By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Board of Selectmen, acting as the town’s Traffic Authority, refused Wednesday to sign off on a traffic assessment by the developer renovating the Post Plaza for a new tenant rumored to be Amazon.

The selectmen questioned the timing of the traffic data used for the assessment as well as the nature of the potential tenant’s business, wondering if the unidentified “grocery store” — as listed in the assessment — tells the whole story.

The property under renovation at 1076 Post Road East previously housed a Barnes and Noble book store, which relocated downtown.

The selectmen asked the landlord for more information and postponed a decision on whether or not they concur with the traffic study.

The Traffic Authority’s sign-off would have been the last major approval needed for completion of the project.

The authority, according to its Wednesday agenda, was asked to “provide concurrence that the proposed redevelopment at the property known as 1076 Post Road East will have no significant traffic impact the local highway system.”

Christopher McLean, an engineer from Langan CT, a consultant hired by the owner of Post Plaza, gave a presentation about the traffic study Wednesday morning. The traffic assessment, and town officials’ agreement that it is accurate, are required by the Office of State Traffic Administration.

“We don’t expect any change in the level of service or any significant increase in queue length,” McLean said of the store’s impact on traffic on Post Road East and nearby side streets.

Traffic volume for no-name grocery store questioned

In the assessment, the type of business used to project traffic volume was a nameless grocery store — estimating the numbers of vehicles entering and leaving the property at different times. 

The selectmen had numerous questions about entrances to the shopping center, truck traffic and whether the net increase in traffic would really be as low as predicted.

“At the core of this may be the assumption that it’s a supermarket, as so defined by industry standards, historically, maybe that’s where the rub is,” said Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, who will become first selectman next week. 

“It may not really be a traditional supermarket,” she added. “That might be what’s causing a little bit of consternation.”

Art Schoeller, president of the Greens Farms Association, presented the selectmen with a letter from his neighborhood group. He said it was a “poorly kept secret” that the plaza’s new tenant is Amazon. 

“To estimate traffic volume, the Langan study takes 2016 as their baseline and then utilizes observations from April of this year to build their traffic model,” he said. 

He said that since emerging from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Westport has experienced greater traffic volume.

“November is a lot different from April in terms of what we’re seeing for traffic volumes in the town,” he said.

He also discussed pedestrian concerns, truck-delivery issues and the possibility that the store — if it is an Amazon outlet — would be used for package pickups and drop-offs, or even loading parcel delivery vehicles.

Action delayed pending more recent traffic numbers

The selectmen voted to the delay a decision until they received an updated assessment that included post-COVID traffic flow assessment and how the business classification of the new tenant might affect traffic.

Amazon has been opening various brick-and-mortar stores around the country, including Amazon Fresh locations. Those stores’ architecture appears similar to what is in the final stages of construction at Post Plaza, including the window configuration and large rectangular facade.

Some Amazon Fresh locations feature “Just Walk Out” technology, meaning that merchandise customers put in their “virtual” carts is tracked by cameras and sensors, and they do not have to use checkouts. 

Shoppers, however, also can choose to use a checkout line, and don’t have to be Amazon Prime customers to shop there.

Amazon also owns the Whole Foods supermarket chain, which has a local store at 399 Post Road West.