42°
The following is a letter from E. Roger Williams, chairman of the New Canaan Fire Commission, to the New Canaan Town Council:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Last week at the Fire Commission meeting, Public Works presented the current plans for the S curve on Main Street and Woodland Road. Since then, I have had many calls from elected officials, members of the press and residents of New Canaan asking for the Fire Commission opinion or point of view on the plans.
As such, I wanted to share with you the following:
1. The Fire Commission is not concerned with sidewalks on Main Street. Only the resulting road width and hard curbing are our concerns.
2. Public Works showed us plans for hard curbing on either the East side or the West side of Main Street.
3. With hard curbing on the East side, the resulting S curve was improved over current conditions for the safe passage of fire trucks. The radius of the curve was decreased (straightened, if you will) allowing for easier maneuvering of our trucks, the roadway was widened from the current 26 feet to at least 28 feet, and there was a run-off ability on the West side for cars to pull over to allow our trucks to safely pass while we are proceeding southbound on Main Street.
4. With hard curbing on the West side, the radius of the S curve was unchanged from its current condition and hard granite curbing would be installed on the West (southbound) side of the road. This would create a condition where cars traveling southbound would not have any room to pull over to allow our trucks to pass without having to have the fire trucks enter the oncoming lane of traffic through the tighter S curve.
Should the council proceed with plans for hard curbing on Main Street, it is the opinion of the Fire Commission that the East Side of Main Street would be the preferable location from a public safety perspective.
Thank you.
Click here to follow Daily Voice New Canaan and receive free news updates.
