Tweak it. Spruce it up.
But don’t make major changes.
That’s the strong sentiment from a town-wide survey about the future of Longshore, says the woman in charge of overseeing any changes to the 168-acre park.
Jen Fava — Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department director — has looked at the results and comments of the springtime survey. Administered by landscape architect, planning and engineering firm Stantec as an early step in the Longshore Capital Improvement Plan, it drew 2,658 responses.
Longshore includes a golf course, tennis courts, marina, pools, and much, much more.
“The surprise was that there were not a lot of surprises,” Fava says.
“People said ‘Longshore is great. We love it.’ They don’t want to change too much. They just want it tweaked, to fit their needs.”
Of course, not every resident has the same needs. One person’s priority for pickleball may conflict with another’s desire for a golf clubhouse.
Golfers weighed in strongly for an actual clubhouse, with a pro shop, locker room and grill. The golf course itself will not be redesigned.
Longshore golf course. (Photo/Dave Dellinger)
Platform tennis players want 2 more courts, and a warming hut.
As for pickleball: 1,512 respondents want courts. 962 said no.
As expected, Fava says, survey respondents expressed a strong desire for the pools — and for keeping the current location, near Long Island Sound.
However, many asked for more shade there; a patio and picnic area, and renovated locker rooms.
Longshore pool (Photo/Pamela Einarsen)
There was a clear desire too for trails, paths and walkways throughout Longshore. “That fits in with national trends,” Fava says.
Stantec’s job now is to provide options. Fava calls it “laying out the jigsaw pieces.” Where, for example, would a golf clubhouse be constructed: on the site of the current ramshackle pro shop, or elsewhere? Should the current maintenance shed — right in the heart of the facility, near golf, tennis, the Inn and the pool parking lot — be moved? If so, where?
The driving range now occupies prime real estate, at the confluence of the Saugatuck River and Long Island Sound. A number of respondents would like to see that space available to more users. If so, what happens to that practice facility?
The survey asked several questions about parking. Most respondents rated it low on their concerns. “Perhaps we’ll look at a realignment of spaces, or better accessways,” Fava says.
Longshore’s E.R. Strait Marina (Photo/Marcia Falk)
Parks & Rec officials will go to the public this fall for more input. Then comes a detailed capital plan, with requests for specific items before town finance and land use commissions.
“We can’t give everyone everything,” Fava notes.
Moving forward, she says that she and other officials will keep in mind the main takeaway: “People said, ‘don’t overdevelop Longshore.’ We’ll keep its character, while meeting as many needs as possible.
“Longshore has very good bones. We just need to sculpt around it.”