Government

Plan for Standard Pedestrian Crosswalk Signals Includes Continuous ‘Locator’ Beep for Visually Impaired

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A plan to standardize pedestrian crosswalks in New Canaan with an audible signal for the visually impaired includes a continuous low beep to let people know when they’re approaching an intersection, town officials say. The beeping itself must be audible to those who need to hear it, though not so loud that it disturbs people living in houses or apartments nearby, members of the Police Commission said at their most recent meeting. The “locator” beep is different from the percussive sound that a pedestrian signal makes when it’s safe to cross, Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the Commission at its Oct. 19 meeting, held at police headquarters. 

Referring to the intersection of South Avenue and Farm Road, Mann said, “Certainly if we were looking at one around the school system, we might want it to be a little bit louder, but then there is a resident right next to it, so we have to be concerned about that.”

The Police Commission undertook an effort to standardize pedestrian crosswalk signals in September, after New Canaan Police Community Impact Officer Nicole Vartuli brought a lack of consistency to the appointed body’s attention after receiving complaints from a blind resident. 

The locator beep must run 24/7 “because I don’t know when a blind pedestrian will arrive at the crosswalk,” Mann said. “I can’t say, ‘You can only be there from 8 to 5,’ to be honest,” he said.

Government

Town To Seek State’s Permission To Start Richmond Hill Sidewalk Installation

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Town officials say they plan to seek permission to build sidewalks along a portion of Richmond Hill Road on either side of the railroad crossing, while the pedestrian crossing over the tracks—a piece of the overall project that requires additional time and approvals—is done in the future. Municipal officials have been meeting with more than one dozen representatives from state and federal agencies, as well as Metro-North Railroad, to determine “what needs to be done to adequately cross the intersection” of Richmond Hill Road at the railroad tracks, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We’re at the stage now where we’ll submit our plans to Metro-North Railroad and DOT [state Department of Transportation] Rails for their review to come back and say what we need,” Mann told members of the Police Commission during an update at their Oct. 19 meeting, held at police headquarters and via videoconference. “The good thing is that we are at this stage.

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Town Officials Call for Improved Pedestrian Crosswalks with Uniform Countdown Timers, Audible Signals

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Officials say they’re looking to install new pedestrian signals at crosswalks in New Canaan that will include a “countdown” timer for those seeking to cross the street as well as an audible signal for the visually impaired. There’s little consistency in how the crosswalk signals in town function, according to New Canaan Police Department Community Impact Officer Nicole Vartuli, who focuses on the downtown in her role. 

Vartuli told members of the Police Commission at their Sept. 21 meeting that she received a complaint from a blind resident regarding the crossing signals at Cherry Street and East Avenue, and that prompted her to look at other areas. “I noticed they were not uniform and they looked different—some had audible, some did not,” Vartuli said at the meeting, held at police headquarters and via videoconference. 

Pedestrian fatalities are rising each year and have doubled since 2013, Vartuli said, due to quieter electric vehicles and increased distracted driving. 

Vartuli said she connected with Public Works Director Tiger Mann and then put together a proposal for the Commission regarding the crosswalks. It calls for the town to look at eight downtown locations, Mann said, six of which are state-owned and two of which are owned by the town (at Park and Elm Streets, and at Park and Pine Streets).

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New Canaan Police Help Elderly Resident Recover $145,000 Stolen in Scam

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Two New Canaan police officers recently helped an elderly resident who been scammed out of $145,000 recover the money, officials said. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski during last week’s Police Commission meeting spotlighted a letter of appreciation regarding the work that Officers Joseph Schinella and Owen Ochs did on what the chief called a “pretty exceptional” case. “It’s a constant battle,” Krolikowski told members of the Police Commission during their Sept. 21 meeting, referring to scams that often target older residents. Sgt.

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.