Seeking another way to help New Canaanites walk safely from residential neighborhoods to the downtown, officials are eyeing a plan to install a new crosswalk on Old Norwalk Road, up the hill and behind Kiwanis Park.
As described, the crosswalk would run from the end of Old Kings Highway, across Old Norwalk Road. In the area pictured across the street here, just between the two shadows of the trees, is a short path that connects to a longer trail which runs from Marvin Ridge Road down to Kiwanis Park. Credit: Michael Dinan
The crosswalk, at Old Kings Highway, would connect on the west side of the road to a footpath that runs through the woods down to Kiwanis (see map below). And that park soon is expected to connect, by way of a new sidewalk running up to Main Street, to the downtown.
Proposed by a town resident, the new crosswalk would, in theory, make it safe for people to walk across Old Norwalk Road from Old Kings Highway.
Department of Public Works Assistant Director Tiger Mann said, pending his review, a recommendation to create that mid-block crosswalk would go to the Police Commission, which has final say.
Here’s a look from just inside the woods at Old Norwalk Road, across from Old Kings Highway. The motor vehicle pictures is traveling east on Old Norwalk Road. A proposed new midblock crosswalk would connect to the “trailhead” seen at right. The trail that runs down on the left here connects to Kiwanis—itself a park that soon will connect with downtown New Canaan through a new sidewalk. Credit: Michael Dinan
“Let me look again at the sightlines there,” Mann said during the most recent meeting of the Traffic Calming Work Group, which fields requests for traffic calming measures in town.
Police Capt. John DiFederico said at the Aug. 19 meeting that the proposed crosswalk is a good idea since, once the new sidewalk between Main Street and Kiwanis is completed, it would extend further a walk-able path for residents to downtown New Canaan.
And that is a priority.
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.
The work of getting the sidewalk on Old Norwalk Road extended down to Kiwanis Park is underway. That’s the number one sidewalk priority for town officials—Number 2 is finishing the sidewalk on Mead Street that runs down toward Park Street, and the Number 3 priority is connecting the downtown to Irwin Park via Weed Street (likely on the west side of that road).