By John Schwing
WESTPORT — Traffic.
Westport is engulfed by it. Westporters are obsessed with it. And Westport officials are trying to ease its often-debilitating impact.
On that last point, new data have just been released by consultants conducting a wide-ranging “Safe Streets and Roads for All” study of traffic, safety and transit concerns/problems all over town.
An online “SS4A” survey, launched last February, was recently closed for additional public input after collecting more than 1,850 comments, according to a statement Monday from the study planners, led by the engineering firm of Tighe & Bond.
Results of the survey will be a factor in preparing an “action plan” that can be used by local officials to design projects — and apply for funding assistance — to enhance traffic safety and flow, as well as to address pedestrian and bicycling concerns.
The planners said they now are “processing crash data and performing the safety analysis. We are looking at the areas of overlap between historical crash records and areas of public concern.”
A public information meeting to explain the SS4A data and hear additional comments will be scheduled in the fall, according to the planners.
Overall funding of $562,500 for the action plan was approved in July 2023 by the Representative Town Meeting. A $450,000 SS4A federal grant comprises 80 percent of the total, with the rest funded by the town.
John Schwing, interim editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.
As it relates to downtown congestion, it appears we now have two competing efforts: one is to increase the capacity for motor vehicles in the very center of town. The other is to mitigate the effects of too many motor vehicles in the very center of town.