The Goddard School went before the Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission at their last meeting, again seeking approval to put a daycare facility with a proposed enrollment of 216 in the former Acme supermarket at 160 West Putnam Ave.
The property is in the GB zone.
There former supermarket has 30 spaces adjacent to the building, including 2 handicapped spaces, but there is also a leased parking lot across Dayton Ave (at 124 W Putnam Ave) with an additional 49 striped spaces.
Viewed from across West Putnam Ave, the former Acme supermarket at 160 West Putnam Ave is the proposed location of Goddard School Greenwich. Oct 19, 2026 Photo: Leslie Yager
Dayton Ave viewed from across West Putnam Ave. Oct 19, 2026 Photo: Leslie Yager
Attorney for the applicant Tom Heagney said there are over 600 Goddard Schools across the country. All have the same model where parents park and escort their children to the building.
“They’re in many settings – in urban settings, more suburban and rural and they all operate the same way,” Heagney said.
P&Z chair Margarita Alban said the commission remained unclear how traffic, drop off, pickup and safety of the driveways would work.
Heagney said other schools in Greenwich operate in a similar way, including the YWCA Greenwich and Children’s Day School near St. Catherine’s on Riverside Ave and Putnam Indian Field School.
“If other schools are operating in a way that is less than optimal, I don’t think that would be a good reason to approve a similar decision now,” Alban said.
Quentin Smallwood said he was the proposed owner of the Greenwich Goddard School. He and his wife are the franchisees of Goddard Schools in South Windsor and Cheshire, CT.
He said unlike other daycare facilities he would be an “on site owner,” while typical daycares are operated by employees, not owners.
“When it comes to things like accountability, or quality or or safety – or other factors that are critical to running a successful daycare, it’s clear that the interests aren’t always aligned,” Mr. Smallwood said.
“This is the perfect location for a Goddard School,” he said. “Safety is our absolute number one priority.”
He said described a flexible, staggered drop off and pick up system had no bell times, instead catering to families’ schedules, with drop off times stretching out throughout the morning to eliminate a major rush time.
Alban said the commission was concerned about employees crossing Dayton Ave safely, and wanted to know how children would be kept safe from moving vehicles in the parking lot given there is no pick up / drop off lane.
The commissioners said they were very familiar with the site and its sloping parking lot since town hall is a block away and they used to visit the Acme store.
Commissioner Mary Jenkins said there were very busy two-way streets on two sides of the building, particularly in the morning, and the parking lot across Dayton will involve crossing a busy street that is not signalized.
“So the real question is not so much are they all going to show up at the same time,” Jenkins said. “They are either going to be carrying a child or walking holding a child’s hand in a parking lot that is busy, possibly across the street to a different parking lot – and by the way, there is an elevation change in the adjacent of about five feet.”
“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to carry a baby across the street in the snow to get from one parking lot to get to adjacent parking lot,” Jenkins said.
Heagney said that would not happen because the spots on the west side of Dayton Ave is more than sufficient parking for parents, and the lot across the street was would only be used by employees.
“That’s assuming that you only have 29 parents showing up at the same time,” Jenkins said. “The tendency tends to be if it is difficult they’re going to use the lot across the way because it’s easier to find a parking space.”
Alban said the town traffic consultant, BETA Group, said the proposed site’s traffic circulation and parking are not comparable to many daycare facilities that incorporate dedicated drop off or pick up lanes or on site attendants.
“How are you going to make sure the kids aren’t traversing a lot while holding onto the parents hands, and that there are several of them, and that cars are moving around them in the same lot at the same time. There is no protected area,” Alban said.
BETA Group noted concerns regarding internal circulation and peak-period conflicts due to the absence of a dedicated, staffed drop-off / pick-up lane.
They also requested additional justification for the Traffic Impact Study’s operational assumptions,methodologies and conclusions, including delay calculations and the assertion that no queuing or circulation issues would occur within the parking lot.
Commissioner Nick Macri asked the estimated total time for a parent to park and either drop off or pick up a child and return to their car.
“It’s 5 minutes,” Smallwood said.
Brooks Harris said many commissioners had visited the site hundreds of times and are aware of what drivers do when they get frustrated with traffic.
“It’s frightening for adults, let alone children. I can’t see any scenario where you can get kids safely from the other lot across the street, and you say that you won’t need that because you have plenty of parking,” Harris said. “I think at the very least, you have to prohibit parents and enforce it that they couldn’t park there.”
The existing Brookside Drive driveway would be permanently closed and the area incorporated into the proposed playground, but the existing curb cut on Putnam Ave would stay in place.
Commissioner Brooks Harris was concerned drivers might use that egress if they are frustrated with traffic.
“You’re technically not supposed to exit there, but people do. You’re technically not supposed to make left hand turns there, but people do. A left hand turn out of that curb cut would be an exceptionally dangerous proposition.”
Mr. Harris also said the lot across Dayton would be a temptation for parents.
Mr. Macri said there would be a lot of both children and cars moving about the site on a constant basis.
He said while the enrollment was proposed to be 216, when staff are included, it is possible to have a total of 256 people in the building.
“If only one-third of the children show up at the same time, that results in a total of 72 people, but there are only a total of 79 spaces and there are concerns of a traffic backup,” he said.
Macri said the BETA Group’s concerns focused on safety, and suggested the Post Road curb cut be eliminated and offer access only from Dayton.
“The back and forth between the two parking lots is a given. You can’t say that nobody is going to use one, or just employees will use one, Macri said. “As soon as a parent can’t find a parking space, they’ll be over there.”
“The site needs to be updated to reflect its new use as a daycare center,” Macri continued, adding that the South Windsor campus was not a good comparison.
“It has a wonderful, big flat parking lot right adjacent to it and it’s off the main streets. This one is off the main street of Greenwich – US Rte 1.”
Commissioner Peter Lowe asked why the applicant had not proposed an enrollment close to 155, since that was the anticipated enrollment, not 216.
Mr. Smallwood said it was industry practice to seek a higher enrollment, but operate with a cap at 85%.
“Even though you’re licensed to have 216 children, the rooms start to get very crowded and parents become unhappy.”
Second, he explained that as as enrollment increases, so does staff turnover.
Third, he said there is always a mismatch, with for example, a spot available in the infant room but a family seeking a spot in Pre-K.
“You never get to 100%,” he said, adding that on any given day 10% of the children to not show up.
Mr. Lowe said the request for enrollment of 216 suggested the applicant was expecting expansion, and the commission was already concerned about the existing proposal and the “built-in congestion of cars, parents and kids.”
“The other two roads, Brookside and the Post Road, are arguably nightmarish in terms of the volume of traffic, speed of traffic and the intensity,” he said.
Ms Alban said another BETA Group concern was the drop in Level of Service, especially in the area of Town Hall where with about 300 employees, and many of them use Dayton as a cut through to Rte 1.
The applicant’s traffic consultant, John Caning, offered to provide a point-by-point response to the BETA Group comments.
“Most of the children will never have to walk through the parking lot,” he said.
“The word you use that troubles me is ‘most,'” Lowe said.
“I don’t like to say never,” Canning said. “It would not be honest of me.”
Sloped Parking Lot
Ms Alban said when Acme was in business shopping carts would frequently roll down the slope. She said a parent dressed for work would not want to step down from the stone wall in front of the entry.
“It’s never going to be fully flat. We’re going to make it ADA compliant,” Canning said, adding that the applicant did plan to keep the wall in place, but rather create a sidewalk with timber guide rail.
Mr. Macri said while the stone wall might be removed, the slope remains.
“A walkway and stairs will take people down to the front door,” Heagney said.
Smallwood said he could revisit the idea of the timber railing.
“We are confident we will have double the amount of spaces that would be required for this operation right at the front of the school. There will not be children crossing.”
Jaywalking
Alban said, “If you drive past ‘car dealer alley’ on Putnam Ave, we have all these dealerships, including a couple that are across the Post Road from each other, and the employees jaywalk,” she said. “We have learned that that is not a good idea because there are so many near misses.”
“And we know there are a lot of people coming to Town Hall to their jobs,” she said. “That’s the concern for the employees. What can we do to that parking lot? We know we need early childhood care. We’re not against you. We want to make sure it works.”
Fire Marshal
Smallwood said said the Post Rd curb cut was proposed to remain place for fire access.
Alban responded the commission had not heard from the fire marshal until the day prior to the meeting.
“He doesn’t say he’s ready for you guys to move forward. He said it’s preliminary and informative.”
“He is asking you a lot of questions about egress routes,” Alban said, noting that today there is a fire lane right in front of the former supermarket.
“When everyone shows up on site with small children, they’re inherently more cautious,” Mr. Smallwood said.
“If somebody is trying to catch the 7:32 into NYC and they’re running a little bit behind, it doesn’t cover all eventualities or human nature,” Mr. Lowe said.
The commission requested a full formal response to the BETA Group comments.
The application was left open.
See also:
April 27, 2026
Modern Apartment Building Proposed at Supermarket Overflow Parking Lot
March 26, 2026