Government

Town Commissions ‘Design Concepts’ for New Parking Deck at Lumberyard Lot

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to enter into an $8,000 contract with a New York City-based engineering firm that specializes in parking facilities, the first formal step toward adding spaces at New Canaan’s most coveted commuter lot. DESMAN in three to four weeks will provide New Canaan with “several different concept designs” for a parking structure at the Lumberyard Lot, Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held in Town Hall. “They are going to be looking at vehicular circulation, and where we would get the best bang for our buck as far as where we could actually put a deck or a structure in, and then get the most parking spots back out again for the least cost.”

Officials from DESMAN already have walked the property and will come back for another review prior to putting together three functional designs, Mann said, that New Canaan could choose from. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted in favor of the contract. The funds will be paid out of the DPW’s current engineering and administrative budget.

Government

Traffic Consultant: There’s a Safe ‘Sweet Spot’ for Heritage Hill Road Access To Proposed Locust Parking Deck

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The widely anticipated, proposed parking deck on Locust Avenue cleared a final major planning hurdle Tuesday, as consultants with a transportation planning firm reported that there’s a way to design the new structure without jeopardizing pedestrian or motorist safety. Expected to increase the total number of spaces there by 58 percent, from 153 to 242, the proposed parking deck—with one minor timing change at a nearby traffic light—also will not noticeably change current traffic patterns in the area, a consultant from Cheshire-based Milone & MacBroom Inc. told the Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting. Plans call for a parking tier accessible from Heritage Hill Road with a non-connected lower level that feeds onto Locust Avenue. Addressing a major concern from residents of Heritage Hill Road, the firm’s traffic study examined three different sight lines for the proposed entrance/exit there, Milone & MacBroom’s David Sullivan told the selectmen at the meeting, held at Town Hall. “We looked at the sight line if you are coming out of the driveway if you can see to the left and right, on Heritage Hill Road,” he said.