Tag Archives: Bridge Street

[OPINION] Traffic Apps Care About Algorithms, Not Neighborhoods

Posted on April 2, 2026 | 15 comments

As a longtime Bridge Street resident, Werner Liepolt has a front-porch view of traffic — including the vehicles that apps like Waze send past his house. He writes:

Take a look at Westport the way a navigation algorithm does.

I-95: Thursday, March 26, 9 p.m.

It sees not a collection of neighborhoods — but a network.

Because that’s how today’s traffic actually moves.

From the Waze-eye view, the logic is clear. Waze sees traffic speed and volume, but it doesn’t reliably see or respect local rules and human factors that shape safe and appropriate traffic patterns.

Waze emojis and avatars — “Moods” — represent “Wazers:” happy, fast, or stuck in traffic. Other icons indicate real-time reports, crashes, hazards and police.

Waze does not consistently indicate local thru-truck prohibitions. Neither school bus stops nor routes are accounted for. Ditto cyclists, crosswalks and pedestrian activity.

And Waze of course has no way of measuring or reporting long time and cumulative effects of traffic noise, pollution, aesthetic impact or vibration damage.

Waze also ignores narrow streets and historic districts — for example, the Bridge Street National Register Historic District.

The Cribari Bridge is not isolated. It connects directly to a sequence of roads that carry traffic eastward through Westport.

From the Waze eye view, the logic is clear.

The William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge connects Riverside Avenue’s commercial district directly to Bridge Street (Route 136), feeding traffic into a residential corridor that continues inland. What appears to be a local crossing is, in fact, a key link in a broader east–west route.

Now look a few miles away.

Individually, these are routine infrastructure projects.

Together, they form something much more consequential.

Just east of Westport, the Sasco Creek Bridge sits on Greens Farms Road near the Post Road and I-95 Exit 19. The Connecticut Department of Transportation proposes removing a major constraint at the eastern end of the same corridor.

CTDOT is:

  • Likely increasing load capacity at Sasco Creek. The design drawings show a full-capacity structure capable of carrying legal truck traffic.
  • Removing geometric constraints and increasing load capacity at the Cribari Bridge, making it capable of handling legal truck traffic.

Yet the Environmental Assessment of the Cribari Bridge assumes trucks will not use this route — without analyzing what happens once both bridges in this corridor are upgraded,

That creates a continuous, higher-capacity east-west route from Fairfield on the Old Kings Highway through Westport on Greens Farms Road and Bridge Street to Saugatuck — closely paralleling I-95 between Exits 18 and 19.

This is not speculation. It is visible on the map. The Sasco Bridge CTDOT Project 0158-0218 is already underway. The hearings concluded in 2021.

They concluded about the time the Environmental Assessment for CTDOT project 0158-0214 (the Cribari Bridge) was being written. Now the hearings and time for public comment on that project will end on April 17.

Combined, these CTDOT projects should broaden the Cribari Bridge Area of Potential Effect to the entire I-95-Greens Farms Road corridor.

Navigation apps do not consider whether a road is “appropriate” for through traffic.

They calculate the fastest route.

When I-95 backs up — as it often does — these systems will route drivers off the highway, send them across Sasco Creek, through Greens Farms and Bridge Street, over the Cribari Bridge, and back toward the highway or local destinations.

Once weight limits and geometric constraints are removed, this corridor becomes accessible, continuous, and visible to routing algorithms.

At that point, it will be used.

The Environmental Assessment for the Cribari Bridge suggests that trucks and through-traffic will not find this route “desirable.”

But that assumption belongs to an earlier era.

Today, traffic patterns are shaped not just by drivers, but by software. And software does not share local sensibilities.

Nowhere does the Environmental Assessment meaningfully examine:

  • The combined effect of upgrading both bridges
  • Diversion from I-95 during congestion
  • The role of real-time navigation systems
  • Impacts on residential streets and safety

Instead, the project is evaluated as if each bridge exists in isolation. It does not.

If this corridor begins to function as an alternative to I-95, the consequences will be felt across Westport:

  • Increased traffic through residential neighborhoods
  • Safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists
  • Noise and air quality impacts
  • Changes to the character of a federally recognized historic district

These are precisely the kinds of indirect and cumulative effects that federal law requires agencies to consider.

No complex modeling is needed to understand the risk. The map already shows:

  • A connected route
  • Fewer constraints
  • A faster alternative to a congested highway
  • Numerous Waze alternative routes from the Post Rd and through residential neighborhoods south of the Post Road

The question is not whether traffic will use the corridor. The question is why the state has not fully evaluated that possibility.

Public comment on the Cribari Bridge project is open through April 17. Submitted comments make a difference and must be counted under FHWA regulations. Comments can be submitted here or by voicemail: (860) 594-2020. (reference State Project No. 0158-0214). Written comments can be mailed to: James Barrows, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, P.O. Box 317546, Newington CT 06131-7546.

(Our “Opinion” pages are open to all. Email submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)

15 Comments

Posted in Politics, Saugatuck, Transportation

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[OPINION] Explaining The Cribari Bridge Process

Posted on March 24, 2026 | 3 comments

As a Bridge Street resident, Werner Liepolt has followed the Cribari Bridge project closely. He writes:

Many people in Westport wonder: Could this project change the kind of traffic that moves through our neighborhood — especially trucks?

It’s a legitimate question. And it’s more important than it might seem, because the answer is not just a matter of opinion or preference. It is supposed to be part of a federal review process.

Westport has been here before. From the construction of I-95 to earlier debates over the bridge itself, residents have long wrestled with how large infrastructure decisions affect the character of their neighborhoods. Past leaders have emphasized the importance of seeing full information and hearing public input before major decisions are made.

The Cribari Bridge. (Photo/Wendy Crowther)

That expectation — that process should be clear, transparent and responsive — remains just as important today.

Four key groups are involved in the process.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) designs the project and prepares the Environmental Assessment, and identifies potential impacts (traffic, right-of-way, neighborhood effects).

The State Historic Preservation Office reviews impacts on historic properties and districts, and participates in Section 106 consultation.

The Federal Highway Administration ensures compliance with federal law; oversees environmental and public review, and must consider and respond to public comments before decisions are made.

The public (residents and consulting parties) provides comments and local knowledge; raises concerns, and becomes part of the official record agencies must consider.

Each of these roles matters. The process works best when every part is carried out fully and transparently.

One way to make sense of the process is to translate the terminology into plain language.

A federal law (the National Environmental Policy Act)requires that before a project is approved, agencies must look carefully not just at what will be built, but at what may change because it is built.

That includes traffic patterns, safety, noise, and how a place is experienced over time.

So when residents ask whether a new bridge might change traffic — possibly including truck patterns — that is not outside the process. It  is the kind of question the process is supposed to answer.

When there is an issue on I-95, traffic backs up on Bridge Street. (Photo/Werner Liepolt)

At the March 19 public hearing, another issue brought the question of process into sharper focus.

It surprised many to hear that approximately 10 properties and a dock may be affected by right-of-way acquisition. Yet no map or specific identification of those properties was presented.

Moments like that can be unsettling — not because projects never have impacts, but because understanding those impacts is essential to meaningful public participation.

When information emerges late or without clear context, residents may wonder whether they are seeing the full picture, or how their own property or neighborhood might be affected.

That too is part of what the review process is intended to address: ensuring that potential impacts are clearly identified and available for public understanding before decisions are finalized.

Because Cribari sits within the Bridge Street Historic District, another federal requirement also applies: Section 106.

Bridge Street is part of a Historic District.

This part of the process asks a different but related question: How might a project affect not just a structure, but the character of a historic place?

To answer that, agencies define an Area of Potential Effects — the area where the project could reasonably have an impact.

If a project could change traffic patterns beyond the immediate footprint of the bridge, it is reasonable to ask whether the area being studied should also be broader.

If right-of-way acquisition is under consideration, it may also be appropriate to consider whether those properties should be clearly identified and included in the analysis.

There is also a sequence to how these decisions are supposed to be made. The process is not decide → build → address concerns later.

Instead, it is meant to proceed in this order:

  1. Avoid impacts where possible.
  2. Minimize impacts where they cannot be avoided.
  3. Mitigate impacts as a last step.

If that sounds like common sense, it is. It is also federal regulation.

At a December 18 meeting, discussion appeared to move quickly toward potential mitigation measures associated with a replacement bridge. Options such as relocating the existing structure were raised, and demolition was referenced as an alternative.

While mitigation is an important part of the process, it is intended to follow a full consideration of ways to avoid or minimize impacts. When the conversation centers on mitigation before those earlier steps are clearly resolved, it can give the impression that key outcomes are already taking shape, rather than remaining open to evaluation.

The Cribari Bridge is 143 years old. (Photo/Robbie Guimond)

A petition requesting federal oversight of this process has gathered about 1,500 signatures in a matter of weeks.

The purpose of that petition is sometimes misunderstood. It is not asking that a particular outcome be imposed, nor is it opposing infrastructure improvement.

Rather, it reflects a shared concern that potential impacts — especially those that extend beyond the bridge itself — be fully and transparently evaluated before decisions are made.

It is a request that the existing federal review process be applied as intended.

As the Cribari Bridge project has evolved, the design has become more defined and more aligned with current engineering standards. That is a natural and expected part of any infrastructure project.

At the same time, some residents are asking whether the analysis of potential impacts — particularly indirect effects like changes in traffic — has evolved at the same pace.

That is not an argument against the project. It is a question about whether the process is keeping up with the project.

It is also understandable that some residents feel the process can be difficult to follow, or that decisions may be moving ahead of public understanding.

At the beginning of the March 19 public comment session, attendees were directed to provide comments at tables for transcription. As the session unfolded, speakers instead came forward to the podium to offer comments directly.

Moments like this can add to uncertainty about how best to participate. Clarity in how public input is received is an important part of ensuring that residents feel their voices are heard — and that their comments become part of the official record.

The public comment period exists for exactly this reason. It is one of the few points at which residents can ask that questions be fully addressed before decisions are finalized, rather than after.

Home page of the Connecticut Department of Transportation Cribari Bridge website.

The comments residents submit become part of the official record that federal agencies are required to review and respond to.

That is how the process is designed to work. It works best when people use it.

You do not need to master the terminology, and you do not need to agree with your neighbor on every point.

But if you are concerned about how this project could affect traffic, safety or the character of the neighborhood, there is a simple and meaningful way to participate: Ask that the impacts be fully studied before decisions are made.

Even a short, clear and respectful comment helps ensure that those concerns are considered as part of the process. Comments become part of the official record that federal agencies must review and respond to before moving forward

In the end, this is not only about a bridge. It is about how decisions are made, how places are understood, and how communities participate in shaping what comes next.

That participation does not require expertise — only a willingness to ask the right questions at the right time.

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.

(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Email submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Categories, Local politics, Politics, Saugatuck, Transportation

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[OPINIONS] 2 Views On Cribari Future

Posted on March 18, 2026 | 12 comments

Werner Liepolt and Robbie Guimond live a few hundred yards apart. They are separated by the Saugatuck River — and by what to do about the Cribari Bridge, which links their 2 neighborhoods.

Today, both offer their views on the future of the 143-year-old span.

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Werner Liepolt lives in the Bridge Street Historic District. He writes:

I have worked with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) on the Cribari Bridge project since 2016.

Not against them — with them.

So have several other Westport residents. Many of us served on the Project Advisory Committee as consulting parties recognized by the Federal Highway Administration, representing different groups in town.

I live in the Bridge Street National Register Historic District, which the Westport Historic District Commission and the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office nominated for National Register status in 2017.

1884 Rufus Wakeman House, in the Bridge Street Historic District.

I am not sorry that we worked with CTDOT.

But I am sorry that CTDOT has not worked more closely with the community on one central concern: truck traffic.

Throughout the PAC meetings, consulting parties repeatedly asked a simple question: If the Cribari Bridge is rebuilt or altered, how will the project prevent the residential neighborhoods of Bridge Street, Imperial Avenue, Greens Farms Road, South Compo Road, and Saugatuck Ave nue from becoming a bypass route for trucks avoiding I-95 congestion?

To date, none of the project alternatives presented by CTDOT address that question.

The 143-year-old Cribari Bridge is not wide or high enough to handle large trucks. (Photo/Patricia McMahon)

The Environmental Assessment prepared for the project runs more than 160 pages, with hundreds more pages of appendices. Yet the analysis largely assumes that changes in bridge height, width, and weight capacity will not significantly alter traffic patterns.

Many residents believe that assumption deserves closer examination, and that CTDOT needs a No Trucks option.

The Cribari Bridge sits within a federally recognized historic district. Under federal law, projects affecting historic districts must consider not only direct impacts to structures, but also long-term, indirect and cumulative effects on the district’s setting and circulation patterns.

Changes that could alter traffic composition — including the potential for heavier vehicles — are part of that evaluation.

In my petition, now signed by over 1,400 people, I asked for something simple: open hearings before decisions are made, and federal oversight to ensure that the protections applied to historic districts are properly followed.

That request still stands.

The upcoming CTDOT meeting on March 19 (6 p.m., Town Hall auditorium) is an opportunity for residents to ask the questions that have not yet been fully addressed.

One of those questions is straightforward: Should Bridge Street and the surrounding historic district become a route for heavy truck traffic — or should Westport insist on solutions that prevent it?

Whatever one’s answer, the question deserves to be asked — and answered — before decisions about the bridge are finalized.

(Click here to submit comments on the Cribari Bridge to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.)

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Robbie Guimond lives on Riverside Avenue, where he owns a marina. He writes:

After 4 decades at the marina, it’s obvious I value public access to the Saugatuck River, The potential loss of the Cribari Bridge weighs heavily on me.

Over the last 10 years I’ve been  deeply involved with this process. It has highlighted various perspectives that deserve investigation.

More traffic analysis is one. I believe the Connecticut Department of Transportation has approached these options from as neutral a perspective as possible.

Even with their past “adaptive reuse” and the less than perfect results, I feel they are looking for the best outcome for the town.

One view underneath the Cribari Bridge (Pier 2) …

After reviewing the Environmental Assessment and literally hundreds of public blog comments, it is clear that losing the historic bridge is unpalatable to the many who are vocal.

 

However, it is also evident that CTDOT intends to take action.

From my perspective, there are 2 paths forward:

1. No Build. This means the repair of pier 2, along with minor repairs to the truss and other needed areas.

Yes, the electric box will go, but the different heights of the horizontal truss members might have a posted height of around 13′ 4″.

I believe one is sagging to 13′ 7″-ish, thus preventing tall tractor trailer trucks while still allowing our Fire Departments ladder trucks. This option also avoids a temporary span in The Bridge restaurant’s lot, and extends the span’s life by approximately 15 to 25 years with minimal disruption beyond some channel closures.

2. Full Replacement: If CTDOT deems the first option out of the question, a full replacement is the only other reasonable alternative. The current bridge has already undergone many modifications, and further aggressive changes will only diminish what remains of its character and lead to a 13′ 6″ marked height.

… and another (the pedestal the span swings on). (Photos/Robbie Guimond)

While the pros and cons of a full replacement are debatable, one point is non-negotiable: The town administration, with its Representative Town Meeting- suggested Bridge Committee must maintain strict control over every detail of the design — including location, height, air gap, crosswalk improvements at Wilton Road, and Compo Road South’s desperately needed left turn signal — as this new structure will likely stand for the next century.

I am hopeful that either option can lead to a successful outcome,  I guess time will tell.

(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Email 06880blog@gmail.com with submissions. To donate to this hyper-local blog, please click here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Local politics, Transportation

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[OPINION] Stop DOT’s Cribari Bridge Plan!

Posted on May 31, 2025 | 58 comments

Werner Liepolt lives in the Bridge Street Historic District. Valerie Seiling Jacobs is a member of Save Westport Now.

Both have closely followed deliberations over the future of the 135-year-old Cribari Bridge. Long stalled — like traffic heading to it — the state Department of Transportation has recently shown new interest in a replacement. Werner and Valerie write:

We’ve all seen it: traffic backed up on Bridge Street across the Cribari Bridge, distracted drivers with out-of-state plates checking their smartphones, and the line of cars clogging Riverside Avenue and Greens Farms Road.

It was bad in 2015, when the Connecticut Department of Transportation first started talking about fixing the historic swing bridge. But it’s only gotten worse since COVID.

The stream of traffic coming from I-95 is remorseless, especially in the morning. Pity parents trying to shepherd their youngsters across the street to catch the school bus. or commuters trying to get to the railroad station. A drive to Compo Beach during the summer can put you on Bridge Street for half an hour.

Bridge Street traffic: 7:40 a.m., May 29, 2025. (Photo/Werner Liepolt)

You know all this. You live here. And that’s exactly why Jim Marpe, our former first selectman, refused to vote to release the money for a DOT study.

He recognized that DOT was likely to recommend building a new, state-of-the-art bridge, one that would be tall enough to accommodate 18-wheelers and thus invite even more I-95 spillover and Waze traffic.

But here’s the rub: our current first selectwoman seems oblivious to the problem. Last year she voted to release $4.1 million to the DOT to begin work on the project.

On May 15, DOT held its first meeting in Westport about the bridge since 2018.

William F. Cribari Bridge. (Photo/Ferdinand Jahnel)

Of all the  neighbors, only registered “stakeholder” Werner Liepolt was invited to attend, although the public was not. In the invitation, the DOT noted that there had been “significant developments” concerning the project.

At the meeting, however, we learned the only “developments” appear to be that:

  1. The DOT has been asked by Tooker to do a traffic study on the Saugatuck side of the bridge only, presumably to accommodate the proposed Hamlet development, which she supports; and
  2. DOT is now officially recommending that we build a new, bigger bridge — one that will be weight-bearing and tall enough for 18-wheelers.

Needless to say, the stakeholders in the room were outraged. We reiterated what we had said in 2018: that a taller bridge will invite more traffic and trucks when I-95 backs up.

Matthew Mandell, a Representative Town Meeting member, wanted more information on how to obtain an exemption from current building specs, a request that Valerie Seiling Jacobs of Save Westport Now echoed.

She also asked if DOT had considered the impact of increased traffic on air quality — especially given Westport’s ongoing ozone issues. (They had not.)

Maggie Dallal and other young mothers described how difficult it is to cross Bridge Street to get their kids to the bus stop.

School bus crawls along Bridge Street: 7:47 a.m., May 29, 2025. (Photo/Werner Liepolt)

John Suggs, of the Westport Preservation Alliance, reminded DOT that the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and that Bridge Street is an official “Scenic” route, 2 designations that entitle us to special dispensation.

And Paul Lebowitz, chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission, reminded everyone that the traffic and truck problem had been discussed at the 2018 DOT meeting.

A potential solution had been floated then: building a bridge that would look like the current bridge (e.g, it would have ornamental trusses), but would not be tall enough to accommodate 18-wheelers.

What happened to that idea? Lebowitz wanted to know.

The DOT seemed flummoxed by the crowd’s reaction, perhaps because none of them had been at the 2018 meeting (all those folks have since moved on).

Still, they insisted that a new bridge would not invite more truck or other traffic. In fact, they claimed that a new bridge would actually speed up traffic and reduce idling time, apparently ignoring the fact that everyone would still need to get through the intersection at Riverside and Bridge Street.

Moreover, they seemed to think that trucks would not choose this route even if I-95 backs up.

The Riverside Avenue side of the Cribari Bridge.

Are their memories so short that they do not recall how the fiery crash on I-95 in 2024 prompted hundreds of trucks to cut through Westport? Everyone in the area remembers how our police department had to stop truck traffic due to 18-wheelers jumping the sidewalks.

It’s true that the DOT reps at the front of the auditorium “duly noted” many of the concerns we raised, implying that they would look into those matters. At the very end of the meeting however, in a complete ambush, the chief DOT engineer for the project — who had apparently been in the audience all along but had not previously identified himself — took the microphone and made it clear that DOT intends to build a new bridge that will accommodate all truck traffic — thereby making a mockery of his junior colleague’s “duly noted” promises.

At this past Thursday’s Traffic and Pedestrian Safety meeting, we stood together with residents of the area and insisted that the Westport Traffic Authority demand comprehensive surveys and plans for traffic abatement and resident safety from DOT before any decision is made about the Cribari Bridge.

We must stand together as a community, and tell our first selectwoman and DOT that anything  less is unacceptable.

We deserve to have a voice in what happens in our community.

(If you agree, please email contactsavewestportnow@gmail.com to add your name to the roster of residents who will save the town from this hasty, dangerous, foolish plan.)

(The Opinion pages of “06880” are open to all. Please send submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com)

58 Comments

Posted in Local politics, Saugatuck, Transportation

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Roundup: Rudolph & Johnny Marks, Christmas Miracle, Nikki Glekas’ Decor …

Posted on December 24, 2024 | 3 comments

If it’s Christmastime, you’re hearing holiday songs: “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.”

And — just as regularly — you’ll read or hear a light news item about tunes like those.

Yesterday, it was the New York Times’ turn. They turned the spotlight on Johnny Marks, the talented (Jewish) man who wrote all 3 of the songs I mentioned above.

And who for decades had a home on Green Acre Lane, off Compo Road South.

The Times piece focuses on Rudolph. It describes the back story (Marks wrote the song nearly a decade after his brother-in-law created the Rudolph character for a Montgomery Ward promotion); the stats (when Marks died in 1985, there were 500 versions, with 150 million records sold); the reasons for the tune’s popularity and endurance (“It’s a relief from the genre’s usual themes of home, nostalgia and romantic love; its tempo is faster than some Christmas songs of that era, and even the average pop song of the past 60 years; the lyrics are so concise that the story is heard twice and the melody three times in a single play; it’s easy for kids to sing, since the tune travels less than an octave; and the song’s “natural cheerfulness is pretty indestructible across genres.”

The newspaper story does not mention Marks’ Westport connection. Nor does it note another one: Daniel Tashian, the Grammy-winning Nashville songwriter and producer, is the son of Barry Tashian, founder of the fabled Remains band (who toured with the Beatles), and his wife Holly. Both are Staples High School graduates.

For some unknown reason, the Times quotes Daniel Tashian as a Rudolph expert.

He “compared the song to a ‘couture garment,’ so expertly stitched that the underlying handiwork is invisible. But for him, it’s more than mechanics: It’s a ‘rebel’s anthem.’”

Tashian added: “I was just a little half-Armenian kid and I neverIt’s Ch felt like I fit in with all the other kids in the school. I saw myself as Rudolph.”

You may love hearing “Rudolph” — Gene Autry’s version, or any other, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton and Ray Charles to the Temptations, DMX and the Chipmunks; as the Times notes, “it has been bebopped, soul-infused, tranquilized, saddled with twang, rocked, rapped and made to cha-cha” — or you may hate it.

But after tomorrow, it goes into hibernation for 11 months.

Then — like all those other Christmas chestnuts — we’ll hear Johnny Marks’ most memorable song once again.

(Click here for the full New York Times piece. Hat tip: Fred Cantor)

Johnny Marks

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It’s a Christmas miracle!

Facebook’s Westport Front Porch page regularly contains posts like this: “Someone backed into my car in the [fill in the blank] parking lot today at [fill in the time], and left without leaving a note. If you saw anything, please contact me.”

Yesterday was quite different.

A woman wrote: “Dear Post Road shoppers. My passenger side mirror hit someone’s mirror while they were parked in the area of Patagonia.

“Getting back around via Main Street to drive past that area to try and assess which car mirror it may have been was challenging, given all the traffic.

“My mirror snapped closed and has no damage. other than a slight black scuff mark. I notified Westport PD.

“If you were parked in this area around 3:45 and your mirror was damaged, – please PM me!”

This is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

The driver’s mirror.

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Yesterday, “06880” featured Nikki Glekas’ Bridge Street home, as part of our feature on Westport’s very cool holiday-themed decorations. (She’s a pro: The restaurateur/caterer/entertaining expert owns Nikki Glekas Collective.)

Nikki Glekas’ Bridge Street home. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

“06880” is in good company. Over the weekend NBC’s “Open House” highlighted it too.

They were lucky enough to go inside. Here’s one look at the spectacular decor:

Want to see more? Click below for a full tour.

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Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift?

Or one for the 8 nights of Hanukkah? Or perhaps an end-of-year tax-saving gift?

Donate to the Compo Beach Playground Renovation project. You can make a general contribution, or buy a specific item (like a swing, suspension bridge or picket).

Volunteers are less than $75,000 from their 2024 fundraising goal. Donations will last for decades.

Click here for more information, including how to contribute.

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Just in time for the holidays, the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston’s “Westport … What’s Happening” podcast returns.

Click below to hear Jen Tooker’s take on how town and local organizations reach out and help people in need.

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Sure, it’s Christmas Eve.

But this Halloween remnant is still hanging around.

Deservedly, our “Westport … Naturally” feature shows with a mantle of snow.

(Photo/Jerry Kuyper)

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And finally … once you saw the story about Johnny Marks, you knew this was coming:

(It’s Christmas Eve! Set out cookies and milk for Santa. Join in reindeer games. And click here, to support “06880.” On behalf of your hyper-local blog, Rudolph thanks you.)

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Posted in Beach, Children, Entertainment, Media, Totally random

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Joy To The (Westport) World

Posted on December 23, 2024 | 3 comments

2024 has been quite a year.

From the fractured national political landscape to fraught local controversies, folks are on edge.

But hey — it’s the holidays!

Let’s put aside our differences. Let’s slow down. Let’s appreciate, with delight and gratefulness, all the brightness in our lives.

Including our neighbors, who go out of their way to light up the lives of all who pass by.

Whatever their views, on whatever we will argue about after the new year.

West Parish Road (Photo/Kristen Habacht)

North Avenue, across from Staples High School. (Photo/Jennifer Kobetitsch)

Timber Lane. off Roseville Road. (Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)

A special message, on Compo Road North. (Photo/Eric Bosch)

This 18th-century one-horse open sleigh was a gift from A.E. Hotchner’s wife, when Rick Benson bought the author’s family home. Rick restored it to its present 21st-century beauty. It’s parked now on Compo Hill. (Photo/Rick Benson)

Green’s Farms Congregational Church. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

Main Street. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

Vani Court, off Compo Road South. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

Bridge Street (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

Hillandale Road. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

 

3 Comments

Posted in Downtown, religion, Westport life

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Pic Of The Day #2801

Posted on December 19, 2024 | 1 comment

For most Westport drivers, the lights on the Cribari Bridge are the main holiday attraction. But if you’re walking, check out the miniature bridge, candy cane street light and teddy bear paddling in the river below, set into the Bridge Street hillside, on the right headed to Saugatuck just before the span. It’s all strung with holiday lights too, so it must look great at night.

(Photo/Bill Rizzuto; hat tip Liz Rueven)

 

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Roundup: After The Storm, After The Diesel Spill …

Posted on July 19, 2024 | 2 comments

Some Westporters were surprised that Compo Beach was closed to swimmers yesterday.

Others were not. Heavy rains — like the ones the night before (Wednesday) — often lead to closure.

“06880” reader and environmental activist Toni Simonetti wrote: “I learned something, thanks to Mark Cooper, director of health for the Aspetuck Health District.

“Swimming is closed at town beaches for 24 hours after a very heavy rainfall (as we all witnessed into the night yesterday). Because of the excessive runoff of surface water, and all it collects along the way, it  ends up in Long Island Sound.

“In Westport it takes 3 tides, or 24 hours, to cleanse the water tidally.

“The 24-hour waiting period is state protocol. Norwalk and Fairfield, on either side of Westport, have longer water cleansing times. Mark thinks that’s because we benefit from the ebbs and flows of the clean Saugatuck River.

“Just another benefit to living in Westport!”

Serene. But not safe after a storm. (Photo/Sunil Hirani)

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Speaking of that brief but intense storm: In addition to fouling our waters, it brought down power lines and trees.

But there were bright spots, amid the bad weather. Chris Vatis writes:

“Both Eversource line people and Gault electritians were on site within 1 1/2 hours after I reported the storm ripped both my meter and electricity pole attached to my house right off, leaving live wires all over my property.

“They worked diligently to restore it.

“I and we often complain about how much money we now pay for services. But both companies deserve praise for their excellent communication and lightning speed response to my plea for immediate help. I’m very impressed with both companies.”

 

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Also yesterday: No, you were not imagining things.

Traffic throughout town was worse than usual.

Way worse.

The culprit was a diesel fuel spill on I-95 southbound, between Exits 18 and 17.

As often happens, more spillage followed. Car and truck drivers got off the highway, and — in a futile attempt to move more quickly — clogged our main roads and side streets.

This Bridge Street scene was repeated at many other spots:

(Photo/Susan Garment)

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Speaking of drivers: We’re not sure how this accident occurred, but someone clipped the sign — in the middle of the traffic island at the Sherwood Island Connector, by the Post Road.

(Photo/Josh Berkowsky)

Coming from I-95, we’re now welcomed to “Estport.”

On the way out, it’s “Westpor.”

Be careful out there!

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Bob Newhart — the supremely talented, always understated but very hilarious comedian who died yesterday at 94 — may not have had any connections to Westport. (Though I’m sure several commenters will note otherwise.)

But this much is certain: When he gave a speech at the Kennedy Center, upon accepting his Mark Twain Prize, he referenced a Westport icon: Paul Newman.

Click below, then fast forward to 4:13 when the story begins.

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The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce held a “Business After Hours” event last night, at the Levitt Pavilion.

Members and town officials celebrated the outdoor theater’s 50th anniversary — and the Chamber’s 93rd year.

At the Chamber of Commerce event last night (from left): Paul Lebowitz, Planning & Zoning Commission chair; RTM member Jay Keenan; 2nd Selectwoman Andrea Moore; RTM member Sal Liccione; Chamber director Matthew Mandell; 3rd Selectwoman Candice Savin; 1st Selectwoman Jen  Tooker; RTM members Don O’Day and Melissa Levy. (Photo/Dan Woog

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Congratulations to Westport author Diana Sussman!

Her first novel, “The Neighbors’ Secret,” was named an American Fiction Award finalist, for pre-teen fiction.

Last year, the book was a Tassy Walden Award Finalist in 2023.

The novel takes middle school readers on “an adventure filled with puzzles, secrets, and unexpected twists,” press materials say.

“With her background as a litigation attorney and her passion for storytelling, Sussman weaves an intricate tale that keeps readers guessing until the very end.”

Diana Sussman

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Spotted lanternflies are back.

We fight them with traps and white vinegar.

But we’re not the only ones. Praying mantises are natural predators.

So — as today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature photo shows: Pray for mantises.

(Photo/Gabriela Hayes)

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And finally … Dave Loggins died last week, in Nashville. He was 76.

The songwriter had only one hit of his own: “Please Come to Boston.” But he wrote songs for many other artists, including Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd and Toby Keith.

Non-country music fans knew him too. He wrote the Masters golf tournament theme, a staple of spring sports telecasts for over 40 years. Click here for a full obituary.

(Whether you’re from Westport — or Boston, Denver, LA or anywhere else — if you enjoy “06880,” please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

 

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Posted in Beach, Environment, Local business, Local politics, Transportation, Weather

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Friday Flashback #360

Posted on August 11, 2023 | 18 comments

The other day, I posted a story about my flight over Westport.

From 3,500 feet, in a 3-seat prop plane, I got a remarkable view of our town.

I marveled at the amount of water. The compactness of downtown and Saugatuck. And the many, many trees that provided a canopy, nearly everywhere.

In 1934, a statewide project photographed every square inch of the state.

The images are housed at the University of Connecticut. They’re fascinating.

Fred Cantor found this shot of Westport:

Click on or hover over to enlarge.

Amonghe surprises, he writes, are “how many houses there were by that point in the Compo Beach neighborhood (bottom center of the photo), and the fairly large number of houses in the Compo Hill/Old Mill Beach neighborhood (just above it).

“I imagine most of these were probably not winterized, but still…”

However, Fred adds, “I expected to see more homes directly on South Compo Road, leading from the train tracks to the beach.”

Also of note: The crooked intersection of South Compo, Bridge Street and Greens Farms Road (just above the railroad tracks). It looked a bit different, before I-95 was built 2 decades later.

What do you notice? Click “Comments” below to share your observations.

(Friday Flashback is a weekly feature on “06880.” Please click here to support it — and this entire hyper-local blog. Thank you!)

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Photo Challenge #429

Posted on March 19, 2023 | 9 comments

Westport does not lack for old, Federal-style homes, with handsome features like cupolas and widow’s walks. (Though, like many venerable houses in Westport, they are an endangered species.)

So it’s particularly impressive that 17 readers quickly knew exactly where last week’s Photo Challenge — portraying just the top of the home — was.

Peter Barlow’s well-cropped photo (click here to see) showed 16 Bridge Street, next to Saxon Lane near Imperial Avenue.

It’s a well-traveled road. When back-ups occur — as they frequently do — at least drivers have a wonderful streetscape to occupy their time.

(And despite recent new construction, Bridge Street is now part of a Historic District.)

Fred Cantor, Seth Schachter, Doug Weber (who should know — he owns the home!), Andrea Cross, Dave Eason, Jonathan McClure, Andrew Colabella, Diane Silfen, Michelle and Steven Saunders, Werner Liepolt (who lives across the street), Nina Marino, Clark Thiemann, Jo Kirsch, Adam Starr, Shirlee Gordon, Bill Scheffler and Mary Ann Batsell all knew their architecture. Congratulations!

As for that widow’s walk: A kerfuffle broke out in the Comments section when a reader claimed the term referred only to those on homes in whaling communities. That’s not true. Any coastal house can have a widow’s walk.

However, the definition of that feature refers to a “railed rooftop platform” where women could stare out to sea, waiting for their husband’s ship to come in.

16 Bridge Street does not have that raised platform — it’s all enclosed (though perhaps it once did). The debate continues.

Today’s Photo Challenge is a bit tougher. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Scott Smith)

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Posted in Photo Challenge, Real estate

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