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NEW CANAAN, Conn. Several New Canaan residents want to make sure a proposed parking deck off Locust Avenue does not feature an exit onto Heritage Hill Road.
Peggy Aitken, a 14-year resident of the Oenoke Condominiums and a member of the complexs board of directors, said the new tiered parking area should not enter or exit onto the mostly residential street because it is densely populated and more traffic would make it more dangerous.
Heritage Hill Road has a lot of traffic in the morning and its the reverse in the evening and we have an increased number of (school) buses with the kids who live here, Aitken said. An exit onto Heritage Hill Road would be a commercial enterprise on a residential street, she added.
Heritage Hill residents have made their voices heard at a Planning and Zoning Commission session last July. The new parking tier is expected to add about 100 parking spaces to the lot. The lot is expected to be used by commuters and create more spaces for visitors who dine and shop along Locust Avenue and Forest Street.
Town Planning Director Steven Kleppin said the town is putting architectural and engineering services for the project out to bid. After firms are chosen and a final design is completed, the application will have to be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review. Kleppin said the application was originally to be submitted this month or October, but it may now not make it to the planning commission for several months.
Barbara Wilson, also on the Oenoke board of directors, echoed Aitkens concerns and also mentioned how busy and tricky the 3-way intersection of Heritage Hill Road, Locust Avenue and Main Street is. Were saying (the Heritage Hill exit) doesnt make sense. We have hundreds of people coming on to our already busy road, Wilson said, saying the new deck should only enter and exit onto Locust Avenue as the current lot does now.
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