By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Making Saugatuck Center safer for pedestrians has been an urgent concern since a pedestrian was killed there in March 2023. 

Now, guided by a traffic engineering firm, the town plans to install new safety measures for pedestrians and traffic in Saugatuck.

A $100,000 contract with the engineering firm Tighe & Bond Inc., was approved Wednesday by the Board of Selectwomen, paving the way for upgrades. (A copy of the firm’s proposal for the project is attached to the end of this article.)

Matthew Balga, 54, of Norwalk, was struck by a car March 4, 2023, while crossing Riverside Avenue near Ketchum Street. A chef at the Whelk restaurant, he was hit as he left work about 11:30 p.m. and died from his injuries the next day at Norwalk Hospital.

Since then, town and state officials have been planning to improve pedestrian safety along the segment of the busy roadway between Bridge and Charles streets, which is also state Route 136.

Residents and business owners from Saugatuck have held meetings with police and town engineering staff to consider how to make the improvements, Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich told the selectwomen. “It’s a project that has been in the works for a long time,” he said.

With the selectwomen’s approval, the engineering firm has been hired to study, design and oversee construction of a three-part plan developed by the town:

• A pedestrian crosswalk to be installed on Riverside Avenue on the east side of the road, across from Saugatuck Provisions. The crosswalk will include curb extensions, also known as “pedestrian bump-outs,” and a rapid, rectangular flashing beacon. “It’s the very center of Saugatuck …  a central area where a lot of people cross,” Ratkiewich said. As part of the project, the Ketchum Street crosswalk, which does not meet current safety standards, may be removed.
• A study will be made of the area where a staircase has been installed just north of Interstate 95 at the eastern commuter lot, where many pedestrians cross to get to retail shops, Ratkiewich said. The study will determine what improvements for pedestrian safety can be made.
• A traffic signal at the Saugatuck Fire Station, which warns motorists and pedestrians when fire vehicles leave the station, has been malfunctioning for years because it is poorly designed and allows moisture to infiltrate the device, Ratkiewich explained. The signal system needs to be redesigned and updated, he said.

“The charge to the consultant is to look at the whole corridor between Bridge Street and Charles Street, and propose improvements for pedestrian safety,” he said. The engineering firm will also draw up the plans the town needs to get permits from the state to install new traffic signals. 

The selectwomen unanimously approved awarding the contract to Tighe & Bond, subject to review by the Town Attorney’s Office. The engineering firm’s work is expected to begin in January.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.

Attached is the Tighe & Bond proposal for traffic signal and pedestrian improvement in Saugatuck Center: