Mary Flaherty-Lovy, back, and her daughters Olivia, 9, and Ellie, 7, walk along Main Street near their home.

Photo Credit: Melvin Mason

Mary Flaherty-Lovy, right, with daughters Olivia, 9, and Ellie, 7.

Photo Credit: Melvin Mason

Mary Flaherty-Lovy

Photo Credit: Melvin Mason

Mary Flaherty-Lovy is a fan of walking. She’s hoping the day will come when her daughters Olivia, 9, and Ellie, 7, will get to walk to school along Main Street without having to go into the road. “They can’t see how anyone wouldn’t want a sidewalk,” said Flaherty-Lovy, 37, a mother of four. “This is not building the Hoover Dam. It’s building a sidewalk.”

Flaherty-Lovy is one of several residents who want the town to build new sidewalks on the main thoroughfare between Oak Street and Farm Road. The project, Flaherty-Lovy said, will make walking safer for children who would prefer to hoof it to the three New Canaan schools at the intersection of Farm Road and South Avenue.

But the idea is not without detractors. Some neighbors are against new sidewalks being included in future road improvements by the Public Works Department. The Town Council voted Wednesday to approve a $4 million bond issue to do repairs and upgrades to town roads, but sidewalk construction is not in the plans, according to Assistant Public Works Director Tiger Mann.

Neele Stichnoth, who lives on Elm Place and Main Street, said not enough planning has gone into creating the sidewalks. Building along the far end of the road will mean having to build around old trees and power line poles, she said.  

Stichnoth, an architectural consultant, also worries a sidewalk project will further narrow an already slim road.  “I don’t think it should be done if it’s going to jeopardize peoples’ safety,” she said. “It’s narrow right now. This end [of Main Street] was meant to be more residential, but it’s become more of a thoroughfare.”

A public works subcommittee of the Town Council will host a public hearing on March 3 for residents to voice their concerns. Town Councilwoman Tucker Murphy said it was the best way to be fair to all residents.

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