By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, whose mission is to promote improvements downtown, has nearly finished one of its projects — reconstruction of the Baldwin parking lot. 

Randy Herbertson, the committee chairman, reported Thursday that even though a few parking spaces were lost in the project, the Elm Street lot is now better organized and has improved accessibility.

Drainage improvements also were made at the parking lot, according to Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich, and new landscaping and a fence were added. “It looks great,” he said. 

All that remains to complete the project is the installation of new lighting, which has been held up as the result of supply-chain issues.

Other projects in the downtown plan that are in the planning stages include a redesign of Parker Harding parking lot; streetscape improvements including the addition of more trash cans, and burial of utility lines under Avery Place, a project now under contract, Herbertson reported. 

The Board of Selectwomen approved a $493,810 contract with the John J. Brennan Construction Co. of Shelton for the Avery Place project on June 22. The project to bury the utility lines is to start in early fall.

Other future projects the committee is exploring include better pedestrian access from one side of Post Road East to the other in the to downtown business district; “reclaiming access to the waterfront;” the possibility of making Taylor Place a pedestrian mall, and an alternate transit program. The committee is studying” scooter and bicycle programs currently operating in Fairfield and Bridgeport, Herbertson said.

One of the main focuses of Thursday’s meeting, however, was the importance of public input for downtown planning. “The plan is to make this a very transparent and engaged process,” the committee chair said. 

During several future events, including Fitness & Health Day on Sept. 17; Westoberfest beer festival Oct. 15, and the weekly farmer’s market, the committee plans to collect opinions on what Westporters want in the downtown area.

“We have a great desire for the public to have some input into the plan,” Herbertson said. Downtown events provide a good opportunity to solicit opinions from people visiting downtown, he added.

But the town’s elected officials should also be informed regularly about the plans, as well as individual citizens, Nancy Kail, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 9 — encompassing the downtown area — told the committee. “What are your plans for communication to town bodies?” she asked. “This is big what you are managing … communication and involvement of the town bodies is essential.”

Herbertson said planned projects are currently being prioritized for scheduling and will pass through regular channels for approval and financing. “Our elected officials and funding bodies will make the final decisions,” he said.

The Board of Finance in April approved a plan to spend $400,000 in American Rescue Plan Act pandemic money to redesign three other downtown parking. 

The plan calls for redesign and permits for the Parker Harding Plaza, Jesup Green and Imperial Avenue lots. The first part of the project at the Parker Harding lot is expected to begin next spring.

Kail also asked the committee to consider addressing problems at the Myrtle Avenue/Post Road East intersection. She’s been hearing complaints from her constituents, she said, especially about traffic problems there on weekends.

The public works director said the committee can request that intersection be included in a traffic study of the downtown area that will be conducted in several phases and may start as soon as this summer or early fall.

Updated plans for downtown are posted on the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee’s website.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and currently teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.