Town officials said Wednesday that they’ve narrowed down the design for the eagerly anticipated Locust Avenue parking deck to three candidates, and appear to be leaning toward a model that would add 89 new spaces overall.
An original “donut” design for a new parking deck on Locust Avenue.
Each design includes two levels, but an originally conceived model with a “donut” in the center would create problems with snow removal and, because it would need to be built right up against a property line, concerns for neighbors seeking screening, according to Michael Pastore, director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works.
Two other designs for a proposed parking deck on Locust Avenue.
Another possibility is a design that includes a ramp between two levels, though because of that space-hogging ramp, it would yield only 61 new spaces overall—a concern given the parking crunch on that side of town, Pastore told the Board of Selectmen during a presentation of DPW’s capital budget request for next fiscal year.
The best possibility—and the three “finalists” emerged from a field of eight, working with a Norwalk firm—is a standard model that includes a buffer around it to screen the parking deck from neighbors and would yield 89 new spaces, though it would not offer a connection between the on-grade and upper levels of the deck, Pastore said.
“The disadvantage as some people would see—and this came up from the Parking Commission—is there is no connection between the deck and on-grade parking,” Pastore said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “The on-grade stays in and out on Locust and the deck on Heritage Hill Road. The Parking Commission thought they should be connected, this [design] is not connected.”
Here’s a breakdown of the three leading options from the DPW:
Locust Avenue Parking Deck: Leading Options*
| Options | No. Spaces | Net Added Spaces | Estimated COW | Cost Per Space | Levels Connected? | Footprint Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Donut) | 240 | 87 | $3,750,000 | $15,625 | No | 46,000 sf |
| 2 | 242 | 89 | $3,300,000 | $13,636 | No | 44,190 sf |
| 3 | 214 | 61 | $3,200,000 | $14,953 | Yes | 44,190 sf |
Because the ingress and egress onto either Locust or Heritage Hill or both varies among the three designs, Pastore and the selectmen agreed that an updated traffic engineering study is needed to determine which direction to go. The DPW director also noted that residents of Heritage Hill Road have expressed concern about the prospect of traffic exiting onto their road so close to the bustling intersection at Main Street.
“I think the traffic is a big factor and the feasibility of how it works out and circulation is a big factor,” Pastore said.
There’s about $190,000 left in funds already approved to start designing the parking deck, and an RFP for that traffic study is expected to go out within one week, Pastore said. Overall, the project is estimated to take 18 months to complete, he said. The town has earmarked $4 million in the fluid 5-year capital plan for next fiscal year for the Locust Avenue parking deck.
Selectman Beth Jones asked which neighbors are asking for a buffer between their parcels and the parking deck. Pastore said Forest Street neighbors are seeking the buffer.
First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said he appreciated the initial design that came in as a conceptual model and that now “we have it refined to the point where I definitely think we need to be cognizant of our neighbors.”
Selectman Nick Williams asked where the proposed entrance from Heritage Hill Road would be located. Pastore said it would come in between a corner property at Main Street and Husted Lane, which jogs east off of Heritage Hill just north of the Locust lot.
Mallozzi said he and DPW officials have met numerous times with engineers and neighbors and that the town was “contemplating possibly doing something with someone on Forest Street, but P&Z is not at all in favor of expanding parking to an area they feel is very, very important to business and housing, and I get that and I have to respect that.”
Mallozzi said the first model with the donut in the middle is not only cost-prohibitive because special equipment would need to be purchased and operated to remove snow, but also dangerous because of hanging icicles.
“There’s not a lot of donuts that are built in New England for a reason,” Mallozzi said.
He also was critical of a parking deck that would yield just 60 new spaces.
“This is our last chance to build a parking garage on this side of town,” he said. “We don’t own any other property. I just can’t imagine sitting there as a member of any town body saying, ‘60 is OK.’ No developer in their right mind would be looking for a piece of property and then not trying to build on it to the max, and we have one chance to do this. So the designs that show 80-85 additional [spaces] are much more appealing to me than the ones that show 60.”
Addressing the concern that a lack of a ramp connecting the two levels would hurt the project, Mallozzi suggested that the upper level could be set aside for employees and commuters who would park for the entire day, while the lower level is used for shoppers, diners and other transient traffic.
Jones said she would be interested to see what a traffic study shows “but my instincts tell me that it would be better splitting half on Heritage Hill and half on Locust and that way you are not over burdening either.”
Mallozzi agreed, and noted that the new traffic study should be conducted during one of the busiest times of year in town, say April-May or September-October.
“I cannot imagine Locust would be the [only] entrance and exit for a parking garage,” he said. “Cars would be backed up down to 123.”