GREENWICH — Safety improvements for students and pedestrians at the proposed new Central Middle School are being welcomed by the Planning & Zoning Commission and neighborhood residents.
The plan for the new school, which will replace the current 66-year-old structure, will offer a number of traffic and circulation upgrades, the design team from SLAM Collaborative told the commission at a preliminary discussion of the project Tuesday.
“There are significant improvements to traffic flow, on and off campus,” noted Clare Kilgallen, vice-chair of the CMS Building Committee.
The new campus layout would provide a queuing, or stacking, lane for around 60 vehicles, which would allow parents and caregivers to drop off students. Parents now arrange the drop-offs on roads around the school at Indian Rock Lane.
A special lane would be constructed for buses only, keeping bus traffic separate from vehicle traffic. New “speed control devices,” such as a raised walkways, would also be used to keep cars from driving too fast in the school area. Pedestrian safety features are set to be added around the campus.
“I feel that the design team has developed a very successful design,” said Kemp Morhardt of the SLAM building group that is consulting on the project,”I think it’s a vast improvement in in safety, specifically with the separation of the bus and parent drop-off.”
A number of speakers at the meeting said they approved of the plans.
“It addresses many of the shortcomings we contend with, especially drop-offs and pick-ups,” said a parent, Dina Urson.
The planning commissioners asked a number of questions about traffic circulation and ways to lower the speed of cars around the campus, especially on Orchard Street. Planning Chairwoman Margarita Alban said the commission was focused on safety, and also concerned about mitigating flooding in the area.
Some 2,300 mature trees would be cut down, and around 1,800 replacements would be planted. “We want to preserve as many trees as possible,” said Morhardt. The tree coverage diminishes potential flooding in the neighborhood.
The plan calls for 122 parking spaces. The more parking, the higher the potential for drainage problems and an increase in flooding, the commission noted.
The CMS building committee is set to file a formal application in the near future and will provide greater detail on the topics that the commissioners requested.
“It seems like it’s on a good path,” Alban commented.
The current structure would be in operation until the new one is built, and then it will be torn down. Construction on the new school could begin in fall of 2024.
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