Government

Officials Approve Funds To Complete Three Sidewalks That Connect To Mead Park

By |

Town officials on Tuesday approved contracts totaling $23,900 for a Bridgeport-based engineering firm to design three short sidewalks near Mead Park that are expected to bolster pedestrian safety. The Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting approved the funds 3-0 for three contracts with Cabezas-DeAngelis Engineers. The work includes mostly surveying work for sidewalks that will complete the final several feet of a sidewalk at Mead Street near Park Street, completing the sidewalk on the south side of Richmond Hill Road so that it goes to Park Street, and completing the sidewalk on the east side of Grove Street so that it runs all the way to Richmond Hill Road, Department of Public Works Director Michael Pastore said at the meeting, held in a Town Hall board room. The sidewalks “are along properties and we want to make sure we are not on private properties when we put in a sidewalk,” he said, as “some of the smaller pieces are on property lines [which are] not well-defined.”

Construction for the three sidewalks would cost about $75,000, Pastore said. “These little segments are some of the oldest pieces that never got completed,” Pastore said.

Government

Smell of Exhaust Prompts Officials To Close Town Hall on Tuesday

By |

Town Hall was closed at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after the smell of exhaust—a problem that first cropped up in December—once again emerged in the newly renovated and expanded municipal building. Mike Pastore, director of the Department of Public Works, said the problem is definitely with the boilers, although just what is causing it remains unknown. Officials are investigating now. An email went out to employees in the building from First Selectman Rob Mallozzi. Firefighters had been dispatched to Town Hall before dawn on Tuesday on a report of the strong odor of exhaust.

Government

Town Officials Lean Toward New Parking Deck Design on Locust

By |

Town officials said Wednesday that they’ve narrowed down the design for the eagerly anticipated Locust Avenue parking deck to three candidates, and appear to be leaning toward a model that would add 89 new spaces overall. Each design includes two levels, but an originally conceived model with a “donut” in the center would create problems with snow removal and, because it would need to be built right up against a property line, concerns for neighbors seeking screening, according to Michael Pastore, director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. Another possibility is a design that includes a ramp between two levels, though because of that space-hogging ramp, it would yield only 61 new spaces overall—a concern given the parking crunch on that side of town, Pastore told the Board of Selectmen during a presentation of DPW’s capital budget request for next fiscal year. The best possibility—and the three “finalists” emerged from a field of eight, working with a Norwalk firm—is a standard model that includes a buffer around it to screen the parking deck from neighbors and would yield 89 new spaces, though it would not offer a connection between the on-grade and upper levels of the deck, Pastore said. “The disadvantage as some people would see—and this came up from the Parking Commission—is there is no connection between the deck and on-grade parking,” Pastore said during the meeting, held at Town Hall.

Government

Town Pursues State Grant To Fund Elm-To-Irwin Sidewalk on Weed Street

By |

Town officials say they plan to apply for a state grant that would fund the creation of a new sidewalk that would connect the top of Elm Street to Irwin Park. The Board of Finance at its regular meeting Tuesday night will hear a request from town officials to apply for a $150,000 Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development grant for the long-discussed project. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi noted that the sidewalk is in line with New Canaan’s Plan of Conservation and Development, in that it would help create a pedestrian-friendly connection between the business district and a town park. The sidewalk would run along the west side of Weed Street and, according to preliminary engineering plans (see PDF below), could involve removing one row of maple trees and a tree stump, and relocating a set of mailboxes at Woods End Road. The sidewalk wouldn’t run up against the roadway but would have a “grass shelf” between it and Weed Street, officials have said.

Government

‘It Will Get Tight’: Town Hall Parking Spaces 6 Inches Narrower Than Usual

By |

The parking spaces at the new Town Hall came out about six inches narrower than others in New Canaan, officials say. Asked by the Town Council about the spaces at Wednesday night’s regular meeting, Department of Public Works Director Michael Pastore said he wasn’t sure just how they came out narrower than usual but that there’s room to expand them toward the access road that runs past the addition. “It’s something we’re going to have to address,” Pastore said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “Parking is still something that has got to be resolved. Day-to-day, so far, it hasn’t been a problem.