Government
Talmadge Hill Railroad Crossing

Selectmen Vote 3-0 To Convert 36 Parking Spaces at Talmadge Hill Lot from Metered to Permitted Spaces for New Canaan Residents 

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Saying the Talmadge Hill parking lot can be more effectively used to serve local commuters, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to convert 36 daily metered spaces there to permit spaces for New Canaan residents. The change is designed to cut into the waitlist at the commuter lot, recently pegged at 115 people, without requiring feasibility studies and construction work, such as expanding the parking levels there north toward the Merritt Parkway. That type of project, if allowed, remains a possibility—likely for some time next year, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said—but “the cheapest way to increase permit spaces is to take daily fee spots.”

“There is demand for New Canaanites for those Talmadge Hill spots,” Moynihan said at the meeting, held at Town Hall. “When we do have permit spots we oversell by 50 percent, so we have daily fee spots that are sitting empty that we get no revenues from.”

The easternmost/uppermost tier at Talmadge Hill has 36 metered spots and the next level down has 60. Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted 3-0 to convert the 36 spots at the top into permitted spaces for New Canaan residents.

Government

Officials: Talmadge Hill Railroad Station at ‘Top of List’ for Getting Canopies

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Talmadge Hill Railroad Station, the only station on the New Haven Line without canopies overhead to protect waiting passengers from rain, snow and sleet, is on the “top of my list” for a canopy, said a top official with the state Department of Transportation. John Bernick, assistant rail administrator for the department, said at the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council meeting held at Darien Town Hall on March 18 that he’s got to worry about keeping the line going safely, which includes replacing rails, ties and major bridge repair or even replacement projects. But Bernick sounded hopeful that money might be found for a canopy at the station, which he called “a basic need.”

“I’ve got to keep my mind on what’s the state of good repair on the line in general,” he said, but he added, “Certainly Talmadge Hill, you’re top of my list for canopies, so we’ll look into that.”

He continued: “We do have some Go CT money [a state transportation financing program] for the New Canaan Line. Maybe we can leverage some of that.”

Bernick’s comment was made in response to complaints from Rodney Chabot of New Canaan, a former chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council and New Canaan First Selectman Rob Mallozzi about the station, which is only about 600 feet from the Darien-New Canaan border and where a number of Darien commuters take the train. Bernick did say a few minutes earlier in the meeting, however: “Right now I don’t have anything on the books for canopies at Talmadge Hill.

News

DUI Charge for Woman, 59, Following 2-Car Accident in Talmadge Hill Lot

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Police on Wednesday evening arrested a 59-year-old Naugatuck woman on a drunk driving charge after she failed field sobriety tests following a motor vehicle accident. At about 6:08 p.m. on Feb. 23, officers were dispatched to Talmadge Hill train station on a report a 2-car crash in the parking lot, according to a police report. Officers interviewed the woman, one of the motorists involved in it, and detected the odor of alcohol on her breath, the report said. She failed field sobriety tests and tested at nearly twice the legal blood-alcohol limit, the report said.

Government
Talmadge Hill Railroad Crossing

Talmadge Hill Road Closed at RR Crossing from Aug. 14 to 20

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Work on the railroad crossing on Talmadge Hill Road next to the train station there will shut the street for traffic at that spot from Friday, Aug. 14 through Thursday, Aug. 20, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. The street is expected to be closed at that point starting at 10 am.. on Friday, and not expected to reopen until 4 p.m. the following Thursday, the department announced.