In recent weeks, “06880” has highlighted the sorry conditions of our bike lanes, and the railroad station parking lot.
Today, sidewalks get their turn.
Alert reader Kaye Leong walks frequently along Hillspoint Road, to Old Mill. She sees “overgrown shrubs, uneven and cracked roads, and speeding cars despite speed limit of 25.”
She asks: “Can’t the town do something? Is there an ordinance for overgrown shrubs that prevent use of the sidewalk?”
(Photo/Kaye Leong)
Has the reader tried to report the sidewalk over growth problem to the department of public works (and helpfully point out an issue/ ask them instead of complaining)?
In my several experiences they have been very prompt in clearing sidewalks.
It is the political season; expect to see more posts of this nature.
A little cynical. There are many folks who like to walk the town without risking a sprained or broken ankle.
Hey, we’ve seen this part of Hillspoint when driving to the beach, and thought it looked so narrow. Another dangerous thing is that the sidewalk merges with the road at the end so someone might not be aware how close cars will be to their bodies. I didn’t hear this woman “complaining” as much as alerting Dan, our “town crier”.
Thank you Kaye for bringing this to Dan’s attention. I live in the area and travel to the beach daily. This area is one of the most travelled roads in town by cars, walkers and bicyclists. Perhaps this will make drivers think and slow down when they speed down Hillspoint!! The same cars that speed by my house have speed humps and gates on their road.
Thanks again.
I used to walk down this stretch of road. I thought it was the homeowners’ responsibility to ensure that the growth on their property didn’t encroach on the public sidewalk. In fact, I thought I used to see the gardeners for the property pictured in the top left-hand corner trimming back those plants.
It’s a sad and dangerous situation. Take a look at Main St- not where the stores are – where the residents are. The strip from Kings Highway to Canal St is a disaster with broken and cracked pavement scarred with holes. Walking on the street is a safer option. Maintenance and repair must be dirty words in this administration.
First you accuse me of being cynical, and then you supply empirical evidence to support my observation. When you blame “this administration” you are making a blatantly political statement, which is as I predicted. If you were sincere in your desire to serve Westport, you would be less concerned about potholes and more concerned about the large hole blown in the Town’s balance sheet by previous administrations.
The comment was cynical. I wasn’t referring to you personally. I don’t know you. I see no point in playing the blame game for some of our woes. Let’s prioritize and fix what needs fixing.
You started the blame game, now you want to play something else, but OK, the first thing that needs fixing is that huge hole in our balance sheet.
I wouldn’t know who to ask either, but there must be some town department that takes care of such things. As somebody else mentioned. maybe it’s the Department of Public Works. Sidewalks along Long Lots Road have recently been re-done, so I wonder if there is a town wide project underway, like the road projects around town. I certainly hope so, because it’s difficult enough being a pedestrian in this town without being forced off our few sidewalks.
Michael, I know Kaye and I doubt that her complaint was politically motivated. With this beautiful weather, she’s probably walking more often and finding the obstacles more annoying.
Kaye could remove all doubt with respect to her intent by not mentioning “this administration”.
It was Denise’s “this administration” to which I was responding.
Michael, the order of the postings and the time stamp indicate that you responded before Denise posted anything.
Since when are the property owners not responsible for maintenance, exceoting repair of the pavement, of the sidewalks on their property. Downtown store owners are responsible for snow plowing the sidewalks and I would expect good citizens would do the same on their property, whether it is snow, weeds or picking up debris. If we are going to count on a government body to do every little thing for us, please do not complain about the resulting taxes.
Pete Wolgast
We tend to think we own the property we live on — all the way to the pavement. The Town has an easement next to the road: in the area of Compo, it can be 1 to 2 feet more or less.–next to the road. It is not actually our property… .
I learned this when I applied to the CT Division of Forestry for grants that enabled us to plant 42 trees over 2 springtimes.. Part of the deal was that the trees needed to be planted on public property. We matched the grant money (required) by doing the planting.. The planting was done by the Public Works Department—right in their busiest season. Most trees were planted on public property…on the edge of homeowners property. A few were planted at the beach. Homeowners agreed to water the trees and almost all of the trees survived floods, tough winters, droughts, insects, etc.
So, in the past, particularly on Soundview Avenue, plantings have made
walking dangerous. So we could wait for the Town to do the trimming, but
Public Works has a tight schedule. Why not put a note in the mailbox
of the homeowner to please trim back plants to make the walkways safer?
Probably no one believes that 25 mph really means 25 mph. I live on North Avenue and 25 is really 40 – or 45 mph in front of my house. It’s scary to be a walker or even check the mailbox. This situation appears to be accepted by everyone and there’s no effort to reduce the speed of most cars to even 30 or 35, which would make it much safer to be near the road. That’s the scary part – not so much (in my opinion) overgrown sidewalks.
Chris Woods is right. Town Highway is very good about responding to these things. Not a big deal folks.