Tag Archives: I-95 Exit 17

Roundup: DMA, DPIC, I-95 …

Posted on October 11, 2023 | 4 comments

Tickets are going fast for Saturday’s Westoberfest. We’ll drink to that!

The event (2 to 5 p.m., off Elm Street includes beer tasting from dozens of craft breweries; live music; food by Walrus Alley, Kneads Bakery, Lobstercraft and Little Pub; a children’s area run by the Artists’ Collective of Westport and MoCA; a street magician, bubbles and face painting; pumpkin and apple giveaways; food trucks, and vendors like Savvy + Grace.

Take-home tasting glasses with koozies are courtesy of Lux Bond & Green.

It’s all sponsored by the Westport Downtown Association. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Speaking of downtown: The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee holds a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday, October 12, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201).

Remote and in-person comments from the public will be received as time is available, or via email: DPIC-comments@westportct.gov.

The agenda includes a review of the parking lots design master plan, pedestrian access, sustainability and maintenance.

Parker Harding Plaza

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If you wonder why the state Department of Transportation is temporarily closing I-95 Exit 17, during the bridge rehabilitation project, check out yesterday’s scene:

(Photo/Jared McGill)

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This Sunday (October 15, 9 a.m.), the Board of Finance and the Long Lots School Building Committee will make a site visit to the elementary school.

BOF chair Lee Caney told “06880” that the tour will give members of his committee “the opportunity to review the Long Lots property, so we will have a better understanding of the terrain when we begin to discuss the funding of the project.”

No funding request has yet been made. But the BOF is one of the bodies that will be involved during the approval process for the $100 million project.

The finance board makes regular site tours before voting on appropriations, Caney added.

Long Lots Elementary School

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Miggs Burroughs and Mark Yurkiw have finished installing their “Signs of Compassion” exhibit at the United Nations.

The work depicts Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion” — 30 lenticular photos, showing local residents using sign language to recite Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name — and Yurkiw’s accompanying Braille “prayer wheel” mantra, based on those he saw in Bhutan (including a wheelchair-accessible element).

It takes up the entire 100-foot wall in the UN lobby.

Ever since the United Nations moved into its Manhattan headquarters in 1951, the lobby’s rotating art exhibit has been sponsored by member nations. For what is believed to be the first time, the featured works are offered by individual artists.

This is also the first time that Connecticut artists are featured at the UN.

“Signs of Compassion” is open to the public now through November 20, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Miggs Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion,” in the UN lobby. Mark Yurkiw’s “prayer wheel” mantra is also displayed nearby.

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October’s Staples High Students of the Month include Joshua Jordan. He’s the senior who helped develop “06880”‘s very popular new app (available at the iPhone and Android stores).

Students of the Month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”

Congratulations to Joshua, and fellow senior Juan Nieves; juniors Mia Ferrigno and Evan Wallitt; sophomores Adam Turner and Addison Welling, and freshmen Autumn Kaye and Jaxsyn Liebert.


Staples’ October Students of the Month (from left): Joshua Jordan, Juan Nieves, Mia Ferrigno, Addison Welling, Adam Turner, Evan Wallitt, Autumn Kaye. Missing: Jaxsyn Liebert.

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Another Staples student of note: Andrew Rebello.

The junior was one of 5 national winners of a Working Support of Education (Wise) Financial Literacy Ambassadors Award.

Students must score at least 95 on the Wise certification test. Three rounds of judging follows. Each winner earned $1,000.

Andrew Rebello

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 Middle and high school students looking to serve their community can do walkways.

Westport’s Department of Health & Human Services is registering youngsters looking to help senior citizens with yardwork this fall and winter.

It’s a chance to make connections — and cash. Seniors are encouraged to pay $15 an hour (minimum wage), for outdoor work only.

Interested students should complete an enrollment form and receive parental permission to participate. Questions? Call 203-341-1050 or email humansrv@westportct.gov.

Seniors may request the “We Do Walkway” list through the same phone and email above.

Kids! Help seniors with shoveling (and raking). It’s fun (and profitable).

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Speaking of teenagers: Tomorrow, the Teen Awareness Group welcomes the International Save A Life Tour to Staples High.

The safe-driving program includes driving simulators. Students “get behind the wheel” to see the effects of impaired and distracted driving.

Sounds like a program that would benefit some adult drivers, too.

Distracted driving simulator.

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Longtime Westporters Suzanne Sheridan and Rozanne Gates will be (very deservedly) celebrated by the Triangle Community Center.

Fairfield County’s LGBTQ organization has named the music/photography/ activist couple its “Community” honorees. The award will be presented at TCC’s Visionary Gala October 21 (6:30 p.m., The Water’s Edge at Giovanni’s, Darien).

The event includes a DJ, food and cocktails, and silent and live auctions. Click here for tickets and more information.

Suzanne and Rozanne were instrumental in creating Fairfield County’s first Pride Festival in 2002, and urging the General Assembly to pass civil union legislation in 2005. As soon as the law was passed, they became the first Westport couple to be civilly united. They married legally in 2010.

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For the third year, Rach’s Hope Family Fun Walk will raise funds for food, transportation and lodging for people with loved ones in intensive care units.

Recent recipients include a Massachusetts family with a youngster suffering from a traumatic brain injury, a family whose child was critically injured at the Michigan State shooting, and a Fairfield County family with a child in critical care.

The event is October 22 (3 p.m., Compo Beach Ned Dimes Marina).

Rach’s Hope honors the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died from a rare illness at 21 years old, while at Cornell University.

The “Family Fun Walk” for everyone includes Rachel’s family. Her grandfather Michael Isenberg pledged to walk 1,000 miles yearly for Rach’s Hope. Participants will join him in walking the last mile, to fulfill his pledge.

They’ll also receive Rach’s Hope swag, hear music from Fairfield-based Ellis Island Band, and enjoy gourmet pizza and drinks from Pizza Pie Wagon and Greens Farms Spirit Shop.

To purchase tickets, donate or learn more about Rach’s Hope, click here. You can follow them on  Facebook and Instagram.

 Rach’s Hope, at Ned Dimes Marina.

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Republicans and Democrats can agree on one thing: If their kids are interested in cheer, they should to to the the Staples High School cheer team’s Election Day clinic (November 7, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The clinic — a fundraiser for the squad — sold out last year. The fee ($75 before November 1, $85 after) includes lunch and a t-shirt. Click here to register, and for more information.

Staples High School 2023 cheer team.

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Staples sophomore Leila Stein spotted today’s “Westport … Naturally” image in her back yard.

The bee feasting on a bush will result soon in lilac-infused honey.

(Photo/Leila Stein)

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And finally … in honor of Leila Stein’s lovely lilac photo above:

(Roses are red/Lilacs are blue/Click here to support “06880”/And this blog will love you.)

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Posted in Arts, Downtown, Education, Local politics

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Roundup: I-95, Tacombi, Music …

Posted on August 5, 2023 | 4 comments

The new and massive I-beams at northbound I-95 Exit 17 have residents wondering: Is there really going to be a new bridge there?

New construction on Saugatuck Avenue, at I-95. (Photo/Tracy Porosoff)

Not exactly.

Sometime this fall, the Saugatuck Avenue bridge will be replaced, using “accelerated bridge construction.”

A new bridge will be constructed adjacent to the existing bridge. That’s what the new I-beams will support.

Over a single weekend (Friday evening to Monday morning), the current bridge will be demolished. The new structure will be installed in its place.

The date for that complicated (but quick) work has not been set. The entire State Department of Transportation project — which extends south to Norwalk’s Exit 16 — is projected to run through November 1, 2024. (Hat tip: Andrew Colabella)

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Speaking of I-95: Traffic is a mess this morning, throughout Westport.

A major accident on the highway northbound between Exits 17 and 18 caused collateral damage everywhere, as drivers sought alternate routes.

Stay off the roads for a while, if you can.

If you can’t: Leave early!

Saturday morning traffic on Post Road West, in front of Kings Highway Elementary School. (Photo/Susan Garment)

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The soft opening — and much-anticipated run-up to Tacombi’s opening — continued last night.

Realtor Judy Michaelis and Hightower Financial Group hosted a special party. All ticket sales supported Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service.

An enormous crowd enjoyed margaritas, special watermelon drinks, and the New York-based taqueria’s signature dishes.

The official opening is Monday (August 7). Click here for more Tacombi info.

Enjoying Tacombi last night (from left): Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service president Mike Burns; 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker; hosts Hightower Financial Group and Judy Michaelis; Tacombi manager; Police Chief Foti Koskinas; WVEMS vice president Larry Kleinman. (Photo/Dan Woog)

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Also last night: The Soul Drivers rocked the Levitt Pavilion, with their Memphis Soul sound. Tonight (Saturday) it’s Theo Kandel; tomorrow, Quadrature. Click here for (free) tickets, and more information.

Soul Drivers (Photo/Dinkin Fotografix)

Not far away last night, Massive Diva entertained diners at Walrus Alley. They’re there — right next to Don Memo — every Friday night. Tonight (7:30 to 11) it’s the always-popular Zambonis.

Massive Diva (Photo/MaryLou Roels)

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Also last night: approximately 20 clammers in Sherwood Mill Pond.

Each white light is the LED headlamp of a Sherwood Mill Pond clammer. (Photo/Matt Murray)

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One more event last night:

Westport firefighters responded to a house fire on Warnock Drive, off Easton Road.

Most damage was limited to the exterior and front attic space. There were no injuries. Westport Emergency Medical Service and Westport Police assisted.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Warnock Drive fire. (Photo courtesy of Westport Fire Department)

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The Y’s Women meet every Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Compo. They enjoy late-day sun, interesting conversations and good laughs.

They extend an invitation to all: “Bring your own food, drinks and chair, and come say hello!”

Y’s Women at Compo Beach.

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Is there anything more natural in Westport than water, sun and clouds?

Jason Pike captured this scene perfectly, for our “Westport … Naturally” feature:

(Photo/Jason Pike)

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And finally …  on this day in 1957, Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” debuted on ABC. Televised entertainment was never the same.

(“06880” has your weekend covered. And every other day too. Please support your hyper-local blog. Click here — and thank you!)

4 Comments

Posted in Beach, Entertainment, Environment, Restaurants, Saugatuck, Transportation

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Roundup: David Pogue & Titanic, SHS Grad Video, Wrong Way Entrance Ramps …

Posted on June 21, 2023 | 7 comments

As the search continues for the submersible, lost in the Atlantic Ocean during a dive to the wreck of Titanic, media outlets cite David Pogue’s report on the company catering to the ultra-rich.

Last November, the Westporter and “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent described his own dive — and the warnings that preceded it. “06880” wrote about that now-noteworthy segment.

Our piece included a link to his broadcast:

There was a link to his “Unsung Science” podcast too. Click here, then scroll down for his 2-part series on his experience with the vessel.

This week, Pogue has been quoted in print and broadcast media outlets around the world. He has become the world’s go-to expert, both from personal and professional experience.

Here’s his report, from CBS:

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Missed the Staples High School Class of 2023 graduation last week?

Maybe you were there, and want to see it not from behind your cellphone camera lens?

Or perhaps you’d like to show it off to grandparents, siblings or anyone else who could not make it to Paul Lane Field?

Jim Honeycutt did his usual spectacular job of recording the event, then turning it into a video for the whole world to see.

Click below to see it all: processional, recessional, and everything in between.

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Large red and technologically advanced “Wrong Way” signs will be installed soon at the northbound and southbound I-95 Exit 17 entrances.

They’re part of a statewide program to cut down on head-on collisions — often fatal — resulting from drivers entering highway exits.

The state Department of Transportation has identified 236 high-risk ramps. Many are like Exit 17, where the on- and off-ramps are in close proximity. The highest priority goes to ramps that are near to places that serve alcohol.

The new signs will include cameras that identify when cars drive the wrong way. When that happens, lights flash.

The signs will also notify the closest state police barracks, and DOT Highway Operations Center.

I-95 Exit 17 on- and off-ramps are right next to each other.

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Speaking of traffic: The Westport Sunrise Rotary’s annual Great Duck Race is this Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). The Taylor parking lot (between Jesup Green and the Saugatuck River) will be closed beginning Friday evening.

Also this weekend: the downtown Sidewalk Sale (Friday through Sunday). Expect extra traffic — both vehicular and pedestrian.

Oblivious to the upcoming closing of the Taylor parking lot. (Photo/Mary Sikorski)

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Since 2019, Wakeman Town Farm, Earthplace and the Westport Garden Club have promoted Westport’s “Pollinator Pathway.” It’s part of an area-wide effort to restore and connect habitats for ecologically crucial pollinators.

This Saturday (June 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the group has organized a second annual Pollinator Pathway tour. It features 2 private and 4 public gardens. Other Fairfield and Westchester County towns are also involved.

Westport locations include:

  • 4 Deepwood Lane
  • Earthplace
  • Prospect Gardens (13 Prospect Road)
  • Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center
  • Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve
  • Wakeman Town Farm

All sites except Earthplace will have guides and/or gardeners on hand to answer questions, and provide information about plant choice and best practices to support biodiversity using earth-friendly practices for healthier lawns and gardens.

Earthplace will be a self-directed tour.

Click here for more information on participating gardens, and an interactive map with descriptions, photographs, and directions. Click here for a list of Northeast native pollinator plants.

Part of the Sherwood Island State Park Pollinator Pathway. (Photo/Kelle Ruden)

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A few days after the end of the legislative session, State Representative Jonathan Steinberg addressed the Westport Rotary Club at yesterday’s weekly meeting.

“We hope Connecticut can get back to where it was pre-pandemic,” Steinberg said, referring to the local economy. Election initiatives such as early voting and new election technology, and sensible gun reform, are other priorities for Governor Lamong.

The legislator also discussed Westport’s crippling traffic. He said, “We need to do more work on improving traffic in Westport, We have no choice not to.”

Though a proposal to levy highway tolls failed in the past few years, Steinberg hopes to keep the issue alive. He says it could help alleviate congestion.

State Representative Jonathan Steinberg, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)

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At 57 Diane Meyer Lowman set off on a life-changing adventure: a “senior year abroad” studying in the MA program at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon.

She learned a lot.

She wrote a lot too.

Her memoir –“The Undiscovered Country: Seeing Myself Through Shakespeare’s Eyes” — will be published in September.

Diane details her “transformative experiences, both personal and academic,” as she immerses herself in the world of Shakespeare. She learns as much about herself as she does about the Bard.

“Undiscovered Country” is available for pre-order. Click here for details.

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Former Westport resident Patricia Lane Willett died unexpectedly on June 8. She was 83, and lived in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Her family calls her “a devoted wife for nearly 6 decades to William H. Willett, a loving mother of 5, a loyal friend, an active philanthropist, and an extraordinary hostess. Pat embraced life with boundless energy, a competitive spirit, and a knack for timely humor.

“Her infectious smile, unwavering desire to please, and unmatched passion for entertaining ensured that every gathering she hosted was unforgettable and filled with laughter.

“She possessed a remarkable ability to spoil her cherished grandchildren, showering them with affection, Nana kisses, and indulgences that will forever hold a special place in their hearts. Pat’s dedication to philanthropy revealed her depth of competitive spirit as she tirelessly pursued charitable goals, all the while expressing immense gratitude for those who supported and shared in her endeavors.”

Patricia was preceded in death by her siblings Mary, Judy, Linda, Joe, Paul, Chubby, Greg, and daughter-in-law Shannon Willett. She is survived by her husband; children Wendy Sellers (Rick), Chris Willett, Jeff Willett (Lisa), Brad Willett (Jennifer) and Elizabeth Johnson; sister Joanne Lane; 16 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests considering donations in Pat’s memory to Autism Speaks, a cause close to her heart.

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In our never-ending quest to bring unusual flora and fauna to “Westport … Naturally,” we offer this cactus:

(Photo/Ken Yormark)

It’s courtesy of Ken Yormark’s garden, on Saugatuck Shores.

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And finally … summer arrives soon (at 10:57 a.m., to be exact). So shouldn’t it be warmer?

I had thousands of songs to choose from today. This tiny smattering popped into my head.

 (You can have fun all summer long with “06880.” But please don’t forget to support us with a contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Environment, Media, Politics, Staples HS, Transportation

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[OPINION] Westport’s 4 Traffic Ills Of The Apocalypse

Posted on June 10, 2023 | 72 comments

Readers reacted quickly to last week’s “06880” story on traffic. It was the Comment section equivalent of the back roads of Westport, after an accident on I-95.

Ray Broady moved to Westport in 2014 from Southern California, where he and his wife of 53 years were born and raised. They came here to be closer to their only daughter and granddaughter. Ray retired in great health, after a career in contracting. His hobbies include boating, traveling and DIY projects.

Ray drives around Westport often, and to Greenwich 3 times a week. He wanted to write more than a quick reply to the traffic story. He thought a while, then sent this:

I feel I must somehow reach more Westporters who are as frustrated as I am about the traffic nightmare getting worse by the day in our great town, beyond just the Comments section.

I believe that the major traffic problem areas around Westport, which mainly involve 4 major intersections and roadways, are going to reach epidemic proportions in the near future.

Before COVID, these issues were worsening by the month. Now, after new arrivals, the volume of traffic at these locations has effectively doubled or tripled. Add in the new single-family housing and multi-family projects in planning and approved, and Westport has a recipe for a traffic apocalypse.

I am naming the 4 problem areas in detail, so concerned Westport residents and businesses can put their finger more easily on the map, and hopefully realize that “Rome is burning while Nero fiddles!”

Westporters must come together and put out his fire if we are going to have a wonderful town in which to live, work and play.

Westport’s Four Traffic Ills of the Apocalypse:

The Saugatuck Disaster: Exit 17 off I095 to Charles Street onto Saugatuck Avenue; also Riverside Avenue to the Cribari Bridge/Bridge Street to Greens Farms Road.

The Downton Deluge: Post Road West at the Riverside Avenue/Wilton Road intersection.

Kings Hwy north and Wilton Road, to Canal Street and Main Street.

The Weston Road/Easton Road/Main Street Confusion.

All 4 problem areas are on state highways. This creates a major impediment to solving these problems, because we must have state participation, assistance and approvals.

However, this should not stop or slow efforts to correct and effect cures to these problems. Where there is a will there is a way.

I love this town and what it represents. I am so glad the community cares and contributes to so many wonderful improvements and projects.

However, I feel we may have these traffic nightmares too far down the list of priorities.

We all know for example the growing success of downtown, and now the push to improve Parker Harding Plaza parking and retail access.

The town can shoot itself in the foot if it spends millions on the new project, without curing the difficult access to downtown that has developed.

Businesses will find that traffic-frustrated shoppers and visitors find it too difficult to transit the downtown to avail themselves of the great features if offers.

Public officials and departments should take up this issue in a serious, results- oriented way. Westport residents need to bring strong pressure to bear on these officials and departments to get a quick action plan together, and move this problem to top priority — not lip service, and not excuses.

We all know the Representative Town Meeting addresses and accomplishes a lot of issues, in a great forum of resident input.

But I am not sure this RTM has the heart and fire to tackle this issue without a lot of bitching and nostalgic references to the good old days, when the town only had 12,000 or so residents.

Those days are gone forever. The tomorrow train is racing toward a head-on collision with this town and its future.

Officials sometimes use this resident noise to sweep away the problem of the slate of priorities, and leave it to future discourse. There needs to be far more foresight about how we can keep Westport vibrant. Tackling these traffic problems will help assure a wonderful future for our special town of Westport.

Damn it, Come on, Westport. Let’s do this now!

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Posted in Downtown, Transportation, Westport life

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A Familiar Lament

Posted on May 27, 2023 | 44 comments

This post could be written by nearly any Westporter.

It’s not unique, or even unusual. It’s simply another day in our town.

But misery loves company. So, a reader writes: 

Early this evening I sat in standstill, gridlocked rush hour traffic getting off I-95 Exit 17.

I am astounded by the number of choke points, and truly concerned about the state of things to come. With 2 large housing developments green-lighted, I can’t imagine what awaits us.

A familiar traffic map (4:15 p.m. Thursday).

Waiting to reach Saugatuck Avenue, I watched cars go straight from the left turn only lane, a truck use the left turn only lane to make a right turn, and painstakingly crawled along waiting to reach the light at Saugatuck Avenue.

This delay was not caused by construction on the I-95 bridge. Nor was it holiday weekend or summer traffic. It’s not even beach weather yet.

This is just an ordinary Wednesday.

Perhaps the situation could be improved with a “right turn only” lane constructed where the current grassy border exists. A traffic officer would be helpful, or some sort of physical barrier to prevent opportunistic lane hopping. Something, however, must be done.

The promised land? Not quite.

Reaching the light at Saugatuck Avenue was gratifying, yet only the first completed challenge in my quest to reach the Cribari Bridge.

Next I drove along Charles Street, by railroad parking and Luciano Park. It felt like I was maneuvering in a video game, as cars on either side sought to merge into the lane of traffic.

At the next green light, I had to wait. And wait. Metro-North must have deposited commuters wanting badly to come home. They obstructed the intersection as they inched themselves in position onto Charles Street. Several cycles of waiting at green lights ensued.

A driver makes a right turn on red from Railroad Place onto Charles Street, despite traffic inching forward.

Eventually, I made it through the light. Second challenge completed.

Continuing on Charles Street, I inched toward the light at the intersection of Riverside Avenue. Cars coming from the train station were backed up and inserted themselves into the intersection despite their red light.

Finally I was through.

Next, I drove on Riverside Avenue, needing to manage the cars that had availed themselves of Ketchum Street as a way to avoid the Charles Street shenanigans.

Good for them, yes. But once they entered the fray at Riverside, they backed up people waiting behind them and blocked traffic in both directions. Ah, courtesy.

Merging onto Riverside Avenue, from the Ketchum Street “shortcut.”

At last, the traffic officer by Cribari Bridge. As she waved me to turn right and cross the bridge, I felt like she had given me a Get Out of Jail Free card.

It had only taken 25 minutes to reach this point after getting off  at Exit 17. Success!

Until I reached the backup at the intersection of Bridge Street and Imperial Avenue….

44 Comments

Posted in Saugatuck, Transportation, Westport life

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About That I-95 Exit 17 Project …

Posted on March 18, 2023 | 6 comments

The ongoing, noisy, environmentally gruesome work being done at and around I-95 Exit 17 has many “06880” readers wondering: “WTF?”

Here’s the official word, from the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s “Welcome to the I-95 Norwalk Westport Project” website:

The Connecticut Department of Transportation announced the start of construction for the I-95 Resurfacing and Median Reconstruction Project to begin July 2022. Anticipated end date is November 1, 2024.

The purpose of this important roadway job is to improve driver safety. This will be achieved by;

  • Reconstruction of the center median and right shoulders along with resurfacing of the highway mainline and ramps at Interchanges 16 and 17.
  • Median will be reconstructed consistent with other stretches of I-95 to provide a 6-foot-wide capped concrete barrier section.
  • Wider left and right shoulders where possible.
  • Improve drainage by replacing and re-routing drainage structures
  • Replacement of the existing highway illumination system
  • Install new realigned Incident Management System (IMS)
  • Install new guide rail
  • Utilize wet retroreflective pavement markings to provide increased visibility of pavement markings in wet conditions.

Connecticut Department of Transportation I-95 project.

Additionally, several bridges along the corridor will have repairs and specifically, the I-95 over Route 33 (Saugatuck Avenue) will be replaced. A synopsis of the anticipated bridge improvements include:

  • The bridge reconstruction of I-95 over Saugatuck Ave. (Route 33/136) will be replaced, utilizing an Accelerated Bridge Construction Methods called Lateral Slide, which minimizes the disruption to I-95 commuters.
  • The I-95 over Franklin Street and I-95 over Saugatuck River bridges will have concrete deck repairs, the replacement of expansion joints and installation of new standpipes
  • A portion of the structure will be replaced over a weekend, in which 2 lanes of traffic will be provided in each direction.

Proposed landscaping at and around I-95 in Saugatuck. (Click on or hover over to enlarge.)

Other improvements will include the expansion of the Hendricks Ave Park and Ride commuter lot, improved storm water quality treatment, utility relocation, I-95 NB Exit 16 on-ramp extension and the extension of the Yankee Doodle Trail.

Traffic will be maintained at all times during the 6 stages of construction to minimize disruptions to the traveling public.

That’s the official word.

“06880” reader Scott Singer has his own thoughts:

Do you or your sources have any info on who among our elected officials are responsible for monitoring the CT DOT work at Exit 17?

They have thus far removed every possible tree and natural sound/visual boundary, despite their map and plan of maintaining existing trees. It looks like a war zone there.

Exit 17 (Photo/Leslie Ogilvy via Westport Front Porch, Facebook)

For all the worry about Saving Saugatuck and trestle bridge repair, nothing is being done to care for the primary entrance to town.

What is the plan to replant? It’s horrendous there.

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Roundup: Thanksgiving 2022, I-95 Exit 17 …

Posted on November 25, 2022 | 1 comment

Scenes from yesterday’s Thanksgiving, all around town:

Homes with Hope provided two festive meals — lunch and dinner — for clients of their emergency homeless shelters and community kitchen yesterday, at the Gillespie Center.

The Thanksgiving feast was created by Aux Delices, and donated by the Smith family.

Homes with Hope director Helen McAlinden was awed by the generosity of Westporters. In addition to the Smith, residents stopped by all day with bags of groceries, and homemade pies and treats.

Diners ate off fancy dishes, with silverware — “as it should be,” Helen says.

Among the volunteers: 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker.

1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Homes with Hope director Helen McAlinden (3rd and 4th from left), with staff members before yesterday’s Gillespie Center Thanksgiving.

At the annual Turkey Trot, the Levys were one of many families cheering the hundreds of runners on their route through Greens Farms (and to a well-deserved Thanksgiving dinner).

(Photo/Bob Levy)

On High Point Road, residents revived the tradition of a holiday walk. That’s another way to work up an appetite:

Jennifer Herbert-Coste’s dog Louis spotted a raccoon stuck beneath a flooded street drain on the corner of Compo Beach and Quentin Roads. Westport Animal Control and the Westport Fire Department took time out of their holiday to lift the 75-pound grill, and help the critter live another day.

We assume he was quite thankful.

(Photo/Jennifer Herbert-Coste)

Then, after a big meal, these kids headed to the Compo Beach playground …

(Photo/Patricia McMahon)

… while others romped on the sand, for some late-afternoon fun.

(Photo/Jonathan Prager)

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At least they waited until the end of the holiday:

The I-95 southbound Exit 17 on ramp will be closed at night on Monday and (if necessary) Tuesday (November 28 and 29). The Exit 17 off-ramp from I-95 southbound will be closed Wednesday and *if necessary) Thursday (November 30 and December 1). Workers will install conduits for the Incident Management System.

For more information, click here.

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Several readers have noted the enormous number of gulls at Sherwood Mill Pond this year.

Matt Murray provided proof, in today’s “Westport … Naturally” image.

(Photo/Matt Murray)

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And finally … in honor of the animal (above) freed by our excellent Animal Control and Fire Department employees:

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Posted in Saugatuck, Transportation, Westport life

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New Exit Numbers May Drive Us Crazy

Posted on July 31, 2022 | 14 comments

Since the 1950s — through name changes (Connecticut Turnpike  to Thruway to I-95), changes in speed limits and the removal of tolls — 2 things remained constant: Exit 17 was in Saugatuck, Exit 18 in Greens Farms.

For even longer — as Merritt Parkway signs changed from wood to metal, and actual arrows were replaced by symbolic ones — Westporters have known  2 truths: Exit 41 was near Wilton, Exit 42 by Weston.

As we’ve seen in many other areas of life, things are not always what they seem. There can be more than one “truth.”

Federal regulations mandate changes, for uniformity and emergency response reasons. With exits marked by miles from a standardized point — in these cases, Mile 0.0 at the New York state border — rather than simple numerical order,* I-95 exit 17 could  become Exit 18. The current Exit 18 would be Exit 20.

Exit 27 will now be Exit 1.

More drastically, Merritt Parkway Exit 41 would be renumbered Exit 21. Exit 42 would turn into Exit 22.

The dramatic — and so far, unreported — information comes from Neil Brickley. The 1971 Staples High School graduate is a civil engineer. His Wethersfield firm, Close, Jensen & Miller, works closely with the state Department of Transportation.

The mileage calculations are Brickley’s. They’re not yet official.

He notes that similar renumbering on limited access highways has already taken place in both eastern Connecticut, and the Middletown area.

The new Exit 18.

However, there’s good news for traditionalists. The Merritt Parkway project will not begin until 2025. I-95 will not be renumbered until 2029.

And once they’re done, signs with both the new and old numbers will remain for at least 2 years.

(Want to knw more? Click here, for a state DOT Frequently Asked Questions page.)

*There is no Merritt Parkway Exit 43 in Fairfield/ Legend has it that Greenfield Hill residents objected to on- and off-ramps in their neighborhood. When plans were scrapped, numbers had a already been assigned. Exit 43 was simply eliminated.

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Saugatuck May Face New Traffic Woes

Posted on October 29, 2020 | 30 comments

Saugatuck residents worried about over-development have spent years battling a proposed 187-unit complex on Hiawatha Lane.

Now they’ve got a new fear. And it’s out of Westport’s hands.

There’s a plan to built a warehouse and distribution center at 10 Norden Place.

That’s in East Norwalk. It’s accessible off Route 136 (Saugatuck Avenue/Winfield Street). And it is very close to Hiawatha Lane.

The proposed Norden Place warehouse and distribution center is shown in yellow. Tractor-trailer routes are marked in green and purple. Click on or hover over to enlarge.

What does “warehouse and distribution center” mean?

According to Save Old Saugatuck, the Norden property — which once housed an electronics company, then became an office park and has now added apartments — would be the site of a 330,000-square foot facility. It would draw 198 tractor-trailers — 62 to 67 feet long — and 376 cars each day.

SOS foresees “possible 24 hour operations.”

The distribution facility would include 19 loading docks, for 3 to 5 tenants occupying 60,000 to 100,000 square feet each.

The tenant mix would be unknown until the applicant receives zoning approval, purchases the building and begins leasing space.

Artists’ rendering of a distribution center.

Save Old Saugatuck warns, “This Norden Place warehouse will affect Westport’s Exit 17 and surrounding traffic.”

Tractor-trailers can’t fit under the railroad bridge (though god knows plenty of drivers try). So some would take the I-95 exit, head north on Riverside Avenue, then take a sharp turn onto Post Road West and continue on to Strawberry Hill Avenue.

“Our Norwalk neighbors came out to support us when we had to fight (the Hiawatha proposal) before the Norwalk Zoning Commission,” SOS says.

“It is critical for those of us who live in the SOS neighborhood to now give our support to our Norwalk neighbors. Support is in the form of petitions, emails, or open-to-public virtual meeting attendance.”

Emails can be sent to skleppin@norwalkct.org.

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Posted in Real estate, Saugatuck, Transportation

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