Westporters driving along Riverside Avenue often whiz past the Sylvan Lane corner.
But if you ever stop — perhaps for a row of ducks crossing the street — there, by the gas station, you’ll see a garden.
Nestled among the plants and planters sits a ceramic frog. (Or toad? I’m not sure of the difference.)
It probably comes from Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, around the corner. It would fit in well there.
That was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)
Matt Dombrow and (of course) Andrew Colabella were the only 2 readers to answer correctly.
Now, of course, everyone will slow down to check the garden out, when they’re in the area. Well, maybe one or two will.
Hopefully, this is a more recognizable sight. If you know where in Westport you’d see this click “Comments” below.
(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
But because most people are intent on getting somewhere — the Post Road, Saugatuck, I-95, wherever — they don’t see the sights.
Like the river. Or — just in front of it, in a yard opposite Saugatuck Elementary School — 2 sculptures by the late Kelley Spearen, a 1971 Staples High School graduate.
I guess that’s why only 2 readers correctly identified last week’s Photo Challenge, which showed those works on a Riverside Avenue property. (Click here to see.)
Congratulations to Brendan Baker and Andrew Colabella.
For the rest of you: Slow down. Enjoy the view. There’s art everywhere — even on one of the busiest streets in town.
Today’s Photo Challenge is here. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Ed Simek)
(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Tuesday’s weather — the first significant snowfall in over 2 years — reminded us that despite climate change, we still can get whacked.
There was a lot more snow in the 1930s, when this photo was taken. It was before 1938 — the year the Merritt Parkway opened, which itself was 20 years prior to I-95 (known then as the Connecticut Turnpike or “Thruway”).
The Post Road was the only way to drive between New York and New Haven (and points beyond, like Hartford and Boston). Traffic — including trucks — was terrible, folks who remember those days say.
Our current woes, in other words, are not new.
Look closely at the vehicles in the image above. They had none of the modern safety features we rely on today. You needed chains on tires. Wipers, heaters and defrosters worked poorly.
It didn’t look the plow guys had been out, either.
So the next time you’re stuck at that terrible Post Road West/Riverside Avenue/ Wilton Road corner, think about those folks in the 1930s.
It was a long way to Boston.
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Today’s weather has forced a change for tonight’s Representative Town Meeting, which will consider an $6.8 million request for design of the new Long Lots Elementary School.
Instead of meeting at Town Hall, the RTM session will be held via Zoom. Click here for the link.
Public comments are limited to 3 minutes. Emails to all members may be sent to RTMmailinglist@westportct.gov.
Postponed by the weather: tonight’s “Addressing Incidents of Antisemitism and Bias in our Schools” event, sponsored by Westport Public Schools at Temple Israel.
Tomorrow’s Board of Selectwomen meeting (Wednesday, February 14, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium and livestream) contains this agenda item:
eliminating the requirement of a hand pass to register for participation in Parks & Recreation Department programs.
Charlie Tirreno’s plea to Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission — opposing development of a house on Riverside Avenue, which would disrupt the nests of eagles along the Saugatuck River — drew several supporting comments on “06880.”
It also elicited a photo of an eagle nesting by th eriver, from Louis Mall. The Representative Town Meeting member — whose district includes that neighborhood — sent this photo, taken by his wife Joan yesterday:
(Photo/Joan Mall)
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A dozen or so Westporters worked up an appetite for Sunday’s Super Bowl with a trash pick-up. They began at Grace Salmon Park on Imperial Avenue, and worked their way north.
RTM member Andrew Colabella, who organized the event, reports:
A total success for today’s pick. The high tide dampened our goal to obtain all trash; however we made do with what we could grab.
As it gets warmer, I would implore all residents to take advantage of the Saugatuck river to kayak and canoe, and to bring a picker with them. Dog walkers as well.
Instead of wrapping up your dog’s waste and flinging it into the woods, find a trash receptacle, or bring a trash bag and pick. I know many residents who do this during the week.
I was very happy to see so many residents turn out. In fact, a lot of people who were just walking inquired about the trash clean-ups.
For 72 years, STAR Lighting the Way has provided services for people of all ages impacted by intellectual and developmental disabilities.
On April 4, their annual spring fundraising — always a sellout — will have its own “star”: soccer legend Brandi Chastain.
The US women’s national team World Cup and Olympic champion, and Hall of Famer — whose celebration in a sports bra after her winning penalty kick again China was an instant iconic photo, and who now helps underserved girls learn leadership and motivational skills through the power of sports will speak at the Country Club of New Canaan on April 4.
Chastain joins a list of previous speaking stars that includes Mia Farrow, Barbara Bush, Jenna Bush Hager and Norah O’Donnell.
The gourmet luncheon includes a Champagne shopping boutique, goody bag, a signed copy of Chastain’s Book “It’s Not About the Bra,” and a Q-and-A session. Westport photographer Miggs Burroughs will snap photos of guests with Chastain.
“As a kid I loved The 3 Musketeers, and their fierce loyalty to one another. Who knew that all these years later I would find them again at the Westport Weston Family YMCA,
“As a member, I already though I had discovered a gem in our community. But volunteering for Parkinson Body and Mind truly confirmed it.
“The Greenwich-based organization runs numerous Yprograms demonstrating the health benefits of boxing for people with Parkinson’s. Our boxing program, through the superb leadership of Brenda Waldron, consistently shows improvements in balance, strength and memory for the participants.
“In addition, what I have witnessed is extraordinary, magical and enviable. The group, who met as strangers, morphed into a loving family whose support for each other extends way beyond the walls of the Y. They are truly ‘all for one and one for all!'”
Yesterday, Bob handed “Knock Parkinson’s Out” t-shirts to everyone in the group. He added a sentence from The Book of Psalms: “There is strength in our souls.”
This week’s Jazz at the Post show features vocalist Pete McGuinness.
A New York jazz treasure since the 1980s, the trombonist on Maria Schneider’s Grammy-winning “Concert in the Garden” is known for his improvisational prowess, and creative arrangements for his own Pete McGuiness Jazz Orchestra. His recordings have been nominated for 3 Grammys.
McGuinness will be joined on February 15 (7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner serve at 7; VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; $20 music cover, $15 for students and veterans) by pianist Ted Kooshian, bassist Mark Wade, drummer Scott Neumann and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall.
Reservations are strongly suggested: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
And finally … Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees the Spinners, died last week in Virginia. He was 85.
Though the R&B group had several hits in the 1970s, they were formed in 1954, and — with different members — still tour today. Click here for a full obituary.
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Charles Tirreno has lived in Westport for 30 years, and is a licensed massage therapist.
He grew up on the Saugatuck River, and cleans and weeds the parks and shorelines within walking and biking distance.
He has spent over 20 years rescuing and rehabilitating wild birds under the supervision of Fairfield Veterinary Hospital. He worked with Deborah Detmer of Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department to install fishing line recycle boxes at parks in town. The project was born of his love for the Saugatuck birds, as 3 cormorants died one summer from fishing line injuries. Charles writes:
A pair of bald eagles make their home for months at a time on a small grove of very old, giant oak trees on the Saugatuck River, between #125 and #137 Riverside Avenue.
For decades, the land on either side of this property line have been privately preserved by their respective homeowners. In fact, the property line was delineated decades ago in order to avoid a smaller parcel between, which would threaten more building and erase wildlife habitat.
This little oak grove is a vital point in the eagles’ migration, where they can safely fish and reside for months at a time. Residents of Westport have enjoyed watching and photographing them for 10 years in this habitat.
Eagle in flight over the Saugatuck River. (Photo courtesy of Charlie Tirreno)
Now a developer is floating (in my opinion) vague and misleading plans to build a giant house abutting and cutting into this grove of oaks, and making empty promises about preserving the (not officially registered, but still) historic Coley house.
There is a Planning & Zoning Commission meeting tomorrow (Monday, February 12). They’ll consider a text amendment that would allow subdivision of the property. Click here (for Text Amendment 1) and click here for details.
I encourage all residents who wish to speak up on behalf of the bald eagles to attend this meeting. Statements and support could make a big impact on their future.
If anyone has questions, they can email me: charlie.tirreno@gmail.com.
But Bob Weingarten thinks the officers who direct it are heroes.
He writes:
The entire Westport police force should be recognized as unsung heroes. Mostly unseen, they drive through our neighborhoods, provide accident assistance, and protect us day and night, among too many other tasks too lengthy to list.
But I propose we recognize 2 individuals many of us drive by and see almost daily, who control and enhance traffic movement at 2 locations.
They may not be the only traffic agents who handle these 2 intersections. But they were on duty last week, so I took photographs to recognize and thank them.
Gerald Waldron and Aleta Franklin, at work. (Photos/Bob Weingarten)
I found the first agent who controls the lights and traffic flow at the intersection of Post Road West, and Wilton Road and Riverside Avenues (Route 1 & 33) around noon. Gerald Waldron works in rain, cold and (especially in the last few days) extreme heat.
The other agent, Aleta Franklin, provides traffic control especially during the afternoon rush hour at the Cribari Bridge in Saugatuck, when Westporters arrive back at the train station after work. There is also lots of traffic in both directions from Riverside Avenue.
Interestingly, the William F. Cribari Bridge was named for a previous traffic agent.
Westport Police Lieutenant Jillian Cabana notes, “those are difficult posts even without the unforgiving temperatures we had last week “
So please join me in thanking all the officers of the Westport Police Department, and complementing these 2 specific traffic agents for assisting in the control and flow of traffic at these important intersections.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com)
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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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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….
What’s up with the line of cars parked on the Birchwood Country Club side of Riverside Avenue (near Rive Bistro and the medical offices) every day? I can’t believe they’re parking for the train, or any of the nearby office parks. (Bob Mitchell)
I’ve wondered about that for years. As best I know, the cars belong to Westport Auto Craft, the highly regarded body shop. Apparently they get moved there from in front of and behind the building during the day, to make room for those being worked on.
However, few of them ever look wrecked. And I’ve never seen anyone actually moving one of the vehicles back and forth.
Riverside-area readers: If there’s a different or better answer, please let us know.
What is your favorite Westport restaurant right now? And what’s your favorite one that’s gone? (Anonymous)
You’re kidding, right? Do you think I’d tackle this hornet’s nest alone?
Westport has a robust dining scene right now. Readers: Click “Comments” to let us know your favorites — and why.
As for long-gone: I’m not sure. But I sure wouldn’t mind traveling back in time for burgers from Chubby Lane’s and Big Top, or meatballs (and the ambiance) at the Arrow.
One of my many go-to Westport restaurants.
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