Government
YMCA Exit Onto South Avenue To Become Single-Lane
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The New Canaan YMCA’s exit onto South Avenue soon will change from two lanes to one, following a recommendation from state transportation officials. A consulting firm that’s conducted a traffic study of the driveways and parking lots in the expanding facility will install shoulders and stripe the exit lane so that it’s 18 feet wide, “removing the signing that goes with two lanes—left-turn and right-turn only,” according to Michael Galante, executive vice president of Fairfield’s Frederick P. Clark Associates Inc.
“And that is accommodating their [Connecticut Department of Transportation officials’] concerns,” Galante told the Police Commission at its Feb. 25 meeting, held at the New Canaan Police Department. “The state looks at it like this: They would rather have the cars waiting longer in the driveway, rather than have the cars processing more traffic on two lanes.”
The change arises as the YMCA undergoes an expansion and Galante’s firm studies motor vehicle volumes in its driveways to determine the project’s impact on traffic. State officials recommended a similar change from two lanes to one at for the exit driveway at Saxe Middle School, which is set to undergo a rather large capital project next door.