Municipal Improvement for Greenwich Avenue Bump Outs Referred to RTM

Last week a letter was submitted to the town clerk from Louisa Stone, exercising her right as a Greenwich property owner to request the Municipal Improvement “MI” for new bump outs on Greenwich Avenue be referred the RTM for debate and a new vote.

The town charter says any Greenwich property owner has the right to appeal an MI approval by the Planning & Zoning commission to the RTM within 30 days.

“I’m glad at this point people are beginning to understand what’s at stake. It’s a good process.”

– Louisa stone, former P&Z member and chair, multi-term member of the RTM

Just like two weeks ago, after P&Z approved, with conditions, the Greenwich housing authority’s MI and site plan for Vinci Gardens, a 52 unit affordable building for seniors, Byram property owner Al Shehadi referred that MI to the RTM.

Ms Stone’s request came too late for this month’s RTM meeting and there is no November meeting. That means it can’t be taken up in December.

The work on the intersections – Havemeyer/Arch and Fawcett/Grigg – is slated to begin in early spring 2023.

Pedestrians and cars navigate the intersection at Greenwich Ave and Elm Street. This intersection is raised, but there is no plan to raise intersections slated for bump outs.

From the beginning, bump outs on Greenwich Avenue have been controversial, starting with the elevated intersection at Elm Street and Greenwich Avenue.

Along the way both those in favor and those opposed have talked about misinformation and partisanship.

In one of his May Community Connections e-blasts, First Selectman Fred Camillo wrote about wanting to “address some of the continued efforts to morph misinformation as facts…”

He said the bump outs cut down the distance for pedestrians to cross, improve sight lines, and slow down cars.

He noted the $2.8 million was funded by grants from the Connecticut Dept of Transportation and the Western CT Council of Governments, and could not be repurposed.

“I think it’s wonderful that our town system has checks and balances, and the RTM has a real responsibility beyond approving appointments and budgets.”

– Louisa Stone

Also, Camillo said the project was endorsed by the town Police and Fire departments, GEMS and the Commission on Aging.

He noted that the resulting lost parking spaces on Greenwich Avenue would be compensated by the creation of 12 new spots in nearby locations.

During the May RTM budget meeting, a motion to cut the $2.8 million (which would later be reimbursed by grants) failed.

But the vote was quite close – 111 votes against eliminating the funding and 95 votes to eliminate the money. Four people abstained.

The context of that vote included the decision to remove Greenwich Police officers from directing traffic at Greenwich Ave intersections, arrival thousands of new residents from out-of-town during the pandemic, and the creation of street dining inside nodes made from jersey barriers.

Street dining on Greenwich Avenue was added during the pandemic and kept restaurants afloat.

Six months since the close RTM vote, Greenwich Avenue continues draw more pedestrians and vehicles than recent memory.

There has been discussion at P&Z of installing vintage-looking traffic lights and possibly not continuing seasonal street dining in nodes.

Planning & Zoning recently held a public workshop where they discussed ending street dining, in favor returning to permitted sidewalk dining that existed prior to the pandemic.

They cited numerous complaints about noise including amplified music, as well as reports of rats and cockroaches. Commission chair Margarita Alban noted the street dining was a pandemic measure introduced to help restaurants stay afloat.

In Greenwich, the Board of Selectmen serves as the traffic authority and can vote to return the nodes for street dining.

But the P&Z commission has purview over what uses are allowed inside them.

Intersection of Greenwich Ave and Havemeyer/Arch Street.
Obelisk and triangle area where Arch Street meets Greenwich Avenue at the historic post office building. Photo: Leslie Yager
After the road is moved, it will remove a section of lawn and run closer to the Bolling monument and historic Beech Trees, which has been a concern of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy and Louisa Stone, who is referring the MI to the RTM.

Controversial Bump Outs

Before the close RTM vote last May, Lucia Jansen testified that there wasn’t enough information to move forward with funding for bump outs without knowing the number parking spots that might be lost on the Avenue for seasonal street dining.

Brooks Harris testified that while the $2.8 would be reimbursed, potential overruns would come back to the town.

James Waters said opponents of the bump outs were playing partisan politics. He said he had looked up voter affiliations of letter writers opposing the bump outs, and that 75% of them were registered Republicans.

At that same meeting, Louisa Stone, who is a registered Democrat – the same person who last week submitted the referral of bump outs to the RTM – spoke out against them.

“I’m one of the people these bump outs are supposed to help, and I voted for the Elm Street bump out. This isn’t an engineering problem. It’s a people problem. It’s not about distance between corners, but of human behavior,” Stone said.

“This plan would widen Arch Street and take out a stretch of lawn in the front yard of the Havemeyer building where Beech Trees and Colonel Bolling’s monument mark the end of World War I,” she continued. “The loss of lawn and probable damage to those trees would be permanent and irreversible.”

In June at a Historic District Commission meeting, members had strong concerns about the Arch/Havemeyer intersection, which one member described as the soul of Greenwich.

In early July P&Z asked the Greenscape committee to revise DPW’s design, which they did.

They returned later in July with changes, including adding a wider island between the slip lane to take a right from Arch onto Greenwich Avenue and better mirror the original triangle geometry of the intersection.

The Town’s traffic consultant, BETA Group, gave positive feedback, including an endorsement of the re-alignment of Havemeyer/Arch by shifting of the roadway into the town right of way on the Havemeyer lawn, and the addition of a slip lane.

On Sept 8 – after the P&Z commission voted to approve the intersection improvements. They did add a condition to remove “dining patios” in front of Meli Melo and Hinoki.

The vote was 4-1 to approve the revised designs.

Commissioner Peter Levy voted against approval. He said the design forced vehicles and pedestrians into a “knuckle” which he said was not a good idea.

Referral of MI to RTM

Reached by phone this week, Ms Stone said, “I’m glad at this point people are beginning to understand what’s at stake. It’s a good process.”

Ms Stone has a history of volunteering on both the RTM and P&Z herself.

She joined the P&Z commission in 1989 as an alternate, rose to full member, and chaired the commission from 2000 to 2003, before stepping down as chair but staying on for a year to be of assistance to the new chair Harry LeBien. And, she said she was on the RTM for nine or 10 terms.

She added that in September she had anticipated P&Z would turn down the intersection improvements.

She said that after the Sept 8 vote, she was approached separately by two former RTM members who suggested the MI be referred back to the RTM.

“I called a few people – people of different ages and parties and districts, with different reasons for opposing it, and they agreed it would be a good idea to refer it,” she continued.

“As I see it, I think the RTM has the power to act on a MI if it decides to,” she said. “The definition of a MI is anything involving town property – and among other things, moving a street.”

“Frankly, that is what this is about,” she continued. “As much as or more than the bump outs, Arch Street would be moved from about 30 ft to the west where it joins the sidewalk down from the Havemeyer building. It would take out a large slice of the lawn and go close to the Bolling monument. My concern is the trees.”

She said it was unfortunate that James Waters had characterized opposition to the bump outs as partisan.

“Yes, there were more Republicans than Democrats, but I think there’s more Republicans than Democrats on the RTM anyway,” she said.

“I think it’s wonderful that our town system has checks and balances, and the RTM has a real responsibility beyond approving appointments and budgets,” she added.

As for the December RTM meeting, Stone said, “A vote against it would stop it. It would be considered de novo – as though it had not been considered by P&Z.”