Those are the last lines of Tennyson's "Ulysses"—and it's also a mantra of motorists pulling off of Route 123 at that place where Parade Hill Road and Forest Street meet in New Canaan.
I spent a good piece of my childhood growing up around the corner from this spot, at 84 Parade Hill Road. Far as I know, the intersection hasn't changed in terms of signage, but I'm not sure. Here's a rundown of the different approaches:
- If you're coming north on Forest Street there's nothing, you just go straight through.
- If you're coming down from Heritage Hill Road, there's a stop sign.
- If you're coming into the intersection from Parade Hill Road, heading south, you also have a stop sign.
- If you're getting off of Route 123, you've got a yield sign.
- And if you live in one of the houses right there in front of the intersection, you see some pretty messed up driving.
And that's mainly because, first, motorists coming off of Route 123 do not yield.
Take a look at the guy in the truck in this video, in the first part. That hatchback has the right-of-way and it nearly clips him.
Then look at the two cars coming off of 123 in the next sequence, the white Volvo and the black Audi SUV. They're meant to yield to traffic, and the line of cars at Parade Hill has waited at the stop sign and had already moved out toward the intersection, but they don't yield.
I let that last clip run a little further too, because it shows how dramatically those vehicles coming off of 123 that turn left toward town are staying in the oncoming traffic lane before moving over.
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