News

Police: 96 Pedestrians Cross Main Street Mid-Block in Two-Hour Window

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New Canaan police on a recent weekday counted 96 pedestrians in a 2-hour window crossing Main Street between East and Locust Avenues mid-block, bolstering the town’s effort to get state approval for a crosswalk there. The Connecticut Department of Transportation must approve the crosswalk because that stretch of Main is also Route 124, a state road. Hartford has denied New Canaan’s request for the crosswalk that would cross Main from the south side of the Town Hall driveway. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said at the most recent meeting of the Police Commission that New Canaan will appeal that decision. Said Capt. Vincent DeMaio at the Wednesday meeting, held at department headquarters: “I think we have backed that up with a number of people crossing midblock that have I observed, and I could stick a couple of guys out there and count people all day long.”

The need is expected to increase when Town Hall reopens in its renovated space—pegged for next Spring—and construction finally gets underway at the Locust Avenue parking lot, where a new parking deck will be installed that creates half again as many spaces there.

Around Town

Double-Parking Problems Arise at Post Office’s Main St. Location

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Officials say they’re seeing frequent double-parking in front of the Post Office’s hastily relocated Main Street space, especially in the afternoon. The problem has emerged since a loading zone in front of 90 Main St. earlier this month was modified to allow three 15-minute spaces—a change that was itself designed to accommodate customers of the Post Office. (From 7 to 11 a.m., they coincide with the loading zone that continues to serve businesses along that stretch.)

Karen Miller, supervisor of the New Canaan Parking Bureau, said the morning has been OK but that officials are seeing “a little more shenanigans in the afternoon.”

“We are giving a lot of double-parking tickets,” she said at Thursday’s meeting of the Parking Commission, held at Lapham Community Center. Town officials and business leaders have leveled strong criticism at the Post Office, saying it vacated a longtime Pine Street location (there’s a Mrs. Green’s Natural Market going in there) with no real plan for relocation.