'Thank you' to Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo for announcing the Town's plan "to close the entire Greenwich Avenue in the evenings for the entire summer," starting with the "bottom two blocks (south of the intersection with Havemeyer and Arch)."

This is a great first step and it's great that Camillo and the Town have heard your support (1,992 signatories now!) and worked so expeditiously through the details to announce this plan today! 

(Re)connecting Greenwich Avenue with the waterfront sounds amazing!

However, there is no update so far on closing the Avenue to cars during daytimes & weekends — and whether 'sidewalk sales' are in the offing to support the retail shops — could this be feasible? 

Please remember to support our businesses if you are well and able to, safely! 

Three updates are below, from the Greenwich Free Press, the Greenwich Sentinel, and the Greenwich Time:  

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* Greenwich Free Press’ latest update - https://greenwichfreepress.com/news/government/enthusiasm-abounds-for-reopening-of-greenwich-ave-one-block-at-a-time-139511/

Camillo said he was happy to announce that the town’s plan is to close the entire Greenwich Avenue in the evenings for the entire summer, but to start with bottom two blocks (south of the intersection with Havemeyer and Arch).

“At the same time we’re working on a plan for the other blocks. They do present problems. We will address every concern. We’ll start out with those two blocks in a fairly reasonable time so that every block can take advantage of this,” he said.

“This is the beginning of something different. Hopefully this will be transformative for Greenwich Ave in particular,” Camillo continued. “This is something we heard about since I was a little boy. We heard about the days when there was a trolley that went down the middle of the Ave. We’ll try to incorporate some of that.”

Camillo added that the closing of portions of Greenwich Avenue coincided with the plan to develop the waterfront on Greenwich Harbor and connect it to Greenwich Avenue.

He said the RFP to redesign Greenwich Harbor to make it more pedestrian friendly is still active.

“For now we’ll focus on the two blocks from Starbucks to the bottom of the Ave,” he said. “It’ll come before the Board of Selectmen – about the redirection of traffic.”

The Selectmen meeting is scheduled for May 28.

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* Greenwich Sentinel’s latest update - https://www.greenwichsentinel.com/2020/05/20/reopening-begins-in-greenwich/

Camillo has long expressed a desire to connect Greenwich Avenue with the waterfront to create somewhat of a pedestrian mall. With the pandemic, new plans have emerged to help businesses, restaurants and residents in the new normal.

“Our plan is to do this with the whole Avenue. This will coincide with our original plan to connect Greenwich Avenue to the waterfront; that’s still in the works,” Camillo said. “With the pandemic, we’ve had to push that back a little bit. This really will fit in nicely longterm. We plan to close it down this summer. Right now we’re going to focus on two blocks.”

Beginning from where Starbucks is near Havemeyer Place on down, the Avenue would open for foot-traffic only. Plans for traffic redirection and other logistical issues are slated to come before the Board of Selectmen during their next meeting on May 28. At the same time, the Town is currently working on plans for the other Avenue blocks.

“Each block presents a different issue. We’re fairly confident, especially with our fire and police on board every step of the way, that we’ll get this done,” Camillo added. “We’ll do it in a fairly reasonable time so every single block can take advantage of this.”

Camillo called the idea “transformative” for the Avenue, and hopefully for other parts of the Town. He said bringing back the days of when there was a pedestrian mall is something he’s heard about since he was a kid.

“We’re going to try and recapture some of that in the modern day. We have to encompass all of the issues in the modern day, too. We’ll get there. I think doing it in this fashion, crawling before you can walk, we’ll do it in a very measured way,” he said.

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* Greenwich Time’s latest update - https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/coronavirus/article/Town-to-offer-more-access-as-coronavirus-curve-15284551.php

Camillo said he is continuing to work with town departments and first responders on a plan to close off sections of Greenwich Avenue during limited hours to allow more outdoor dining and shopping.

The plan would open up the street into an open air pedestrian mall from Arch Street, by the old Post Office, all the way down to the bottom of the Avenue, he said.

Camillo said he expected to have a proposal before the Board of Selectmen for its May 28 meeting.

“We are working out the logistics and details,” Camillo said. “We will start with those two blocks and move up the Avenue. We’re going to do it in a fairly reasonable time so every single block can take advantage of this.”