The New Canaan Parking Commission heard a presentation Nov. 5 on planned repaving, reconfiguration and restriping for the Playhouse and Park Street parking lots, including a new accessible ramp and a consolidated dumpster enclosure.

The presentation, delivered by a project presenter identified as Tiger, said the design now includes an accessible ramp leading from the Playhouse lot down to Elm Street and a loading zone intended for smaller delivery trucks. "There is a ramp in the design. That's correct," Tiger said while showing the plan. He said the ramp will connect to the staircase so "everyone coming would come to one junction point."

Why it matters: the project aims to bring parking spaces up to current town design guidelines, improve accessibility, reduce sidewalk clutter from multiple dumpsters and make deliveries safer and more efficient.

The presenter told the commission that Planning and Zoning reviewed the design and had limited comments focused on the ramp, the dumpster enclosure and the overall striping layout. He said the previous layout used substandard spaces that were 8 feet by 17 feet; the new design uses 9-by-18 spaces and wider aisles. "The previous design, the spaces were at 8 by 17. So they were 8 feet wide by 17 feet long, nowhere near code," he said.

Key technical and program details provided at the meeting:
- Final counts provided by the presenter: lower lot 46 spaces (2 accessible); upper lot 112 spaces (5 accessible).
- Presenter said the project will consolidate seven separate dumpsters into a compactor and two dumpsters in a new enclosure; the change will remove three long-term spaces where the enclosure sits but add two spaces elsewhere, making the net effect roughly neutral for overall capacity in that immediate area. "We lost 3 spaces in that area for the dumpster enclosure itself. But we gained back 2 here," the presenter said. Merchants pay for the dumpster service, the presenter said.
- The design includes a loading zone near the ramp so smaller box trucks can access the Playhouse lot; tractor-trailer turns will require moving cars. The presenter said large box trucks can make the turns when cars are moved and that deliveries typically occur early in the morning.

Construction timing and finish work: staff said the asphalt plants typically close around Dec. 15. To avoid working during the holiday season and to minimize disruption, repaving and restriping will be done in the spring. The presenter said the team plans to pour the dumpster slab immediately and move dumpsters into the enclosure so ramp work can proceed. He also said the enclosure's exterior walls are being considered for brick cladding to match surrounding buildings; a mason's quote was pending.

Community concerns and design choices: commissioners asked whether the ramp would cost parking spaces and whether trucks would block handicap spaces during deliveries; staff said the new configuration preserves spaces and that trucks would be directed not to block accessible spaces. The presenter emphasized the intent to keep the pedestrian and accessible routes centered at a single junction so stair and ramp users begin and end at the same points.

What remains to be decided: the project requires some additional site work in spring, including removing several trees and relocating a utility pole to achieve the required ramp run and turning geometry.

Provenance: the presentation and plan diagrams were shown beginning at 00:00:52 of the meeting (presentation start) and discussion of scheduling and repaving concluded at 00:22:16.

Ending note: staff said they will return with the final construction schedule and confirmed they plan to complete major resurfacing and restriping in the spring rather than during the holiday season.