Thad Eidman has lived in Westport since 1986. Co-founder and COO of the Acreto cyber-security company, and a member of the committee that overhauled the town’s website several years ago, he cares deeply about the “open and inviting culture of our community.”
Like many “06880” readers, he has followed recent stories on traffic in town with interest. He writes:
Recent comments on “06880” regarding traffic included cheap shots at our first selectwoman.
These comments were not only mean in spirit, but show a complete lack of understanding of what the problem is and how we can fix it.
You want Jen to wave a magic wand? In the last election Jonathan Steinberg ran on his ability to fix the traffic problem because he had “special resources” in Hartford. He is still our representative. Why hasn’t he fixed it?
There must be something more to it. What is the “something”?
Riverside Avenue traffic, near Assumption Church. (Photo/Tracy Porosoff)
I believe that traffic in Westport can be segmented into 4 main types/causes.
- The morning and evening commute.
- School drop-off and pick-up.
- Significant new construction of apartments/condos in Westport
- I-95 and Merritt Parkway construction and accident diversion.
Commute time. Westport is a pass-through rather than a destination for commuters. AI-driven traffic optimization applications such as Waze, combined with Westport’s unique position as the ideal cutover between the Merritt Parkway and I-95, create the perfect storm for traffic aggregation during rush hour.
The challenge with these applications is that they are smart, really smart. And dealing with them is counterintuitive.
If Westport undertakes a road expansion/optimization program, and it works, Waze and other applications will just send more cars because we have become a more efficient route. The traffic will not get better; it will stay approximately the same or get slightly worse. It’s a zero-sum game.
School drop-off and pick-up. In our post-COVID, work-from-home world, parents increasingly drive their children to school.
I sought specific statistics on how many of our 5,305 K-12 students ride the bus, but I could not find a reliable source.
Yet sit outside any elementary or middle school during drop-off and pick-up, and see the large number of cars lining up including major streets like the Post Road.
So quickly a 2-lane major road becomes 1 lane. Traffic from these cars is concentrated, because large numbers of cars are headed to the exact same spot at the exact same time.
We just spent $35.3 million on a new 5-year school bus contract to serve our community. These will be state-of-the-art buses. How can we support our community to use this new bus service, rather than private transportation?
Waiting for pick-up at Kings Highway Elementary School. (Photo/Dick Lowenstein)
New construction. New apartments and condominiums are going up everywhere in town, primarily along the Post Road corridor.
Over 308 units on the Norwalk side of the Saugatuck have been approved, but not built yet. At 1.5 cars per unit, that is another 462 cars on the Post Road on a daily basis.
Zoning for our town has effectively been turned over to the legislature in Hartford and the courts in Waterbury. This is because the “representatives of the people” in Hartford have determined that affordable housing takes precedent over every other factor when considering a new building project. Preserving the character of Westport is not even a factor for consideration.
This is not a statement on the goodness of affordable housing. It is a statement of fact that builders can include a small portion of affordable housing in their proposed complex. When they do, all practical zoning considerations go out the window.
The fire chief can go on record that the buildings cannot be effectively protected. Not an issue for the court to approve the project.
If Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission turns them down, the State Court in Waterbury (where appeals are heard) will approve. Pack in the units; not a problem.
Remember, this law was created by legislators in Hartford who don’t live here. and don’t care what you think.
Construction/accidents on I-95 and Merritt. Have you ever seen truck after truck coming through town on the Post Road, along with heavy traffic?
You immediately know the cause: an accident or construction on I-95. Same holds for cars and the Merritt.
For accidents and construction delays, or just Sunday afternoon getting home from the Cape, traffic applications send people right through Westport whenever there is a disruption.
Get off the Merritt! Drive through Westport!
What Can You Do Now to Help Solve This Problem?
- Encourage residents to put their children on the bus. Every child on the bus is 1 morning and 1 afternoon car off the road.
- Talk to Jonathan Steinberg about creating a coalition in the state to fight for local control over zoning. Get active in support our P&Z’s right to manage how many units can go on a piece of property. Affordable housing is great, but let’s not have that be a driver for creating these dense monstrosities of projects.
PS. I am an independent voter, and did not discuss this article with any elected official.
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