Public Works Director Fred Hurley and residents Beverly Bennett-Schaedler and Barbara Bloom gathered on the south side of the Municipal Center to celebrate new handicap parking spaces.

At the September Commission on Aging meeting, Bennett-Schaedler approached the commissioners and explained that the handicap spaces at the Municipal Center are “95 steps away” from the door and on an incline. She asked if it would be possible to move the first selectman and superintendent’s parking spaces over and convert them into handicap spaces.

The COA pushed Hurley at Public Works for this change, and he made it happen. Hurley explained that the COA made their push “at the perfect time” because the Fairfield Hills campus was being repaved due to the water and sewer line maintenance that has been redirecting traffic throughout the summer.

All the roadwork, including the new elevated sidewalk, was done at once. The handicap parking spaces meet the sidewalk flush to the ground and have new wheelchair ramps.

Hurley added that it was the “perfect time to make adjustments” and that “these things happen when they all come together.”

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.