(Trying To) Walk To Mead Park: Connecting New Canaan’s Sidewalks

A maple tree (and some funding) stands between New Canaan and kickstarting what officials have designated the Number 2 sidewalk priority for the town.

Here’s the corner of Mead and Park Streets where the sidewalk “dies” before reaching the crosswalk. Credit: Michael Dinan

Though the extension itself is only several feet long, bringing the sidewalk that already runs along nearly all of the south side of Mead Street, down to the striped pedestrian crossing at Park, requires the removal of a tree at the corner there.

As it is now, pedestrians approaching that corner are forced into the road in order to get to the crosswalk, said Department of Public Works Assistant Director Tiger Mann.

“What you have is the majority of people come down that side of the street because the crosswalk is there, and then walk into the street and there’s no place to stand, really, you have to stand in the travelway to cross Park Street and get down to Mead Park,” Mann said. “It’s a tiny little stretch that was omitted, I’m not sure just when.”

For a couple of years, officials have eyed a plan to remove the tree on the corner—those in the home on Mead closest to the corner “aren’t thrilled but understand the reasoning for it [the removal],” Mann said—and then extend the sidewalk all the way down.

The sidewalk that runs from downtown to the Mead Park entrance along Park Street is only fully accessible via sidewalk from Park itself, or Maple Street. Credit: Michael Dinan

However, other neighbors complained and voiced support for a (more complicated) plan to extend the sidewalk on the north side of Mead. That would require more money and planning because the sidewalk would run along a steep embankment that would require either sloping the embankment or installing a retaining wall, Mann said.

The recently adopted Plan of Conservation and Development calls for the town to pursue creation of sidewalks that connect New Canaanites to the downtown and surrounding areas, including parks.

Mead is a good example of a park that, though it’s near downtown New Canaan, is scantly connected to the town via sidewalk.

The sidewalk on Grove Street “dies” before it gets down to Richmond Hill. The sidewalk that leads out of the park at Richmond Hill dies before it reaches Park Street. And the sidewalk that goes up Old Stamford Road/106, dies before it gets to Park. Once town funding for the Mead Street project is in place, it likely will go through a public hearing with Planning and Zoning and also, if anyone objects to the maple coming down, a hearing for the tree itself.

Town officials now are in the final stages of getting the sidewalk on Old Norwalk Road extended down to Kiwanis Park. The Number 3 priority after Mead Street is connecting the downtown to Irwin Park via Weed Street (likely on the west side of that road).

If and when the Weed Street sidewalk gets done, New Canaan may be looking at a new loop in town that would bring walkers up past Irwin and through the woods to the back of the Nature Center, and then out on Oenoke Ridge Road.