CTDOT can be flexible.
More than a dozen state Department of Transportation representatives — including deputy commissioner Laoise King — came to Town Hall last night, for a public meeting about the future of the Cribari Bridge.
“Save Saugatuck From Semis” signs greeted residents at Town Hall yesterday.
They offered a dry presentation, focused on structural engineering issues.
The public could comment afterward, they said — but only at a table near the front, speaking individually to a transcriber.
The public howled.
DOT — perceived as inflexible by many residents, during discussions over the past few years about the 143-year-old span — relented.
Residents could indeed step up the microphone and address the entire audience– including the DOT staff — the moderator said.
The public applauded.
Part of the Town Hall crowd last night.
For nearly 2 hours, the public — Representative Town Meeting members, other citizens, even the owner of the small Bridge Street house that once belonged to the bridge tender – spoke.
Nearly all emphasized two things: traffic and safety. Environmental concerns, and fears of damage to homes from the vibrations of semis, were raised too.
Kristen Schneeman — who demanded that she be allowed to speak from the lectern, not the corner table — was first. Her comments set the tone for the night.
The RTM member noted that public opinion has recently converged around 2 needs: preventing tractor-trailer traffic from creating a “fourth lane of I-95 that jeopardizes safety, health, and quality of life well beyond the Bridge Street historic area,” and preserving the historic character of a local icon.
She said that CTDOT’s Highway Design Manual calls on designers to be “imaginative, innovative and flexible,” asking “if the oldest active movable highway bridge in Connecticut does not merit that flexibility, what does?”
RTM member Kristin Purcell and Westport Alliance for Saugatuck member Dara Lamb both said that state officials are encouraging more housing in Saugatuck, as a “Transit-Oriented District.”
Why then, they wondered, should tractor-trailers be added to an already congested area?
RTM member Kristin Mott Purcell.
Greens Farms Association president Art Schoeller called Greens Farms Road “already a go-to pass-through” for I-95. His organization, he said, opposed “any alternative that would allow trucks” in that neighborhood.
Carole Reichhelm drew applause when she thanked CTDOT for their extensive work on the project.
But, she added, “you’ve given waivers and allowed exemptions many times before, for a variety of reasons. Why wouldn’t the Cribari Bridge qualify for one?
“You can’t stop Waze,” she concluded. “But you can stop trucks. We want to work with you on this.”
Morley Boyd of the Westport Preservation Alliance held a copy of the CTDOT’s own Bridge Preservation Plan. (All photos/Dan Woog)
Public comment on the Cribari Bridge project (#0158-0214) is open through April 17.
Comments can be made online (click here); by email (James.Barrows@ct.gov); voicemail (860-594-2020), or mail (James Barrows, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT 06131).
To learn more about the Cribari Bridge project, click here.