Readers reacted quickly to last week’s “06880” story on traffic. It was the Comment section equivalent of the back roads of Westport, after an accident on I-95.
Ray Broady moved to Westport in 2014 from Southern California, where he and his wife of 53 years were born and raised. They came here to be closer to their only daughter and granddaughter. Ray retired in great health, after a career in contracting. His hobbies include boating, traveling and DIY projects.
Ray drives around Westport often, and to Greenwich 3 times a week. He wanted to write more than a quick reply to the traffic story. He thought a while, then sent this:
I feel I must somehow reach more Westporters who are as frustrated as I am about the traffic nightmare getting worse by the day in our great town, beyond just the Comments section.
I believe that the major traffic problem areas around Westport, which mainly involve 4 major intersections and roadways, are going to reach epidemic proportions in the near future.
Before COVID, these issues were worsening by the month. Now, after new arrivals, the volume of traffic at these locations has effectively doubled or tripled. Add in the new single-family housing and multi-family projects in planning and approved, and Westport has a recipe for a traffic apocalypse.
I am naming the 4 problem areas in detail, so concerned Westport residents and businesses can put their finger more easily on the map, and hopefully realize that “Rome is burning while Nero fiddles!”
Westporters must come together and put out his fire if we are going to have a wonderful town in which to live, work and play.
Westport’s Four Traffic Ills of the Apocalypse:
The Saugatuck Disaster: Exit 17 off I095 to Charles Street onto Saugatuck Avenue; also Riverside Avenue to the Cribari Bridge/Bridge Street to Greens Farms Road.
The Downton Deluge: Post Road West at the Riverside Avenue/Wilton Road intersection.
Kings Hwy north and Wilton Road, to Canal Street and Main Street.
The Weston Road/Easton Road/Main Street Confusion.
All 4 problem areas are on state highways. This creates a major impediment to solving these problems, because we must have state participation, assistance and approvals.
However, this should not stop or slow efforts to correct and effect cures to these problems. Where there is a will there is a way.
I love this town and what it represents. I am so glad the community cares and contributes to so many wonderful improvements and projects.
However, I feel we may have these traffic nightmares too far down the list of priorities.
We all know for example the growing success of downtown, and now the push to improve Parker Harding Plaza parking and retail access.
The town can shoot itself in the foot if it spends millions on the new project, without curing the difficult access to downtown that has developed.
Businesses will find that traffic-frustrated shoppers and visitors find it too difficult to transit the downtown to avail themselves of the great features if offers.
Public officials and departments should take up this issue in a serious, results- oriented way. Westport residents need to bring strong pressure to bear on these officials and departments to get a quick action plan together, and move this problem to top priority — not lip service, and not excuses.
We all know the Representative Town Meeting addresses and accomplishes a lot of issues, in a great forum of resident input.
But I am not sure this RTM has the heart and fire to tackle this issue without a lot of bitching and nostalgic references to the good old days, when the town only had 12,000 or so residents.
Those days are gone forever. The tomorrow train is racing toward a head-on collision with this town and its future.
Officials sometimes use this resident noise to sweep away the problem of the slate of priorities, and leave it to future discourse. There needs to be far more foresight about how we can keep Westport vibrant. Tackling these traffic problems will help assure a wonderful future for our special town of Westport.
Damn it, Come on, Westport. Let’s do this now!
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