, about 1,800 are purchased by New Canaan residents in a normal year. The standalone fund to put on the event is supported by pass sales (it has about $70,000 in it currently). Those driving into Waveny or New Canaan High School to park without a pass have been allowed to enter, in part because it’s a practical impossibility to hold up the line talking to them about their passes or trying to have them turn around. Noting that some towns canceled their own fireworks shows this year due to uncertainty about pandemic-related restrictions, Committee members voiced fears at meetings held May 20 and 27 that the Waveny event could see so many people come that it overwhelms the park and becomes unsafe for pedestrians.

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Police: Route 123 Closure Has Tripled Traffic on Canoe Hill Road

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Traffic volume on Canoe Hill Road has tripled from 500 to 1,500 cars daily due to the state’s temporary closure of Route 123 due to a culvert replacement, police said last week. Officials also are finding that a “significant amount” of motorists are not using the Department of Transportation’s designated detour route on the east side of 123, and are instead using Parade Hill Road, Oenoke Ridge, Lambert Road and Country Club Road on the west side, according to New Canaan Police Deputy Chief John DiFederico. “That’s not the designated detour route but it’s kind of a de facto one, especially with people who are familiar with downtown and know how to get through and around the construction site,” DiFederico told members of the Police Commission during their regular meeting, held April 21 via videoconference. “So they did put a few more signs in those locations to assist with motorists. I have put out speed counters and we have seen, obviously, an uptick in traffic volume.”

The comments came during an update to the Commission on road construction.

Government

Town Plans Additional Pedestrian-Activated ‘Flashing Beacons’ at Crosswalks in New Canaan

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Town officials say they’re hoping the state will consider funding installation of three pedestrian-activated flashing beacons at busy crosswalks in New Canaan. The three pedestrian crosswalks in question—at South Avenue and the YMCA, Old Stamford Road and Gower Road, and Oenoke Ridge and the Nature Center—do not meet state Department of Transportation criteria for speed limits and traffic volume, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. Yet the state may still cover the $16,000 cost for installing each “Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon” or “RRFB” if the town resubmits the locations as “honorable mentions,” Mann told members of the Police Commission at their most recent regular meeting. “We don’t have any that meet the criteria right now but we can at least put them on the list and, if you are amenable, go forward at that point,” Mann told the appointed body during its March 17 meeting, held via videoconference. “Each one of these that is requested has been requested by the residents or by our engineering staff, based on what we are looking at and the proposed sidewalk extensions that we are looking at doing throughout town.”

Mann added, “If we can’t get approval from the state, we are planning to extend the sidewalk on Oenoke Ridge to Parade Hill [Road] this year, once we get a DOT permit, and I would like to be able to install that one with town funds if I can’t get DOT funds for it.

Government

‘People in This Town Don’t Like To Walk’: Officials Advise Commission To Leave Loading Zone Unchanged

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New Canaan shouldn’t relocate or otherwise alter a frequently abused loading zone on Main Street, police said this week, because doing so would only move the problem elsewhere and risks an exacerbating intervention by the state. 

Instead of making the loading zone at the East Avenue intersection shorter—or moving it, or changing the times at which non-truck-driving motorists are fined for parking there—the town should do all it can to notify drivers that it’s trucks-only from 7 to 11 a.m., authorities said during Wednesday’s regular meeting of the Police Commission. The loading zone itself does get used sporadically throughout the day, New Canaan Police Community Impact Officer Kelly Coughlin told the appointed body. “It does get busy on that upper half of Main Street,” Coughlin said during the meeting, held via videoconference, referring to Main between East and Locust Avenues. 

“So I do notice that parking fills up, but the other thing I’ve noticed is the other half—the lower half, south of that intersection—there are quite a few spaces right by Connecticut Muffin, in front of Gofer, on both sides. A lot of those businesses aren’t open until 11 o’clock or in COVID times, even 12 [p.m.] or later, but a lot of people don’t seem willing to cross over the crosswalk or go a little bit further. People want the convenience of parking right in front of the store.