By Ken Valenti
WESTPORT–The weather has turned mild in recent days, but that’s just a hint of what the sunnier season has to bring. The town is already paving the way for summer activities — road races, outdoor dining, music under the stars and the town’s Memorial Day Parade.
On Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen approved:
Closing Church Lane from Elm Street to Post Road East for outdoor dining and relaxing from May 8 to Oct 1.
Dedicating the sidewalk along Church Lane for the summer music series, Friday and Saturday evenings, June 5 through Sept. 26. Bands will be able to play from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Closing town roads and requesting permission to use state roads for several activities:
- The Minuteman Race on Sunday, April 26, on town roads and Connecticut Route 136 (Compo Road South and Bridge Street).
- The Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 25, on town roads and Connecticut Route 33 (Riverside Avenue) and Route 1 (Post Road East).
- Weekly Road Runners Summer Series on Saturdays from June 27 to Sept. 5 on town roads, plus Connecticut Route 1 (Post Road East) for the last three races, on Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Sept. 5. The races start at 2.2 miles and stretch longer each week until the final 10-mile race on Labor Day Weekend,
Maxxwell Crowley, president of the Westport Downtown Association, which is planning the Church Lane closing and music series, said that the timing – beginning on May 8 – was ideal.
“That can tee-up nicely with Mother’s Day, which is the 10th,” he said at the Board of Selectmen meeting in Town Hall. “It’s a wonderful feature for our summer months. It gives a lot of people a place to go where they can sit outside and not have to worry about the traffic (with) the kids…running around while they’re having dinner.”
Several others supported the idea, including Matthew Mandell, speaking on behalf of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce, which he serves as executive director.
Jimmy Izzo, a member of the Representative Town Meeting, District 3, said the outdoor amenity helps Westport remain competitive with neighboring communities that also promote al fresco dining.
“It helps our businesses when we draw people downtown,” he said. “An active downtown is active for business. If you have people in the audience, they will stop into the shops.”
The board not only approved the Church Lane closing; Selectman Don O’Day suggested extending the date beyond Oct. 1, perhaps to the middle of the month. Selectwoman Amy Wistreich suggested taking it to Nov. 1 so that it would include Halloween.
Crowley welcomed the idea.
“We’d love to be able to extend it as far as we can,” he said.
At the suggestion of Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Lavigne, the board approved the closing through Oct. 1 as originally planned until town departments could be consulted for any possible conflicts.
Ken Valenti
A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.
Dear Board of Selectmen, unfortunately I was unable to attend your meeting regarding the seasonal closing of Church Lane. With regard to the enthusiasm expressed for extending said closure, this particular endeavor, while popular, comes with implications which you may not be aware of. In short, the impact on traffic flow is, at times, quite significant. As a downtown resident, I can tell you that the seasonal closure of Church Lane causes backups on Myrtle Ave that are, at times, pretty bad. Getting out of my private road is often a right turn only proposition. Getting in often requires – we’ll call it imagination. I can’t speak for the merchants in Sconset Square – but I know it’s a real hardship for them as well. So please consider this should you revisit the issue of EXTENDING the Church Lane closure period.
As noted, music offered by the Downtown Merchant Assoc is from 5:30 to 9:00PM. The 9:00Pm cutoff follows town ordinances. The musicians need to be reminded of this; some stop playing at 9 but then broadcast recorded music while they break down their setup. And their amplification would probably be fantastic in Yankee Stadium!
The restaurants seem to ignore the music cutoff. As I recall from Town regs, outdoor music is allowed until 9PM and outdoor food service until 10PM.