To the editor:
There is no doubt in my mind that the downtown parking plan involving Parker Harding Plaza and Jesup Green is a colossal mistake, and I have heard not a single rational argument against a one-story parking deck on the Baldwin lot, which could more than compensate for the number of spaces which will be lost in the Parker Harding plan.
A roofless deck on the Baldwin lot would serve the downtown merchants well, would be virtually invisible from Elm Street, could be constructed at an acceptable cost (after taking into account the cost of the Jesup Green plan), and would preserve the contours and beauty of Jesup Green.
An attractive, well-designed structure of the type I am advocating will not turn Westport into Stamford as some have suggested, and will not destroy what is left of its “village” character. What it will do is solve the downtown parking problem now and for the foreseeable future and contribute to the success of the merchants who are the lifeblood of our community.
I continue to believe, perhaps naively, that if enough of us raise our voices in a plea for common sense, the ill-conceived plan which is making its way through the approvals process can yet be derailed in favor of a more rational, less destructive solution. The problem is how to demonstrate to those in charge that there is a sufficient number who agree with this approach to constitute a critical mass.
My suggestion is that we use this letter as a form of petition to the RTM to place the matter on its agenda so that we might have the opportunity to convince a majority of our representatives of the rightness of our cause and that they should take appropriate action to interrupt the process before it’s too late.
So, if you are reading this on a blog and agree with my observations, I ask that you let me know that you are willing to add your name as a petitioner and that you call it to the attention of friends and neighbors, and urge them to do the same.
Larry Weisman (lpweisman@gmail.com), Westport
No rational objection you say?
Here are two from a fellow taxpayer – and someone who actually lives near where you propose that which has long been mired in controversy:
1. We literally JUST completed the “reinvention” of the Baldwin Lot. I think the pricetag for all those trees, new drainage, call boxes, rain gardens, fencing, wood rails and paving was something in the neighborhood of one million dollars. You now want to put all that stuff that we were charged for into a landfill?
2. You may not have noticed, but you see those square things with triangle shapes on top lining the edge of the Baldwin Lot? Those are called houses. Humans – some whom you might actually know – live in them. You would go bonkers with that pen of yours if Morley proposed a parking garage to abut your rear lot line. If you want to pile on more debt for the benefit of the merchants then propose a parking deck behind the police station – that concept is sitting right there in the 2015 Downtown Masterplan.
In any event, if a Baldwin deck is to be considered, then the merchants can pay for it. After all, Baldwin was originally built with the explicit understanding that the merchants would be benefit assessed for its cost. Of course, the town botched that and the merchants wiggled out.
Time to collect.
Mr Boyd I appreciate your concern regarding the neighboring houses to Baldwin, though however
unfortunate, that ship sailed in Westport already.
No concern for the Long Lots Neighbors, nor even consult, before a huge turf field along with loudspeakers, lights, probable concession stand
and micro plastic runoff about to be plopped in their backyards and there are many more of them.
Remaining Hiawatha neighbors out of luck in the NIMBY department as well not to mention the ginormous homes that continue to be built in Westport blocking neighbors sunlight only to be replaced with home evening lighting galore glaring
down into others windows and new water runoff due to clear cutting and more impermeable surface. We are slicing and dicing all over Westport for no good reason.
With Baldwin at least we may be accomplishing
something for the greater good- saving Jessup Green, rethinking the not optimally re designed PH and providing parking for shoppers and the employees that make that even possible.
Also no one to my knowledge is suggesting a parking garage but rather a low profile deck.
Could be with a green wall and when you add
Green screening of which there is little of now perhaps those few ajoining neighbors may well end up with a more pleading view than the asphalt they see now. So yes worth an investigation before they rip apart our Jessup Green…as well as spend more unnecessary dollars down the road to add needed parking in the future as the current DPIC plan is net net zero for 10 years at the least.
Come to Jesup Green Sunday at Noon. I’ll bring attorney Weisman’s petition to sign. And I’ll take a group photo of Westport’s treehuggers under the trees of Jesup.
Dog’s belong in Winslow?! And the beach October through April. And any public street, sidewalk, path, park, river bank, and even Town Hall where staff is delighted to hand out treats.
Not to be misunderstood…. Here’s a clarification: Just like it’s the responsibility of parents of little ones who scream, run, throw things and otherwise disturb the peace on beaches, in parks, restaurants, stores, movies and on airplanes, it’s up to dog owners to make sure their pets are well behaved.
This is in response to Mr. Weisman‘s request for members of the public to sign a petition in favor of a one story parking deck on the Baldwin lot rather than a parking area at Jesup Green.
The real colossal mistake is putting forward a petition not knowing the cost of this parking deck, the timeline for completion, comprehending the 2-3 year disruption to the downtown merchants, as well as understanding how large this structure has to be to accommodate an additional 44 parking spaces. Given the loss of established ground parking spaces needed for access ramps, vehicle flow, vehicle turn arounds and fire truck access, this future structure might encompass a majority of the Baldwin lot, no one knows. Additionally, we have not seen any cost feasibility studies utilizing today’s construction costs for this massive concrete structure. Just ask the Engineering Department about present day construction costs when they went to bid out the Whitney Street sewer line extension.
If you are opposed to parking at Jesup Green have your petition just say so.
Rob Haroun
SIR Development, LLC
Parker Harding should be paved and re-striped.
The garbage area should be eliminated, certainly not placed to obstruct the view of water.
Imagine 44 cars circling around looking for a spot. No one ever says, “I want shop on Main Street, so I will park on the other side of the Post Road.”
If you think that is a reality your agenda is suspect…
Mr.Tracy, I applaud your good common sense approach to the problem: paving, restriping, eliminating dumpsters. Does any other town in Fairfield Co. build a monument to garbage by fixing permanent dumpsters in the center of the parking lot? Certainly looks upscale and inviting to shoppers on Main,doesn’t it?
Draw up a petition .I’ll sign it.
Hmmm…. Are you somehow privy to the cost
of ripping up Jessup Green, altering the roadway there, constructing new lot where 1/3 of the green
will be destroyed, refiguring PH, building a recreational boardwalk and park, landscaping and new riverside railings along with
paving the Imperial lot with continuous shuttle??
I , for one, have not seen any proposed cost nor the cost of phase 3 to add back the the amount of green and trees that will be lost and again reconfiguration of Jessup area parking.
So…. Perhaps investigating the true cost of an
Aesthetically pleasing parking deck above Baldwin
first is not a big ask before we go ahead with the DPIC plan at who knows what tremendous cost
for no new net parking and tragic loss of a large percentage of our town Green and the majestic trees located there. Are you suggesting our RTM should not exercise due diligence representing their constituents?
This is not the Westport of yesterday. The iconic Inn at Longshore, home to real life billionaire Frederick Lewis, and F.Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional character, Jay Gatsby, is about to be transformed into a Motel 6. The iconic Ruth Steinhaus Cohen bridge which waved International flags now is home to hanging wires holding images of missing Hispanics. And the voices of the downtown merchants who pay taxes both as homeowners and businesses owners are being ignored while this administration prevails in its vision of small car spaces and sawgrass.
But rather than kid ourselves this is the town of the past where crime was infrequent and your wife could safely disembark Metro North at 11 pm and walk safely to her Benz, let’s examine the facts of the new reality.
Connecticut’s Safest Cities of 2024.Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Connecticut for 2024 · Ridgefield · Newtown · Wallingford · Simsbury · New Milford · Cheshire · Greenwich · Shelton. Torrington.
And this is before the project on Post Rd. W. is built, or the debacle on Hiawatha Ln. or the monument to stupidity on Wilton Rd. across the street from Fort Apache.
I have shopped Main St. since my parents built a home in 1968. I commute daily on Metro North. I will NOT park in a two story garage to shop on Main. or dine at my Nomade or Mexique . I used to feel “safe” walking to my Benz in the RR parking lot knowing I was with neighbors who were affluent. Now I look both ways, running to my car in the dark.
And as for building a garage to go shopping, unless there is armed security patroling the levels constantly, I’ll shop onine and order in
SafeWise
https://www.safewise.com › News
Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Connecticut for 2024 · Ridgefield · Newtown · Wallingford · Simsbury · New Milford · Cheshire · Greenwich · Shelton. Torrington
How do you do it? How do you so effortlessly wrap sexism, racism, and entitlement into a tale of danger, intrigue, and dystopia? It’s a gift, and you’ve got it.
Mr.Prince, with all due respect, do you remove your rose colored glasses to read all the news that’s fit to print ? Did the carjacking incident in our neighbor’s Bayberry garage concern you? Do the daily Coleytown alerts miss your inbox? Are you blind to the racial tension exhibited at the latest BOE meeting?
I live in the real world wearing Raybans with green lenses to protect my 20/20 vision. My optimum lineup includes CNN and BET to remain well rounded and open minded. If you subscribe to BET, make a man sized bowl of popcorn this weekend and tune in to Carl Weber’s latest program, The Black Hamptons a series about the George and Weezy’s who’ve made it to the top of the social pyramid in Sag Harbor and their efforts at redlining to keep it that way.
Everyone in Westport should sign Larry’s petition. If we don’t at least explore a deck on Baldwin to solve the parking deficit created by the Parker Harding reno, our town is once again blindly choosing commercial expediency over of community. Jesup Green is our town commons and a downtown treasure. Our planning and dollars should be laser focused on enhancing that space for our residents. If we don’t come to our senses and barrell ahead with a flawed process and plan approved by the P&Z, we will once again look back and wonder how we could let slip by an important opportunity to both solve a problem (parking) AND create something wonderful (an enhanced active Jesup Green). This is another Gorham Island moment. Let’s not blow it!
You can sign Mr. Weisman’s petition to the RTM Sunday 4/14 at noon on Jesup Green. I’ll be the one hugging trees.