‘Patience Levels Are Low’: Water Main Installation on South Avenue Underway

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. A four-year-long construction project in New Canaan started its final stretch this week. 

The water company’s 36-inch water main installation is nearly complete, though community members’ patience is dwindling, officials say. Four years ago, Aquarion began installing a water main, causing road closures on the eastern side of town. Now, the installation is taking place on South Avenue (with a plan to repave starting in September). Sections of South Avenue between Douglas and Farm Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for the next three months, through the end of August, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.

South Avenue To Reopen in Late August

The water company’s installation of a main pipe on South Avenue, a project that has closed the major road this summer, is expected to wrap up before school starts later this month, officials say. The Board of Selectmen received an update on the South Avenue road closure at its Tuesday meeting. “They’re going to be off the day before the first day of school,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. New Canaan Public Schools are scheduled to open Aug. 26.

‘Taking Some Action’: Town Officials Move Forward with Proposal for Surveillance Cameras at Waveny Entrances

Following an online petition signed by more than 2,000 people, and acting on the advice of police, town officials said this week that they’re looking to install cameras to record motor vehicles entering and exiting Waveny Park. 

Parks and Public Works officials said during a subcommittee meeting Tuesday that the cost of installation might be around $25,000, for which they would likely request a special appropriation. The main purpose of the cameras will be to “show visibility of activity coming in and out of our parks,” Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Rona Siegel said during a meeting of the appointed body’s Camera Subcommittee. The two-person subcommittee, which also includes Parks Commissioner Matt Konspore, discussed potential locations for the cameras, focusing on the three entrances to the park—one on South Avenue and two on Lapham Road, including near the Waveny Pool. “It would just be an extension of cameras at the entrances – not throughout the park,” Siegel said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. Those in attendance included Siegel and Konspore as well as Recreation Director Steve Benko, Public Works Director Tiger Mann and Parks Superintendent John Howe.