Town officials say they’re planning to install a third “Welcome To New Canaan” sign, this one at Exit 36 of the Merritt Parkway.
Designed to match the signs already installed near Exits 37 and 38, the sign hopefully will be installed next spring, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.
To be located on the “gore area” of the Exit 36 southbound exit ramp, it will include a planting plan designed by New Canaan’s Keith Simpson Associates, a landscape architecture firm, and would be overseen by the New Canaan Beautification League, a volunteer organization that already is doing an “outstanding” job at the existing locations, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen.
“You have two gore areas, coming off of northbound and southbound,” Mann said during the Board’s Nov. 16 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. The “gore” is a triangular area between the lanes of a highway and its entrance or exit ramps.
“The thought was, how do we get the most bang for our buck where people will see it? And the thought is to be on the outside of the southbound gore area. So the southbound loops around, comes to Old Stamford Road and on the outside, on the left-hand side of that gore area, would probably be the best place for that location and we could plant it, beautify it so that as you come down southbound you could see it and then if you came off of the northbound off-ramp you would be able to do the exact same thing, meaning that you would then, as you were entering New Canaan, it would be there on the left-hand side as you came forward. So we had done two and the thought was to complete the trifecta.”
New Canaan is hiring Norwalk-based Norwalk Signs Inc. for $5,500 to create the 32-by-66-inch single-faced mahogany sign, according to a contract that was included in the public information packet for the selectmen meeting. It will include gold lettering on a red background with “Welcome to New Canaan” and “Settled 1731” on the face.
The first two signs were installed in 2015 after about one year of planning.
Selectman Nick Williams said, “I applaud this.”
“As you know, 10 years ago, this was my idea,” Williams said.
He added that the “biggest disagreement” he had in working with former First Selectman Rob Mallozzi was 24 hours of arguing about whether the signs should feature the date of New Canaan’s settlement (1731) or incorporation (1801).
Mann said the town now needs to secure an “encroachment permit” from the state in order to install the sign.
“There is guidance, which we fit,” he said.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said he didn’t know about the plans for the third sign.
Mann said the town will plan to install additional “Welcome To New Canaan” signs at gateways such as Route 123 at the New York state line, as well as Route 124 and Ponus Ridge.
Excellent idea! I always felt Exit 36 got short-changed when the signs were installed at Exits 37 & 38.