With an eye on safety and traffic flow, town officials are seeking state approval for a new configuration at the often-harrowing intersection of Main Street and Locust Avenue.
Town officials want to make this intersection clearer and safer for pedestrians and motorists alike. Credit: Michael Dinan
Specifically, officials are seeking to “bump out” the sidewalk at the firehouse and thrift shop corners “to shorten down the walking distance” across the intersection and square up (or “90-up”) Locust as it comes into Main so the intersection is shaped like a T rather than a Y, said Tiger Mann, assistant director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works.
The town also has asked the Connecticut Department of Transportation (Main Street at that stretch is a state road, part of Route 124) to install a pedestrian signal post for people seeking to cross Locust just there, Mann said.
As a result of all that work, the overhead motor vehicle traffic signals’ positioning and timing will need to be adjusted, he said.
“They [state officials] are working on their signal plans now,” Mann said.
With the Town Hall renovation on track for completion in the spring, active discussions about how best to expand parking in the Locust Avenue lot and a new mixed-use structure planned for nearby Forest Street, questions of how to achieve smooth traffic flow and adequate parking in the area are very much on town officials’ minds.
According to Mann, though the DOT rejected a request for a crosswalk that run across Main Street from beside the access road into Town Hall, state officials are amenable to installing a “Do Not Block the Box” designation in front of the access road so that cars can get out even if Main Street traffic is backed up.
Here’s the intersection of Locust and Main: