Government

Public Works: New Parking Deck at Locust Avenue Lot Could Be in Place by Thanksgiving 2016

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Town officials said Wednesday that they could start construction on a widely anticipated parking deck at the Locust Avenue Lot next summer with a plan to have it finished and open by Thanksgiving 2016. The new parking deck would add about 86 spaces to the now 150-space lot, and would be well-lit, with a pocket park up alongside it, good traffic flow and an aesthetically pleasing appearance, members of the New Canaan Department of Public Works told the Town Council at that group’s regular meeting. Conceptual plans have been drawn up for a structure that would cost about $3.75 million to build, a traffic study is in hand and the property presents no environmental issues, DPW Director Michael Pastore said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. The structure would have two independent levels, with an at-grade level accessible by Locust Avenue and a deck that is fed by a leg coming off of Heritage Hill Road, Pastore said. “The big thing with structure is that it would be open, and the whole design is to keep with the P&Z Village District Guidelines for the aesthetics and appearance of this,” he said.

Government

LOOK: Plans for New Post Office on Locust Filed with Town

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The proposed new Post Office on Locust Avenue is a two-story brick, cupola-topped, Federal-style structure with a total of 8,220 square feet and office space on the second floor, according to an application filed Tuesday with the town. Plans call for the razing of two buildings that now occupy 18 and 26 Locust Ave., with those parcels merged into a single 16,591-square-foot lot, according to a site plan filed with the Planning and Zoning Department. “The proposed building is a classic, Federal-style design, to be completed using high quality materials and finishes,” according to a site plan and special permit application filed on behalf of the properties’ owners, with renderings from James Schettino Architects of New Canaan. “The building façade will consist of brick and the roof will be a synthetic slate. Windows will be white clad Marvin style; gutters, leaders and flashing will be finished in zinc and the water table and keys will be comprised of cast stone.

Around Town

Town Seeks to Improve Intersection at Locust and Main

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With an eye on safety and traffic flow, town officials are seeking state approval for a new configuration at the often-harrowing intersection of Main Street and Locust Avenue. Specifically, officials are seeking to “bump out” the sidewalk at the firehouse and thrift shop corners “to shorten down the walking distance” across the intersection and square up (or “90-up”) Locust as it comes into Main so the intersection is shaped like a T rather than a Y, said Tiger Mann, assistant director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. The town also has asked the Connecticut Department of Transportation (Main Street at that stretch is a state road, part of Route 124) to install a pedestrian signal post for people seeking to cross Locust just there, Mann said. As a result of all that work, the overhead motor vehicle traffic signals’ positioning and timing will need to be adjusted, he said. “They [state officials] are working on their signal plans now,” Mann said.

Government

First Selectman: Possible to Expand ‘Laterally’ at Locust Lot, Rather Than Building a New Parking Deck

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Options for increasing the number of parking spaces at the in-demand Locust Avenue lot include not only a widely anticipated plan to install a new parking deck there, but also “expanding laterally,” New Canaan’s highest elected official said Tuesday. Though the town body in charge of public parking lots wants the Locust Lot tiered as soon as possible, a less expensive option (combined with other spots freeing up—see below) in what’s expected to be a tight budget season would be to expand the lot “by land”—presumably through the town’s acquisition of what is now private property contiguous to the lot—First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. Selectman Beth Jones said she rather agrees with the New Canaan Parking Commission (see that group’s recommendation on page 11 here) and added that when Town Hall does reopen following its renovation “that we will wish we started the Locust Lot before Town Hall was finished.”

“I don’t think a few more spaces going laterally will do it,” Jones said at the meeting. Put off during the renovation of Town Hall—which is on time and budget, with a planned opening next spring—creating tiered parking at Locust Avenue has won approval from municipal bodies. No one disagrees that more parking is needed—an estimated 50 town employees will need to park nearby once Town Hall reopens—though it had been an open question of just when the project should go forward.

Government

Construction Workers Only: Town Inks Parking Deal with Historical Society, St. Michael’s

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In what town officials are calling a definitive step toward solving emerging downtown parking concerns, New Canaan is poised to secure 20 spaces in the lot behind the Historical Society for construction workers. Those spots will be specially permitted for and used exclusively by construction workers at Town Hall and the fire station, helping to relieve some problems of space availability for parking permit-holders in the Locust Avenue lot, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said. Though some i’s need dotting and t’s crossing, the agreement should be finalized in time to take hold next week, he said. The agreement will be for six months with an option to renew, and will specify early morning to early afternoon hours, Mallozzi said. He thanked the Rev. Geoff Sinibaldo of St.