Plan To Close Off Parts Of Greenwich Avenue In The Works

GREENWICH, CT — First Selectman Fred Camillo said Wednesday he is working with town officials, including police and fire, on a plan to temporarily close off a portion of Greenwich Avenue during limited hours this summer and open up the street to more outdoor dining and shopping.

During a press update, Camillo said the current plan is to focus on two blocks of the street, from Arch Street down to the bottom of the avenue, creating an open air space for residents, stores and restaurants to take advantage of. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"We are still working out the details," Camillo said. "We are working on a plan for the other blocks too."

While he said they were still working out the details of it, Camillo said the plan was to start with those two blocks, then move up the avenue. He also said they were taking a "crawl before you can walk" approach and work with a "fairly reasonable" timeframe, as each block presents its own unique issues.

The first selectman said he planned to bring a proposal before the Board of Selectmen during their May 28 meeting.

Recently, a petition calling for Greenwich Avenue to close to vehicular traffic and allow restaurants to expand their seating options as they begin to reopen had been circulating and garnering support. In response, Camillo said the town was working on plans to transform the downtown area.

"We have been working on this for over a week," Camillo said in an email to Patch, "and [we] look forward to both a short-term plan and a long term one that I feel will be transformative for our downtown business district for years to come."