Weston has never had sidewalks.
Never say never.
With $3 million in state and federal money, a 5K loop will tie together Weston center, schools, churches and Town Hall.
But wait! There’s more!
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will pay for pickleball courts too.
That’s the latest news from our neighbor to the north. Click the link below, to hear details straight from 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor. It’s the 2nd installment in the Y’s Men of Westport — and Weston’s — “What’s New in Weston” podcast series.
Perhaps a friendly Westport.vs. Weston tournament next summer? Could be the beginning of a friendly annual social rivalry for multiple ages.
Dr J
Meanwhile, in Bridgeport…..
This is a truly obscene and disgusting waste of federal tax dollars. Let Weston pay for its own sidewalks.
And pickleball courts too? Really?
Weston spoke
Congress listened
The Biden Administration made it happen
The Affordable Pickleball Act
Weston!!! Let’s DO this!!!
Let’s Go Weston!!!
There MUST be pickleball equity…go Weston!
Meanwhile in Bridgeport. “The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. The legislation established the Coronavirus-19 State and local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) which is intended to support state and local governments as they address the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 on their communities. The City of Bridgeport has been allocated $110 million to spend through December of 2024. Funding must be used to respond to and recover from the pandemic in accordance with guidelines set by the U.S. Treasury Department.”
On a per capita basis, Bridgeport received $736 in ARPA funds while Weston got $292.
I understand that Bridgeport will use the funds it received to close the pickleball court gap with adjoining communities.
Who’s going to rescue Americans from the American Rescue Plan?
While I applaud Weston for getting some sidewalks, I would like to highlight Westport’s need for sidewalks on Riverside Ave along the river. Walking to town can be problematic because one can walk on the north side to that horrible intersection at Post Road and Riverside. A pedestrian box and button are coming but it still requires luck and skill to get across there. Sidewalks along the river (that go all the way to the rowing club) would take a lot of the risk out of the equation. Just saying…
Diane, I live near Weston, myself, and was thinking the same thing. Walking/running up here in God’s country could not be more dangerous, with folks doing upwards of 50 MPH on a good day.
A more responsible use of ARP funds would be to erect an offshore wind farm on the Easton Reservoir. It would reduce Weston’s carbon footprint. Plus solar panels would fit in nicely on Lyons’s Plain Rd.
As always,
– never confuse a bill’s name with what it actually is intended to accomplish (beware fans of the Inflation Reduction Act which will do many things except reduce inflation)
– never expect our federal gov’t to move quickly. That bill passed in March, 2021 to “rescue” us all from the pandemic. Funds now slowly being appropriated in late 2022
– never spend massive amounts of $ in a supply constrained economy and not expect inflation. See any MacroEconomics textbook chapter 1
Have a pleasant day
Actually, it was the American Rescue Plan (ARP) that was signed into law in March 2021, not the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Funds from the ARP were disbursed to millions of American citizens and businesses shortly after it passed and indeed it most certainly DID rescue the country from economic disaster in the middle of a devastating pandemic. The IRA was an amended version of the Build Back Better act and passed through the senate and signed into law in August 2022. According to my calendar, that was a whole four months ago. I know, it can be difficult to wait for your parents to wake up when you’ve been staring at your Christmas presents under the tree since 6 am. Parts of the IRA have already been rolled out and will continue to do so at an accelerated rate in 2023. The inflation we have been experiencing is a world wide result of the economic impact from pandemic due to supply chain issues and chip shortage, the latter having already been attended to by the President in the very recently passed “Chips Act”.
Seasons greetings!
Great comment, Russell.
Re inflation: Not to mention increasing energy prices due to the war in Ukraine. I’m surprised that some commenters haven’t blamed the government for the price of a commodity on the world market.
(Oil prices are back down to where they were before the war, so one might ask oil companies why retail prices are still so high. Or they can just blame the government.)
Thanks Russ. I had the ARP date correct, sorry you didn’t read it correctly. Hopefully Santa will bring you a MacroEconomics textbook and you’ll learn all about inflation. Hopefully, you’ll determine the ARP $ weren’t advertised to build sidewalks in CT towns and most certainly did NOT “rescue” our country.
For our other esteemed reader, energy prices already on a significant increased trend before the Ukraine war. The war certainly made things worse, but did not create the initial problem.
BTW, the Chips Act won’t have an impact on semi supply for >5 years. The time it takes to build and calibrate a fab.
Happy Holidays!
Indeed. I love the term “supply chain issues.” Just a benign sounding way of saying that you can’t provide goods and services essential to keeping the economy alive because you have strangled the means of getting ANYTHING and/or ANYONE from point A to point B. NO FUEL means NO GO. Commenced immediately when the Vegetable in Chief emerged from the basement and ascended the throne.
The vegetables don’t need CNN. The news is what they think it is. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Alternative reality. His son’s the smartest man he knows. Cogito Ergo Sum.