Town Hopes To Solve 'Long-Brewing' Safety Issue On Bruce Park Avenue

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich is looking to fix a "long-brewing" public safety issue on Bruce Park Avenue, and one possibility is the removal of on-street parking over a 280-foot stretch of roadway. But some residents say the precious spots are needed, and they urged the town to find other solutions.

Last Thursday, Greenwich Deputy Police Chief Kraig Gray, who also heads the town's parking services department, went before the Board of Selectmen and said parking services has received complaints about safety and traveling along Bruce Park Avenue.

Employees from the Department of Public Works Engineering and Highway Divisions, along with parking services personnel and First Selectman Fred Camillo, met with a group of nearby residents last November to discuss concerns surrounding a vertical curve on the roadway, about 500 feet east of Davis Avenue.

Civil engineer for the town, Michael Kiselak, told the selectmen last week the road is unsafe due to the combination of inadequate sight-lines and on-street parking that cause cars to cross the center of the road going up the curve on either side.

There are no sidewalks along this portion, so pedestrians use the roadway as a result.

The recommendation is to eliminate on-street parking for a 280-foot segment — 140 feet on either side of the curve. There's already no parking allowed on the north side of the road, Kiselak noted. Roughly seven spaces on the south side would be eliminated.

The selectmen did not take any action and instead decided to wait two weeks to allow time for public comment to come in.

The town conducted a Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) study, which determines the distance a vehicle needs to be able to see in front of them to identify an object and then come to a safe stop.

For a 25 mph road, the distance needed is about 150 feet, Kiselak said, and a bit more going downhill because of gravity.

"The results of this study are basically that you can't see. You have blind spots until you pretty much reach the top of the curve. You can't see something that's 150 feet or less in front of you until you basically have crested the curve," Kiselak said, also noting the narrowness of the road and on-street parking.

"You could be in a situation where two cars cross over the center of the road if there is on-street parking, and can be driving head-on, or there could be something in the road and they can't see that until they basically meet at the top," he added.

Resident Patty Thibault Hopper said the elimination of the parking spaces would negatively affect a home that has been in her family for over 60 years.

Thibault Hopper's father purchased 287 Bruce Park Ave., a two-family home in 1962, and rented it out.

"My father bought this house for rent and for his livelihood, his income and retirement," Thibault Hopper said.

Her parents both died, so the house was left to Thibault Hopper's brother, Alan, who also relies on the rent income.

The town owns a majority of the front of the property, Thibault Hopper said, so there's no driveway. For years, tenants have utilized two parking spots in front of the house through permits obtained from Town Hall.

"Taking away these spots will financially affect the rent income for my brother in a negative way. The amount charged for rent will have to decrease because where will the tenants park?" Thibault Hopper said.

Thibault Hopper said she obtained records covering the past 10 years which showed that no motor vehicle accidents have occurred in front of the house.

She suggested the speed limit be reduced to 15 mph, and that more signage should be added to alert motorists and pedestrians about the dangers of the roadway.

Kiselak said the state would have to approve a speed limit change, and anything under 25 mph is unreasonable to enforce. Signage would also not fix the SSD problem, he said.

"Public safety is always our main concern, and it always will be. We also don't want to hurt people, especially in a case where maybe there wasn't an accident in that particular spot. That doesn't mean there couldn't be one, but certainly there may be other options here that would not take away their rights to park there, and really I personally believe this would affect rental prices and convenience," Camillo said.

Camillo said other problems could arise, such as tenants having to park far away and getting hit by a car walking home at night.

He mentioned the possibility of homeowners "reclaiming some of the town property" and creating some parking.

"I know it costs money, but it's better than having an accident or devaluing somebody's home," he said.

Kiselak told Camillo he'd circle back with more details on reported accidents in the area.

Barbara Zappavigna, another longtime resident of Bruce Park Avenue, said speeding is the main issue and that perhaps a speed bump would help. She also said there aren't enough signs to denote that Bruce Park Avenue is a dead end; people think it's a cut-through to Interstate-95, she said.

"Seven spaces is a lot to take away on that street. People struggle now to find parking, and I've seen it over the years I've been there," Zappavigna said. "I'm grateful you're willing to look into it. I understand what my neighbors are going through and I feel for them and I understand where they're coming from."

Jessica Wieneke, who also lives on Bruce Park Avenue, highlighted the dangers pedestrians face. She said there's a lot of commercial traffic in the Davis Avenue area.

"There's really no way to walk up that crest safely… without nearly getting hit by oncoming traffic on both ends," she said.

The board is expected to revisit the item in two weeks.

"We'll circle back on this and try to come up with a solution to make it safe but also to not create any more problems," Camillo said.