Government

Parks Officials by 6-0 Vote Back Garden Club’s Plan for ‘Parterre Garden’ at Waveny

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Parks officials on Wednesday night voted unanimously in support of a longstanding nonprofit organization’s plan to redesign, re-plant and otherwise improve a prominent garden at Waveny. The New Canaan Garden Club’s plan for the “parterre garden”—located east of the balcony of Waveny House (down that first set of stairs, en route to the sledding hill)—is “timeless and classic” and “engages both visually and physically,” according to Tori Frazer, a member of the organization’s Waveny Walled Garden Committee. “This has always been a formal garden,” Frazer told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “We intend for it to stay a formal garden. All the plantings and the plans are classic and will stand the test of time.”

The commission voted 6-0 in support of the plan.

Government

‘It Is Bedlam’: Town Officials Target Parking Congestion, Problems at Mead Park

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Citing safety concerns and some motorists’ bad habits, officials say they’re weighing changes to how people park in two areas at Mead Park that see intense motor vehicle use at specific times. Motorists often park directly alongside the Apple Cart Food Co.-run Mead Park Lodge by the little league fields or physically on the traffic island there, according to Sally Campbell, chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission. Those entering Mead from Park Street drop into a parking situation that is confusing and haphazard, especially on “baseball nights,” Campbell said. “It is bedlam over there with the parking” on such nights, she said during the commission’s May 10 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “We talked to the baseball people when they were redoing the field and we said, ‘You really should look at the parking because it’s very congested over by the Apple Cart and with moms getting their kids out of the car and everything, it is really unsafe,’ ” Campbell said.

Around Town

Traditional Japanese ‘Cherry Blossom Festival’ Coming April 30 to Mead Park

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Officials last week voted unanimously in favor of allowing an area organization dedicated to building knowledge and mutual understanding between Japanese and Americans to hold a “cherry blossom festival” next month at Mead Park. The Japan Society of Fairfield County’s traditional festival is to be held 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 30 following an 8-0 vote from the Parks & Recreation Commission. New Canaan resident and society board member Jackie Alexander said the cherry blossom festival—or “Sakura Matsuri”—is “a century-old Japanese tradition to celebrate spring when the cherry blossoms bloom.”

“It happens to be [the society’s] 30th anniversary, so we would like to do a Sakura Matsuri at Mead Park to share Japanese culture and open it to the public,” Alexander said at the meeting, held in Lapham Community Center. “It’s a family friendly event, with some music and some crafts.”

To include bonsai flower arranging and perhaps also a karate demonstration, the festival will be held in the colonnade, overlooking Mead Pond. The Japan Society of Fairfield County—founded in 1987 in Greenwich—also will donate a cherry tree to Mead Park, Alexander said, and is seeking a representative from the Consulate General of Japan in New York to attend a dedication ceremony.

Government

Parks Officials Propose 2017 Waveny Pool Rates

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Parks officials on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend a new slate of fees for the popular Waveny Pool for the 2017 season. The proposed rates include modest increases for all types of passes at the self-sustaining facility, except for senior residents, who would pay $20 less. The pool was “very solid financially last summer,” Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell said during the group’s regular meeting at Lapham Community Center. “Our family passes went way up last year, which is why we decided not to raise the fees [by as much], because we thought it was just right,” Campbell said. Here’s a year-over-year breakdown of the new proposed rates.

Government

Town Officials Look To Help Motorists Navigate Confusing Traffic Island in Mead Park

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Town officials want to install some type of traffic control measure in Mead Park—signage or possibly painting the road—to help motorists navigate the hugely confusing island near the pond. A ‘Keep Right’ sign should be installed on the traffic island, and ‘Slow’ or ‘15 mph’ should be painted on the road through Mead, according to members of the Park & Recreation Commission subcommittee that helps oversee the popular spot. “I’m not sure what the traffic flow is supposed to be, and I’m pretty sure nobody else does, either,” commissioner Katie Owsley said during the group’s May 11 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. Owsley said she observed numerous cars negotiating the traffic island differently during a recent visit. According to Recreation Director Steve Benko, Mead allowed for two-way traffic up until about 25 years ago, when the town made it one way.