Government

New Canaan Openings & Closings: Winter Storm Pax

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Car on Heritage Hill Road during Winter Storm Pax, Feb. 13, 2014. Credit: Terry Dinan

[The photo at right is a car on Heritage Hill Road that swiftly is being buried. Let’s hope the plows know it’s there, because by noon Thursday, nobody will be able to see it.]

By Terry & Michael Dinan

The snow is falling—ultimately, the town is expected to see a foot or more of snow and sleet through the day Thursday from Winter Storm Pax. New Canaan Department of Public Works is seeking help from property and business owners in keeping roads and sidewalks clear. Openings & Delays
New Canaan during Winter Storm Pax, Feb.

Government

DPW to Business, Property Owners: Help Keep Roadways, Sidewalks Clear of Snow, Ice

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The following bulletin has been issued by the New Canaan Department of Public Works, as Winter Storm Pax bears down on New Canaan. It’s expected to leave a foot or more of snow and ice in its wake. Residential and Business Property Owners:  Please help keep our roadways clear of snow and ice. In many instances, upon clearing snow from our roadways, our DPW crews are faced with icing conditions caused by private snow removal companies plowing snow into or across our roadways.  Our Town Code states that no person shall place any snow or ice into any highway within the Town. Failure to do so shall result in the Owner being subject to a fine not exceeding $200 for each occurrence and for each day the material remains in place.  Please inform your private contractors of our concerns and help us keep our roadways safe.

Around Town

Seminary Street Residents Seek Stop Sign Enforcement

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By Michael Dinan

via YouTube

[Editor’s Note: The video above was shot on Feb. 12, looking onto Seminary Street from Oenoke Lane and the stop sign encountered by eastbound traffic, or those traveling away from the Food Emporium.]

Concerned about the safety of pedestrians, including children, a group of Seminary Street residents are seeking help from police and other town officials on enforcing the stop signs at the Oenoke Lane intersection. Ann Kozar, who has lived in a house right at the intersection for four years, told town officials Wednesday that she sees multiple cars roll or blow through the stop signs daily. “My main concern is safety,” Kozar said during a meeting of the town’s Traffic Calming Work Group. The panel fields requests for matters such as reducing speed and eliminating cut-thrus on town roads.

Around Town

New Canaan DPW: ‘Salt Is at a Premium Right Now’

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By Michael Dinan

New Canaan public works officials are focused on securing salt for clearing roads as Winter Storm Pax bears down on the region. The National Weather Service is calling for accumulations of up to a foot or more in New Canaan, with heavy snow and sleet falling throughout Thursday. Tiger Mann, assistant director and senior engineer in the New Canaan Department of Public Works, said the entire region is seeing salt shortages. “We’re working on it,” Mann said. “Salt is at a premium right now.”

The weather service says snow will develop “late tonight and continue during the day Thursday before tapering off Thursday night.” Dangers include not just treacherous roads but also the dangers of flat rooftops and trees—many still carrying snow from last week’s storm—collapsing beneath the weight of sleet and snow.

Around Town

Library, Locals Launch ‘One Book New Canaan’

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Media luminaries and New Canaanites Ann Curry, Mike Lupica, Chris Russo and Joe Scarborough are joining prominent residents and community leaders to support a town-wide reading effort led by New Canaan Library. “One Book New Canaan”—that’s #OneBookNewCanaan on social media—is designed to “celebrate and promote reading,” Susan LaPerla, the library’s director of programming, said in a press release. “In the Heart of the Sea” by Nathaniel Philbrick. Contributed photo

The book? “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex” by Nathaniel Philbrick, a nonfiction account of the whaler that helped inspire Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”

“Students at Saxe Middle [School] and [New Canaan High School] will also read the book, and many New Canaan book groups plan to read it as well,” LaPerla’s release said.