Nineteen planted curb extensions line Greenwich Avenue, cutting the distance pedestrians spend in the roadway by close to half.

The project pairs safety infrastructure with year-round color, thanks to pro bono design work by local landscape architects and a partnership between the Town of Greenwich, Greenwich Green & Clean and area nurseries, the Greenwich Sentinel reported Friday.

DPW Commissioner James Michel said the curb extensions are "reducing the walking distance by close to 50 percent or more of how long a pedestrian is in the roadway when they're crossing the street."

FGB Construction built the 19 extensions. The idea first surfaced about a decade ago, according to Michel, but COVID-era changes to traffic patterns and the arrival of outdoor dining reshaped the final design. A grant originally covered improvements at the Havemeyer, Arch Street, Fawcett and Grigg intersections, but the Town returned that money after resident feedback. All improvements were funded with Greenwich taxpayer dollars.

Volunteer designers join the project

The first curb extension planting began at Elm Street in 2020. Interns from James Doyle Design Associates, a firm on Greenwich Avenue, then volunteered to design the Lewis Street extensions. Town landscape designer Justin Quinn oversaw the work. Alex Bowler, one of the interns, was promoted to lead the Lewis Street project, which is complete.

Bowler's beds feature purples, pinks, white and light blue flowers. Red Twig Dogwood shrubs will turn bright red in winter. The team also added yuccas with green and yellow variegated leaves, choosing cultivars small enough not to "block the sightlines of the intersection," which Bowler called "a big design factor."

In April, Greenwich Green & Clean board chair JoAnn Messina and executive director Kanako MacLennan visited Michel to offer help along the Avenue. The nonprofit had already partnered with the Town on its hanging-basket program downtown.

Kim Conte, a landscape architect and new Greenwich Green & Clean board member, offered to design the remaining curb extensions at no charge. Conte represents the firm she shared with her late husband John, Conte and Conte. She selected a plant palette that includes bobo hydrangeas, nepeta to attract butterflies, native ilex shamrock as a salt-tolerant replacement for boxwood, abelia with pink flowers and evergreens.

The DPW is funding materials and installation. Maggie Bridge of Bridge Nurseries is furnishing plants from her wholesale Trailside Nursery and handling the planting.

Tree Warden Greg Kramer, who also sits on the Greenwich Green & Clean board, served as liaison between the nonprofit and the Town, according to Messina. Kramer began planting willow oaks along the Avenue in 2020. With donations from the Greenwich Community Foundation, 38 willow oaks stand along the corridor.

Some curb extensions farther down the Avenue are still awaiting additional plants. No completion date has been announced.