Longtime Westporters know the drill.
Newcomers may not.
The annual PAL fireworks display is set for this Thursday (June 29; rain date, Friday).That means tons of traffic,
Compo Beach closes at 4 p.m. Only vehicles with fireworks passes hanging on their rearview mirrors are allowed to remain. All others will be ticketed or towed.
The beach usually reopens to ticket holders by 5 p.m.
Access to the fireworks is through South Compo Road only. Hillspoint Road south of Greens Farms Road is open only to residents south of that intersection.
Fireworks attendees should hang their ticket on their rearview mirror. A few tickets ($50 per car) are still available at the Westport Police station (50 Jesup Road) and Parks & Recreation office (in Longshore Park), during business hours. The event is a fundraiser for the Westport PAL, thanks to sponsorship by Melissa and Doug Bernstein.
Vehicles without tickets will not be permitted beyond the Minute Man monument.
People arriving by Uber, Lyft, or taxi will be directed straight past the Minuteman on Compo Road South. They can walk from Soundview Drive to the beach.
NOTE: Return service by those methods will not be available until after 11 p.m., due to 1-way traffic exiting the beach.
Just prior to the conclusion of the fireworks, 2-way traffic will be suspended on Compo Beach Road and South Compo Road to the intersection of Greens Farms Road. There will be two lanes of northbound traffic on these streets until the beach is cleared.
Residents of this area will encounter delays getting to their homes for about one hour, or until traffic has cleared from the beach.
Residents who will pick up family members in the beach area should also plan for delays.
Don’t worry. The traffic is worth it. Enjoy the show — and thanks, PAL and Melissa and Doug!
Welcome to the fireworks! (Photo/Dan Woog)
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In the wake of last week’s implosion of the Titan — the submersible that brought adventure-seekers to the wreck of Titanic — David Pogue offered some of the most respected and insightful views.
Last year, the Westport correspondent/writer/podcaster/tech expert reported on the Titan. As a guest of the submersible’s company, OceanGate, he traveled to the North Atlantic for a “CBS Sunday Morning” report.
Pogue’s own attempts to see Titanic were scrubbed. The closest he got was 37 feet underwater. (Click here to see that video.)
But his questions of CEO Stockton Rush — one of 5 who died — about the safety of the vessel took on new resonance last week.
Yesterday, Pogue was featured in a 10-minute “CBS Sunday Morning” feature, exploring his trip and the aftermath.
The story — which includes interviews with Rush and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert and Connecticut resident who also perished — is a clear, compelling, compassionate but honest look at a modern-day Shakespearean story that gripped the world. Click below to see:
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Jonathan Prager “spotted” this excellent specimen for our “Westport … Naturally” feature yesterday:
(Photo/Jonathan Prager)
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And finally … on this day in 1927, the Cyclone roller coaster opened on Coney Island.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a non-profit. Please click here to contribute. Thank you!)
My heart goes out to all of the pets that are frightened by the noise of fireworks. Stay safe!
The pets have good reason to be frightened. If my owner’s priorities were this far out of wack I’d be frightened too.
Westport must rise to the challenge, lead by example and renounce all July 4th celebrations. Especially those involving ersatz rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air. If you want to see pyrotechnics in action, hop one of Bridgewater’s Learjets and jump the pond to our sister city of Lyman where the bullets are real and the dollars are just meaningless crumbs. Shall we gather at the Levitt the beautiful, beautiful Levitt. Shall we gather at the Levitt and sniff the methane from the dump.
I look forward to seeing photos of entitled people staking their claim on the beach with towels, chairs, gigantic umbrella, etc by 7am.
Like the robins marking the unofficial start of spring, summer in Westport truly starts with the first online comment about the space-claimers. Whether you are against or for, at least we can all rejoice that summer has finally unofficially arrived in Westport!
Regarding the sub disaster hundreds of migrants die on shanty ships trying to make a better life in many countries. There is very little press coverage No none cares But these 5 ultra wealthy and highly connected to the ultra wealthy and famous receive all the glory. It’s common sense the sub was not safe. A few searches would have been enough. Who is speaking out for the migrants ?
Once again, I and so many thank Doug and Melissa Bernstein for their fireworks generosity.
Don Bergmann
I don’t think it’s fair to say the 5 that died on the Titan received glory. They got a lot of press (after they died). It was a story that gripped your imagination, first because it was thought they were alive and would be running out of oxygen, which is a nightmare scenerio for anybody, wealthy or not. I did not hear anybody glorifying them or calling them heroes. Perhaps some did, but it was not widely reported. Just because the world paid attention to this story does not mean no one cares about other tragedies.
A little trivia Stockton Rush, the owner of the Titan, was married to a great great granddaughter of Isador Strauss. Isador Strauss was part owner and founder of Macy’s. Isador Strauss and his wife was on the Titanic when it hit an iceberg. He was offered a seat of a lifeboat, but refused as long as there were women and children that needed to be rescued. Then his wife was offered a seat she refused, saying she was staying with her husband. The both died when the Titanic sank. They were in the sixties. Some wealthy people are heroes.