Town officials plan to install two crosswalks and three signs around God’s Acre in order to make the area safer for the scores of pedestrians who travel through it on foot as commuters, residents, church-goers, downtown visitors and others.
Motorists who come off of Main Street and zip up by God’s Acre often come suddenly upon pedestrians seeking to cross Park Street at the crest of the hill, where St. John’s Place comes in, officials say.
A new system of crosswalks and push-button, pedestrian-activated signs could be coming to God’s Acre. Image courtesy of the New Canaan Department of Public Works
To notify those motorists that someone up ahead is about to cross a planned new crosswalk—one will come directly across Park Street to the southern corner of St. John’s Place, another spanning St. John’s Place itself (see chart at right), members of an administrative team that fields requests for traffic calming said Tuesday.
Specifically, when a pedestrian pushed a button prior to using the crosswalk, eight LED lights around a yellow sign would flash, alerting motorists, according to Tiger Mann, assistant director of the Department of Public Works and a member of the Traffic Calming Work Group.
“I think it is a good approach,” Mann said during the group’s meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. “If we need to elevate it one more step, then you elevate it with a rapid rectangular flashing beacon at that point, or a pedestrian bridge.”
The work would cost about $7,800 and Mann said he has the funds in his budget. The Police Commission supported the concept by a 3-0 vote at its own meeting later on Tuesday (“I think it is one of the more dangerous intersections in town,” Police Commission Chairman Stuart Sawabini said).
Traffic group member Jim Cole said the Congregational Church at the top of God’s Acre sees many people walking up for two Sunday services, and is prepared additionally to have a volunteer crossing guard shepherd the church-goers across the intersection.
Mann said the town is getting complaints about the danger of crossing “not just at church time.”
“The complaints that we received on this, one was from people walking various times of the day,” he said.
Having a crossing guard complement the planned sign system would help, Mann said.
If approved by the Board of Selectmen, the new system of signs could be in place by the end of January, he said.