This good-news email was just sent to railroad parking lot pass holders, from Police Chief Foti Koskinas:
After additional communication with commuters and users of Saugatuck train station parking lot #1, the Railroad Division of the Westport Police Department requested that the engineers responsible for the project reconsider the single driveway entrance and exit plan.
The proposed modifications will meet safety requirements, while reducing potential exit wait times during periods of high traffic flow.
The resulting modifications allow for 2 entrance/exit driveways, and the addition of a right-hand turn lane to the originally proposed entrance/exit driveway.
The email says that the changes will result in a loss of 7 spaces. Seems like a small price to pay for a common-sense change. Tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 7, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), the RTM considers a $1.5 million appropriation request for the plan.
The new parking lot #1 plan. Sorry — this is the only size I could find!
(Hat tip: Pam Kopack)
Hi Dan, will anything happen to the little pay lot adjacent to the station, you know the one that charges $15/day and $35/overnight? Those of us who do not have parking passes but would also rather not take life and limb crossing the road to/from the lot by 95 would be interested to know!
That’s a private lot, right? I’m sure it’s not affected.
ok, let’s start the 06880 pool: I say the job comes in at $1.925M and takes 2.25 times as long as the estimates…..
While it is encouraging to finally see an acknowledgement by the police that the plan they initially put forth has flaws, this last minute modification only serves to raise two questions in my mind: (1) what else should be changed now that we are finally taking a closer look and (2) what is the reason for the mad rush to get this through ? In any normal circumstance this would be sent back to the drawing board to consider the issues that have now finally been raised by the affected citizens. Let’s hit the pause button before we make any irrevocable changes that will further deteriorate the quality of life for commuters
I agree with Evan 100%. Good to see that lot users have been heard and the proposal to eliminate all but one exit has been modified. But this is not the best way to plan a major renovation that we will have to live with for years to come. There should be a measured approach to planning that includes adequate time and opportunity for input by those affected (not just those who happened to hear about this over the past few days or learned about it at the station today) and detail regarding the regulatory and safety issues that are said to require the elimination of exits. No need to rush this. The lot has been a mess for quite a while — a short pause to think through the proposed plan wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Yes! I’d also like to know why we need to lose any parking spaces at all. Is lighting really in issue, with all the ambient light? Is anyone really asking for trees, which will drop leaves, if nothing else, and will require maintenance?
Regarding the “No bottleneck!” announcement: One “experiment” at 6:30 on a Monday evening — and with what I’m sure were very motivated traffic officers — probably isn’t indicative of what the situation would be like two years from now.
Jim, it was thanks to the Traffic Agent, (that is employed by the Westport Police) that is on duty at the train station, that identified and lead to the arrest. http://www.thehour.com/westport/courts/alleged-catalytic-converter-thief-faces-more-charges/article_43eb017a-3fc8-57ab-a81c-41e5ddec9460.html The individual was wanted by just about every town from Greenwich to New Haven. The other towns mostly use private companies that would not be privy to the information on the suspect. In this case it helped solve the case due to the Westport Police involvement.
Exactly what safety issues are the planners attempting to address by making it more difficult to exit the lot? Is there a history of dangerous driving? Have they considered that forcing more cars to race to merge into one or two exits may increase the danger inside the lot?
The large lot on the other side of the tracks is entirely open to the street and seems to work just fine, What is different about Lot 1?
It certainly seems that they are trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.
Another way to alleviate the traffic is to ban parking on Riverside Ave until after 8 PM – this will allow for 2 lanes of traffic leaving the train station and parking lots during high commuter time.