Anyone who drives, walks, bicycles or scooters in Westport knows our roads are dangerous.
Now we’ve got it in writing.
Tighe & Bond — the consultants hired last year by the town to formulate a comprehensive “safe streets for all” action plan, with a $450,000 federal grant — has weighed in with their first draft.
That’s the right term. It weighs in at a hefty 83 pages.
The front cover of the Safety Action Plan draft shows downtown without — incredibly — much traffic.
Some of it is table-setting: background of the project, information about previous studies, etc.
But the Shelton-based consultants certainly reached out to the town. They researched police records, held meetings, devised surveys, and created an interactive map for residents to comment on particularly dangerous areas, offer suggestions, and even praise whatever currently works.
Westporters responded. The leading issue was driver/car safety (32%), followed by pedestrians (22%), intersections (19%) and visibility (13%). Bike, school and transit issues were also mentioned.
Residents’ responses to the interactive safety map showed concerns all over town.
There were few surprises. The highest number of motor vehicle accidents take place on the Post Road, in Saugatuck, and along North Avenue and Cross Highway.
Using a formula involving crashes, public perception and more, the consultants prioritized these roadways:
They also prioritized these intersections:
Tighe & Bond offered several policy recommendations. They include:
- Pedestrian and bicylce master plan
- Adopt red ight and/or speed cameras (recently approved by the state)
- Comprehensive street light policy
- Establish a team or dedicated person to implement and manage recommended changes, safety projects, and pursue grants.
Of 30 project recommendations, all but 2 were ranked “highest” or “high.” The top 5 are:
Kings Highway North, between Post Road and Wilton Road: pedestrian facility and sight distance improvements (estimated cost: $3-4 million)
Riverside Avenue at Bridge Street: modern roundabout ($5-6 million)
North Avenue and Long Lots Road to Cross Highway: pedestrian facility and intersection improvements ($500,000-$1 million)
Compo Road North at Evergreen Avenue; Easton Road at Bayberry Lane; Sylvan Road North at Pequot Trail; Long Lots Road at Bayberry Lane/Maple Avenue North: intersection sight distance improvements (vegetation clearing, approach realignment, and/or intersection control modifications (less than $25,000 per location)
Lower speed limit to 30 mph on town roads; consider 25 mph on commercial corridor (cost estimate not applicable).
The full list of all 30 recommendations is below:
To read the full report, click here.
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