On Thursday I posted a video that included a driver heading south on North Avenue, blasting right through the stop sign at Cross Highway.
That evening — just a few hours later — someone did it again.
This time, there was someone else at the intersection.
Amy Lowey Horowitz writes:
“Around 6 p.m., I was driving east on Cross Highway. A driver coming south on North Avenue ran the stop sign at high speed, and hit the front of my car. My vehicle turned 90 degrees, ending up also facing south on North Avenue.
“The other driver pulled off, and left.
“I called the police. In what seemed like an instant firefighters, police and ambulance were there, showing me so much kindness and concern.
“I was seriously shaken up, shocked, confused and not even able to answer all their questions. The accident happened so fast.
“I hope to use ‘06880’ to thank all the people who showed up and helped me navigate those first few moments. I was too shocked to learn names. I want to thank all the first responders who showed up, and did more than just their jobs last night.
“I’m fine this morning, grateful for that, as well as the care and treatment that I received.
” also hope that someone witnessed the accident is willing to share what they saw. There were plenty of people driving past right after impact. It is likely that someone may have seen the other car go through the intersection right before he hit me.”
Any witnesses should call the Westport Police: 203-341-6000.
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It was a big Earth Day celebration yesterday downtown. The Westport Downtown Association partnered with Staples’ Service League of Boys (SLOBs) to hit the streets for a cleanup.
They started at Parker Harding Plaza, then headed down Main Street to Church Lane and Elm Street, with a side visit to the Baldwin parking lot.
It’s all bagged up. Downtown looks fresh, nice, and ready for spring.
SLOBs and friends clean up downtown. (Photo/Lee Shufro)
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SLOBs were also at work at the Long Lots preserve.
Director Lou Weinberg reports: “They killed it.”
For more information on this great project next to the Westport Community Gardens, click here.
SLOBs at the Long Lots preserve (from left): Charles Hallett, Cormac Mulvey, Zach Beebe, Dylan Hoke. (Photo/Mike Beebe)
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AND … this was the scene at the very trash-filled Elaine Road site. A large crew picked up plenty of garbage, from the boat launch underneath I-95 all the way to Compo Road South.
RTM member Andrew Colabella helped organize the effort, which included 2nd Selectwoman Andrea Moore, town employees and SLOBs.
Looks like they even found an old highway sign among the mess.
(Photo courtesy Town of Westport)
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The Democratic Women of Westport also celebrated Earth Day yesterday, at athletic fields around town.
Informational tables at “Sustainability on the Sidelines” offered info on small steps families can take to reduce their sports footprint (For xample: carpooling, no idling, and participating in a uniform exchange).
They also gave away Gatorade powders to encourage reusable bottles instead of single use plastic.
Owen Hill had a table too, at the Democratic Women of Westport’s “Sustainability on the Sidelines” Earth Day event.
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Individuals were out in force too.
Below: Rindy Higgins, cleaning up Canal Beach in her Saugatuck Shores neighborhood.
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On Friday Jamie Walsh — chair of the Westport Shellfish Commission and his wife Grayson Braun joined former chair Heather Williams and her husband Colin Walklet.
For several hours, they did their biannual cleanup around Hendrick’s Point — the beautiful spot next to the Longshore golf driving range.
Jamie says: “Among the wide array of beer, soda bottles and cans; remnants of food packaging; bits of styrofoam and over 200 golf balls that cleared the netting that was recently repaired, the most concerning litter was the many bundles of fishing line randomly discarded in the brush.
“I’ve been part of the cleanup for a number of years, but this was the worst. We hauled out 6 large trash bags full of garbage, and enough fishing line to fill half a bag. Most of it had to be cut out of the brush.
“Improper disposal of fishing line creates a huge problem. Birds and small animals get hung up in it. Fishing line disposed on the shoreline can float off and take up to 600 years to decompose, but it generally degrades into micro-plastics that are toxic and dangerous to all marine life. Ultimately, this winds up in the food chain.
“It is our collective responsibility to be stewards of the land and waters, and dispose of all garbage and plastic items such as fishing line responsibly. I urge people to help by picking up stray fishing line they see at the water’s edge. Help us to keep our precious shorelines as pristine as possible.
“We have that responsibility to our natural resources — not just on Earth Day, but every day.”
Clearing fishing lines from the Hendrick’s Point brush.
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In non-Earth Day news, Challenger baseball — the Westport Little League program for youngsters with disabilities — celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday.
24 players and 16 buddies — plus a cake — marked the memorable occasion.
Challenger players and buddies get ready to play ball.
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MoCA Westport was packed Friday night for a performance by jazz saxophonist Eddie Barbash. He’s a founding member of the house band for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” The concert was part of the “Rainbow in the Dark” exhibition.
Next up on the Music at MoCA schedule: This Friday (April 28, 7 p.m.): The Cuatro Puntos Ensemble, pianist Irena Portenko, violinist Kristen Young and musicians from Norwalk Youth Symphony present chamber music for strings by contemporary composers living in Ukraine, including newly commissioned pieces from Odessa and Kyiv. Click here for more details.
Eddie Barbash at MoCA. (Photo/Kristen Young)
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A Saugatuck resident writes:
“I’m concerned about an older man who rides his bike at twilight or early dark near the Saugatuck/Norwalk line.
“He rides erratically, crossing the road from one side to the other, stopping occasionally. He wears a drab raincoat and is nearly invisible in the low light. His bicycle has no reflective devices.
“Late commuters speed home along Saugatuck Avenue, and I fear for this fellow’s life.
“I hesitate to notify the police since the bicycle may be his only transportation. I want to warn readers to be careful in this area.”
Be careful out there!
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Wendy Crowther recently had a close encounter with nature. The result is today’s captivating “Westport … Naturally” photo.
She writes: “A pair of barred owls hung out in the evergreen trees around my yard today. They have a classic-sounding hoot often described as if they’re asking, ‘Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?’
“As dusk neared, this one flew onto the peak of my garage, waiting patiently for something delicious to scurry by below. It was the perfect pose for a photo. He/she eventually flew off without dinner.”
(Photo/Wendy Crowther)
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And finally … today is the birthday of the amazing Roy Orbison. He died far too young of heart failure in 1988. He was just 52.
The man Elvis Presley called “the greatest singer in the world” had a 4-octave range, earning him the nickname “the Caruso of Rock.”
In fact, music scholars say, Orbison and Enrico Caruso were the only 20th century tenors capable of hitting E over high C.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. We’re also a non-profit, so contributions are tax-deductible. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
Wonderful to see Sustainable Westport getting sports involved in doing its part to help the earth. I wonder if they’ve noticed the signs in front of Staples. They started as a nice way to honor seniors during covid because teams could not have senior days. Now the signs are a perennial eyesore and massive donation to our transfer station.
All teams and now the music programs put them out for all three seasons for their seniors. I currently have a senior who would have had three signs this year. Thankfully boys and girls track have opted out of this now unnecessary display. Consider how many three season senior athletes there are at staples. Now add all the arts seniors and very quickly in one year we’ve got a very non sustainable problem on our hands.
This is now year four of the signs. We are past Covid restrictions. Our seniors now have their days. Time for the signs to stop.
I completely agree. Same for the ‘home of a senior’ lawn signs that the PTA facilitiates. They were a lovely way to celebrate the ’20 & ’21 seniors who could not be at SHS physically and graduated under Covid but what is the purpose now? Staples and the PTA already organize multiple days and events to recognize all seniors (not only sports and music seniors) and the families surely already know that their child is graduating.
If someone knows the elderly gentleman on the bike, I’d be happy to purchase some reflective gear or lights for him.
How about a camera at that intersection?
The intersection of Cross Highway & North Ave has a limited sight line at the 4 way stop sign with stone wall on left side going south. Why is that allowed?
Close calls and accidents continually happen on North Avenue. Stop signs and speed limit signs aren’t effective at all. I can’t see that installing cameras will help. For what ? Catching a hit and run driver who causes fatal accident? I remember when speed bumps or humps were installed on Kings Highway North about 15 years ago. So many complaints !! From the ” ugly ” yellow lines to people complaining that teens will laugh at the name speed humps. Honest, this is true, l remember. The yellow lines serve a function of giving people warning to slow down so they don’t get tossed around in their cars. So, Town Hall, what are you waiting for? Install the speed bumps like the ones on Kings Highway North to prevent more accidents. If you don’t, and there is a fatal accident, can you imagine the lawsuit you are going to get hit with?
What about a traffic lighr?
How about a few high speed bumps?
The stop lines are too far back from the corners at North Ave and Cross Hwy (also at North Ave and Easton Rd) It can look like the person went through because you can’t see that they stopped back at the actual line.