Connecticut’s Department of Transportation begins work next year on several local crosswalks — including the notorious “worst intersection in the state” (Routes 1 and 33, aka Post Road West, Riverside Avenue and Wilton Road).
The DOT will also work on:
- Route 33 (Wilton Road) at Merritt Parkway Connector and Spring Hill Road
- Route 57 (Weston Road) at Broad Street and Good Hill Road (Weston)
- Route 33 (Saugatuck Avenue) at I-95 southbound ramps
- Route 1 (Post Road East) at Playhouse Square Shopping Center
- Route 1 (Post Road West) at Sylvan Road
- Route 1 (Post Road East) at Turkey Hill Roads North and South
- Sherwood Island Connector at Greens Farms Road and Post Road East.
The good news: Upgrades include countdown pedestrian indicators, accessible pedestrian push buttons, and “concurrent pedestrian phasing.”
The bad news: There are no actual traffic, sightline or other improvements.
The timetable: Design plans are expected to be completed in February, with advertising for construction in April.
So don’t expect to cross at the green quite yet.
Upgrades (of a sort) are coming here (“soon”).
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Speaking of the Post Road: Pam Kesselman sends along this photo of dead branches towering over Compo Road South, near the Route 1 intersection:
(Photo/Pam Kesselman)
She worries that they could fall on a driver or pedestrian, and hopes the town takes notice.
Tree maintenance there is (I believe) the responsibility of the state (state roads) or the owner of Compo Acres Shopping Center.
At any rate, Pam is not the first “06880” reader to have noticed these dead branches recently.
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Last week, when Y’s Men acting gardening chair Chuck Greenlee learned that a spotted lanternfly was spotted at the Westport Community Gardens, he did 2 things.
He sent a photo to “06880”:
Spotted lanternfly (Photo/JP Montillier)
And he reported it to the state’s Agricultural Experiment Station (reportSLF@ct.gov).
They quickly replied: “Thank you for your inquiry concerning spotted lanternfly. The insect you have photographed is indeed a SLF. Your town is already known to be infested. For tips on dealing with SLF, please click here. Should you find any more insects, please kill them immediately with any means at your disposal. Thank you again for your interest.”
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Speaking of the environment: Tickets are on sale now for Earthplace’s famed Woodside Bash fundraiser. It’s October 1 (7 p.m.), under the stars and beside a firepit.
Though it’s adults-only, kids are welcome the following day (October 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), for the also-annual Fall Festival. Earthplace buzzes with a corn pool, obstacle course, climbing wall, food trucks and more. Click here for tickets.
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Last week’s story on Ed Capasse’s star turn as a Staples High School marching band member/Saturday Evening Post cover model cast a new light on Stevan Dohanos’ famous 1946 painting.
Ed Capasse is in the upper left.
It used to be sold at the Westport Historical Society. Now it’s available only online.
But — as former Westporter/longtime Oregonian/avid “06880” reader Robert Gerrity discovered — there are plenty of places to purchase it. Among them:
- eBay
- Art.com
- The Jumping Frog (actual cover)
- AllPosters.com
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Speaking of posters: Yesterday’s music memories from Woodstock — the “lotta freaks!” festival that ended 53 years ago (!) today — brought an email from longtime Westporter Matt Murray.
Plus this photo:
Matt explains:
“This is an original. I worked for the guys who started and funded the concert (Joel Roseman and the late John Roberts). They were partners in the NYC recording studio, Mediasound.
“I was an assistant engineer and gopher (go for this, go for that). Another guy and I saw a stack of these in their office. We asked if we could have a few. Sure!
“Still have ’em, 47 years later.”
Matt adds: “For the studio’s Christmas party, leftover Woodstock tickets were used as bar chits. Being youthful, I used mine for drinks. The bartender tore them in half. A fellow worker thought better of that idea, and hung on to his tickets. Smart person.”
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Today’s Entitled Parking post comes from already-narrow Railroad Place:
(Photo/Karen Kramer)
No, that’s not a parking space. And it never was, even back in the day when that very cool Camaro rolled off the line.
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August is usually a very green month in Westport (though the summer-long lack of rain makes it a bit browner than usual).
Soon, we’ll be awash in a gorgeous palette of leaf-changing colors.
Meanwhile, there’s this beautiful “Westport … Naturally” display, spotted by Fred Cantor on Hillspoint Road:
(Photo/Fred Cantor)
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And finally … August 17, 1969 marked the final day of Woodstock. Among the performers then:
Crosby Stills Nash & Young played that day too. This song later became an anthem for the event:
I just took another look at that Saturday Evening Post cover and noticed the title of an article in the upper right corner, “Why Air Passengers Get Mad”. Wow, even though that magazine is from 1946, that story could have been written today with the summer of airline chaos being experienced globally…some things never change I guess.
I’m surprised that the DOT didn’t include the frightening intersection at the Post Road East and Buckley Avenue North and South. The roads are misaligned and cars coming from the north play Chicken with those from the south, especially those that are turning. It might help if turn arrows were added to the lights.
It is imperative the route 33 and post road deadly intersection (a.k.a. Riverside and post road just before the bridge to town) have pedestrian buttons WITH walk/stop boxes. I was there recently and could not get across and witnessed road rage right there. A pedestrian cannot see the lights from the corner. Again, there MUST BE a “walk man” and “stop hand” box and beeps along with a working button!!! Before someone loses his life!
on a lighter note – yay to the person still driving the Volvo 240 behind the Camaro – a car once common around town -we had two –
There’s no reason to put Crosswalks at Route 57 (Weston Road) at Broad Street and Good Hill Road (Weston). I’ve lived near there for many years and have not seen 1 person crossing there.
It is so fabulous the DOT is starting work on that notorious intersection at route 33 and post road, I hope will include a pedestrian walk/stop box and beeps. The next step is to add a side walk extension on the river side of Riverside Ave. Where it just disappears and then reappears about a mile down the road! DOT please look into this as well.