By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT–A new symbol of Westport – a post clock – will soon be installed on the corner of Elm Street and Main Street with the words “Westport” and the town’s founding year – 1835 on its face. It’s a gift to the town from the Westport Downtown Association. Maxx Crowley, association president, proposed the gift to the Board of Selectwomen on Wednesday.

The black and white two-faced clock with black numerals and gold trim is in the same historic style as similar clocks in Grand Central Station in New York, in downtown New Canaan, and other locations, Crowley said.

“It’s a permanent fixture that’s both beautiful and will celebrate Westport,” he said. “One of our missions is to continue to beautify the town.”

The Downtown Association asked the selectwomen to approve an encroachment easement since the clock will be placed in a small sidewalk garden plot on town-owned land at the intersection. The selectwomen voted to approve the easement, contingent on the Planning and Zoning Commission approving an 8-24 land use report. A second encroachment easement from the owner of the property at 125 Main St., currently occupied by the Gap clothing store, will also be required. Power to run the clock will come through an electrical connection at 125 Main St. 

The Downtown Association will be covering all costs for the clock including its purchase, installation, insurance, maintenance and repairs if needed, Crowley said. The plan is for the clock to be installed in early December in time for the holiday shopping season, he said. 

The new clock and its proposed location was reviewed by the Public Works Department, fire and police departments, the Conservation Department, the Historic District Commission, the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, and abutting property owners, in addition to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

“This is a fabulous idea, and a fabulous addition to downtown,” First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said, praising Crowley. “It was Maxx Crowley’s idea.” 

Beacon to safeguard pedestrians at Riverside and Sylvan

The selectwomen also approved a plan to add a flashing beacon to alert drivers to pedestrians crossing at the intersection of Sylvan Lane and Riverside Ave. Peter Ratkiewich, the director of Public Works, said that a parking lot and the apartment building it serves are on opposite sides of Riverside Avenue at that intersection, resulting in dangerous pedestrian crossings across the road. “There have already been some close calls,” he said.

The selectwomen, in their role as the Local Traffic Authority, unanimously approved sending a request to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) Traffic Division for the beacon. The request for the mid-block Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) must go through state channels and will not be completed immediately, Ratkiewich said. 

The request is the result of the work of the town’s Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Task Force, Tooker said.