Robbie Guimond has lived and worked on the Saugatuck River for nearly 40 years. Since 1996 he’s owned and operated Bridgebrook Marina, one of the last old New England boatyards. He writes:
For a town built on the banks of a river, it’s remarkable how far we’ve drifted from understanding the very resource that shaped us.
I’ve spent my life on the water — working, boating, raising my girls while watching the tides and summers come and go — and I’m still struck by how few people here truly engage with the river that defines our history and our identity.
That disconnect is showing up now, at a moment when clarity matters most.
Robbie Guimond, at work on the river.
Over the years I’ve sat through meeting after meeting, reread the blogs, listened to the videos and talked with neighbors across town.
What I’ve learned is simple and uncomfortable: misinformation is everywhere, and it’s affecting all of us — including me.
The recent RTM meeting, and the commentary swirling around it, are just the latest examples of how quickly passion can outrun facts.
The Cribari Bridge at the center of this debate is more than iron and bolts. It’s part of our daily lives, our memories, our sense of place.
Saugatuck River (Photo/Claudia Sherwood Servidio)
Even after the state Department of Transportation’s missteps and the mess that we were left with, I still see the bridge, its scars and its lights as part of Saugatuck’s character.
It deserves a conversation grounded in understanding, not noise.
I’ve tried — sometimes to the point of going hoarse — to explain the issues as best as an everyday guy can. I often get caught up in emotion, which drives me off course.
But at this stage, the most important thing any of us can do is: get informed. Read the Environmental Assessment. Look closely at the options that came out of more than a dozen meetings with the state. Understand what’s actually on the table.
Inspecting supports for the Cribari Bridge. Much of the recent debate has focused on the part of the bridge that everyone sees and travels on — not what’s underneath, where river traffic passes.
Because the petitions circulating right now are one‑sided. The blog comments, while heartfelt, are often tilted. And yes, my own posts and comments have their biases too. That’s exactly why we need to step back from the echo chambers and look at the full picture.
At the end of the day, we’re on the same team. We all want a bridge that is safe, suitable, and responsible to the environment around it, and the river that runs under it.
We want solutions that protect quality of life, improve traffic and commerce, and honor the history that makes this place special. Those goals aren’t in conflict —they’re connected.
But we can’t reach them if we’re arguing from different sets of facts.
The river has always been our town’s anchor. It’s time for our decision‑making to reflect that same steadiness.
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The Saugatuck River. View is from the Riverwalk, behind office buildings on Riverside Avenue. (Photo/Louisa Ismert)
Yes, and river traffic north of the Cribari Bridge is also a concern. Along with raising the bridge comes the risk of boat and jet ski traffic into the downtown area right through what is a habit for egrets, herons, buffleheads, swans, geese, etc. There is no reasonable expectation of speed enforcement there. Right now we have kayaking, rowing club and residential boats that proceed slowly and enjoy the scenery. It is a joy at that pace and volume of traffic. But sometimes at lower tide when visitors pass under the bridge we see speeding and disregard for the environment that is so important to the wildlife that lives in the area just south of the library. We should weigh all residential, commuter, business and environmental concerns when discussing raising the bridge.
Well written. Understanding the source documents points now will directly affect the town’s effectiveness with CT. The river geographically divides Westport, while these bridges re-connect us, if cared for well.
I grew up in and around the Saugatuck River. When my older son was born, his given middle name is ‘August’, a subset of the river’s letters.
“The Cribari Bridge … is more than iron and bolts. It’s part of our daily lives, our memories, our sense of place.”
YES! Beautifully written. THIS bridge tugs at our hearts.
Thank you Robbie Guimond
well said, and I am for us to come together as a unified voice with a plan
Thank you Robbie. Your commentary is required reading for all of us.
Thanks. Unfortunately, the loudest voices on this issue are spewing misinformation and, most importantly, have no plan. When — not if — someone is seriously injured or killed on this bridge (probably a cyclist), will they accept responsibility? No. When traffic at this intersection and throughout this side of town remains logjammed as a direct result of the bridge’s failings — will they shoulder the blame? No. (In fact, they’ll probably be loudly complaining about traffic congestion and safety.) Will they ever come out and say why Bridge Street should be the only state highway in town that has special protections from truck traffic? No — because there is no reason, other than to protect the property values of the loudest voice in the room on this issue.
Yes, we need to come together, but we need to correct the misinformation and hysteria generated by these few people first.
Children have been seriously injured on Bridge St. due to CTDOT’s negligance… https://www.casperdetoledo.com/casper-de-toledo-llc-announces-major-jury-verdict-against-state-of-connecticut/
Robbie’s call to get informed is a good one. Reading the Environmental Assessment and understanding the options on the table is essential.
One additional fact that sometimes gets lost in the discussion is that the Cribari Bridge sits within the Bridge Street Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of that, federal law requires the review to consider not only the bridge itself, but also potential effects on the district’s setting and character.
That includes reasonably foreseeable long-term changes in traffic composition, noise, and vibration if the bridge’s current physical constraints — such as height and weight limits — are removed. Those are factual questions that the environmental review process is intended to analyze.
Many residents, including those who signed the recent petition, are simply asking that these issues be fully examined and clearly documented in the federal review process before decisions are finalized.
In that sense, Robbie’s larger point stands: the best outcome will come from people getting informed, asking thoughtful questions, and participating constructively in the process ahead.
Kelly and Grant’s daughters’ story made me deeply sad. They kept their family boat here for several years until they got into Compo, then wintered here even longer. Great family—their roots run deep in town.
It was around that time I had my third daughter. I remember feeling a real fear for the girls, as I knew they would eventually want to cross the River and head down to the beach. That has become a reality.
The Riverside fatality shook me as well. It’s hard to understand how there are still no crosswalk lights at Dunkin or at the Route 1 Wilton Road intersection that so many kids, including mine, rely on.
Conversations like these make it painfully clear that safety has to be the number one priority in this project—crosswalks, sidewalks, and thoughtful, well‑planned markings mid‑Bridge Street and up at Compo.
A great question for the 19th would be: “Is this project mandatory ADA compliant” and “What other mandatory safety requirements and improvements ” I believe the CT‑DOT wants this area to be safe to prevent injury and suits like Kaeligh’s.
We owe it to everyone who lives here, especially our kids, to look at everything with care as we move forward and work with CT-DOT to fix these issues, I think they are forced to.