Business

Public Works: Plan To Widen Sidewalks on Elm Street Will Result in a ‘Net Zero’ Change to Parking

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Public works officials next week will will bring forward a proposal to widen several sections of sidewalks on Elm Street, chiefly on the north side of the road between South Avenue and The Playhouse. Mentioned during last month’s Police Commission meeting, the new configuration will make permanent some of the pandemic-related changes now in place with temporary barricades, as well as bolster pedestrian safety in a major shopping and dining area of downtown New Canaan, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We are looking at bumping out the sidewalks from the intersection with South Avenue up to and through The Playhouse on the northern side and then on the southern side, the crosswalk at The Playhouse itself and then the intersection of South Avenue and Elm Street,” Mann told members of the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee on Buildings and Infrastructure during their regular meeting Monday. “What that will do is that should help us on reducing the pedestrian crossing length of the crosswalks and then protecting the areas adjacent to the crosswalk, whereby right now it’s 25 feet on either side, if you have a hard bump-out you can actually reduce that requirement in certain locations,” he said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “And what it turns out to be is, we would lose five spaces on the northern side and gain five spaces on the southern side so it would be a ‘net zero’ change.”

Mann said he’s bringing the proposal to the Police Commission for approval at the appointed body’s April 21 meeting.

Alex and Laney Lloyd

‘I Am So Proud of This Group’: Animal Control Officer Thanks Volunteers as Neglected Dogs Are Safely Re-Homed

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is thanking dozens of local volunteers and businesses that donated time, energy, goods and services to ensure the health and comfort of 12 neglected dogs seized in November from a Butler Lane home. Following a lengthy court dispute with the dogs’ former owner—a woman who still faces three counts of felony cruelty to animals in an ongoing criminal case—the town on Jan. 20 was awarded full legal custody of the 10 puppies and two adults dogs. A 20-day appeal period expired Feb. 10, Officer Allyson Halm said, and the puppies became “free and clear” to be placed “in safe places.”

“I am decompressing slowly,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. 

“It was an emotional roller-coaster for me.

Brian Humes

Architects on Preserving Facade of Existing Police Station in Rebuilding Project: ’There Would Be a Cost’

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Though preserving the street-facing facade of the New Canaan Police Department as part of a rebuilding project is possible, doing so likely would cost more than razing the South Avenue structure and starting anew, according to two architects that town officials are considering for the job. It’s “realistic” to preserve the brick-and-columns facade of what opened in 1927 as the original New Canaan High School, though “it would be at a cost that would be at or exceed new construction,” Brian Humes of Berlin-based Jacunski Humes Architects, LLC told members of the New Canaan Police Department Building Committee during their regular meeting Thursday. “It can be done,” Humes said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “It’s not something that we can’t do. There would be a cost to doing it, though.”

Deciding whether it makes the most sense to renovate the existing police headquarters or build anew—and, if new construction is the best route, whether to build on the current site, expand behind the existing building or do it somewhere else—are the major questions now facing the newly appointed seven-member Committee. 

Members heard from Humes and Chuck Boos of New Britain-based Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc, who made cases for why they should be selected for the project, talked about their work and fielded questions from the Committee.

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Town: Rebuilt or Relocated Animal Shelter At Least One Year Away

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A project to rebuild or relocate New Canaan’s Animal Control shelter is at least one year away, town officials said this week. The town is studying different possibilities for a future shelter, including use of a building at Kiwanis Park, Public Works Director Tiger Mann told members of the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee on Buildings and Infrastructure during their regular meeting Monday. “The other thought that was if we were to remove the existing incinerator where it [the animal shelter] is currently housed, to then bring in a facility there,” Mann said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “Or, since it is a police function, possibly bringing it over to the Police Department. So we are looking at all options at present.

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Committee Raises Question of Whether Renovating Police Station or Building Anew Is Best

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The appointed body charged with planning for a new police station will start by researching whether it’s more prudent to renovate or build anew on-site or elsewhere in town, members said Thursday. At their first meeting, members of the Police Department Building Committee noted that occupying a structure while it’s being renovated presents practical problems, and that it costs $1 million or more to move a large part of a police force into a separate facility temporarily during construction. Stuart Sawabini, a former Police Commission chair who is advising the Committee as director of New Canaan’s Community Emergency Response Team, said that if a suitable location could be found, “my personal choice would be to build new.”

“The efficiency of the building is far greater when you have spaces that are purpose-specific,” Sawabini said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “So building a new building means you are designing it with only the items you really want in it. As compared to renovating a building where there’s bound to be spaces that are allocated to a prior use which the Police Department may not be able to utilize.