Government

ARPA: New Canaan Police To Request $110,000 for Enhanced School Security

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In the wake of the May 24 school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, New Canaan Police are requesting $110,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds in order to increase the presence of officers in public and private schools in New Canaan. Dedicated school resource officers or “SROs” already are assigned to Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School, and NCPD has “liaison” officers at all schools in town and trainings for officers within schools, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski told members of the Police Commission at their June 15 regular meeting. 

Yet the elementary and private schools in New Canaan “do not get a whole lot of police presence,” Krolikowksi said at the meeting, held at NCPD headquarters and via videoconference. 

The chief said that given the school shooting in Uvalde, where 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot, he re-wrote a request for ARPA funds for the Police Department—originally a request for public education and enforcement for stolen vehicles and thefts from vehicles, a portable finger-printing device and secure cabinets—to hire an officer to check on each school every day. The program would start in August when the new academic year begins and run through the 2022-23 school year, Krolikowski said. It likely would be an assignment covered by multiple officers and ideally would yield 16 additional school checks daily, he said. The $110,000 allocation “would allow us to fund that and hire an officer dedicated just to patrolling and checking through all of the schools and that would be their sole focus,” he said.

Government

‘I Think This Helps’: Three Loading Zones Downtown To Become 15-Minute Spaces

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Saying there’s an increased need for quick visits to downtown New Canaan restaurants and shops, and that delivery trucks often double-park anyway, town officials this month approve a proposal to convert three loading zones to 15-minute spaces. The Police Commission at its March 16 meeting voted 3-0 to convert loading zones on Forest Street (just past the diner), on Main Street at East Avenue and on Elm Street near the intersection with Park Street into 15-minute spaces. Laura Budd presented the concept to the Commission in her dual roles as executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Parking Commission, which adjudicates parking ticket appeals. “Obviously our number-one goal is always public safety,” Budd said during the meeting, held via videoconference. She said there are some loading zones in downtown New Canaan that get frequent use and “should not be touched,” such as one on South Avenue at Elm Street, and another on Burtis Avenue.

Billy MacLeod

‘Something Is Not Adding Up’: Owner of New Canaan Valet Seeks Clear Answer on Forest Street Proposal

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The Police Commission at its most recent meeting put off a yes-or-no vote on a proposal from a New Canaan business owner seeking to operate a valet stand on Forest Street on weekend nights for a trial run, saying there could be legal reasons for denying the request. 

Commission Chair Paul Foley during the appointed body’s Oct. 20 meeting that he’s uncomfortable with the idea of “giving up public parking spaces to a private company.”

“I can’t go along with this, because I cannot give up public parking spaces on our street to a private business,” Foley said during the meeting, held at police headquarters and via videoconference. “I think it works great at a Roger Sherman Inn. I think it works great at a private party, and I think it works great in a parking lot where you have a restaurant and a private parking lot, if you will, at a mall or something where you pull up, you get out of your car and they valet your car. Or you pull up to a hotel, they valet your car.

Jim McLaughlin

Police Commission Votes 2-1 To Widen Sections of Sidewalk on Elm Street

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Municipal officials at a recent meeting voted in favor of a proposal to widen parts of the sidewalk along the one-way stretch of Elm Street downtown. The Police Commission at May 19 meeting reviewed a proposal to widen sidewalks at Elm and South Avenue, as well as along the north side of Elm Street between South and The Playhouse. Plans also call for a sidewalk “bump-out” at the crosswalk in front of the Bank of America building and converting six parking spaces on Elm into 15-minute spots, officials have said. Public Works Director Tiger Mann said the widened sidewalks would help restaurants accommodate outdoor dining and allow for expanded retail space. “In this day and age, the majority of people want to come downtown, that’s one of the reasons why New Canaan is so successful, we have a vibrant downtown,” he told members of the Commission at their regular meeting, held via videoconference. 

He continued, “It’s the walkability thereof that brought to the forefront.

Government

Plan To Widen Sidewalks on Elm Street Includes Six New 15-Minute Spaces

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A proposal to widen some sidewalks on Elm Street now includes converting six spaces to 15-minutes in order to accommodate retailers, restaurants and shoppers making quick pick-ups, officials say. Town officials heard from business owners after a proposal to “bump out” some of the sidewalks on Elm between South Avenue and the Playhouse became known earlier this year, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The 15-minute parking limit “would allow for your quick drop in for either a quick cup of coffee or for a store, to get in for retail to pick something up you had ordered,” Mann told members of the Police Commission at their April 21 meeting, held via videoconference. “And it would actually help a little bit with turnover on the street itself,” Mann said. Two 15-minute spaces would be located on Elm just east of the intersection with South Avenue, in front of Dunkin Donuts and midblock between the Playhouse crosswalk and Park Street, he said.