By Meghan Muldoon

WESTPORT — What was once a routine approval for Church Lane’s seasonal transformation into a downtown pedestrian mall and entertainment venue was the subject of a lively debate at the Board of Selectwomen’s Wednesday meeting. 

After weighing input from residents and business owners at their Town Hall meeting, the selectwomen approved closing Church Lane to vehicular traffic and parking from May 15 through Oct. 5, a compromise between previous years’ extended closures and a newly proposed shorter summer timeframe.

Originally closed during the pandemic to create outdoor space for safer socializing and dining, Church Lane has remained car-free from early April to the start of November in recent years. The pedestrian zone has become a popular gathering space, boosting downtown foot traffic and creating a vibrant atmosphere for residents and visitors with a slate of musical performances on weekend evenings.

This year, however, concerns from some merchants, particularly those in Sconset Square and along Main Street, prompted Maxxwell Crowley, president of the Westport Downtown Association, to propose a shorter closure from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

Some businesses cited the loss of 17 on-street parking spaces during that period, as well as altered traffic patterns, as negatively affecting their bottom lines. 

Merchants’ views mixed, public strongly in support

A WDA survey of area merchants showed mixed results: While 62 percent of the 37 respondents said the closure encourages economic activity, 67 percent noted it does not drive customers directly to their business. Additionally, 71 percent preferred a weekend-only closure.

Crowley acknowledged the tension: “I wanted to absorb the feedback this year, understanding both sides of the conversation. I’d love it to be closed longer because September is a beautiful time of the year,” he told the selectwomen. “But I feel the Memorial Day to Labor Day timing is a good compromise.”

Still, he noted that public sentiment strongly favors keeping the street closed for a longer period. A WDA survey of residents received 2,241 responses, with 92 percent supporting the street closure overall, and 74 favoring the extended timeframe, according to results reported in March.

Sconset Square co-owner Roger Leifer also offeree support for a longer closure, although several of the strongest critics of the street closure are tenants in the Myrtle Avenue shopping complex.

He praised the pedestrian zone for adding “liveliness” to downtown and committed to hiring a parking enforcement attendant to help ease pressure on Sconset Square’s private lot. 

Sconset Square merchants: Sales lost, parking attendant costs

But Laurel Anderson, an employee of Bungalow, a home décor boutique in Sconset Square, voiced concerns about the impact of Church Lane’s seasonal closure on businesses there. She explained that during the closure, it can take up to three or four Post Road East traffic light cycles for customers trying to navigate the long backups on Myrtle Avenue to enter or exit the square’s parking lot. 

While she acknowledged townwide benefits of the pedestrian mall and emphasized her desire to be a good neighbor, Anderson said Sconset Square businesses have been disproportionately affected and now face the added burden of funding a parking attendant to manage spillover parking in the privately owned lot.

“Once again, we’re taking the brunt of both loss of sales and now we’ll have the additional cost of trafficking as people decide to park in Sconset Square and go over to Church Lane,” she said. So it’s sort of a challenging time for us.”

Anderson also noted that the widely cited WDA’s public survey failed to include a “no closure” option. 

Speakers at the meeting, including Spotted Horse Tavern manager Mark Murphy and Pink Sumo owner Skye Kwok, credited the street closure’s role in revitalizing the area and supporting a family-friendly environment.  

“So many people have worked so hard to make Westport a destination location and I feel like they’ve found something with closing this road.  It’s just vibrant, it’s wonderful,” Murphy said.  “This is something that’s good for the town of Westport.”

Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella, District 4, echoed that sentiment, saying that families enjoy the space and it enhances Westport’s appeal as one of Fairfield County’s most walkable downtowns.

WDA “compromise” too short, selectwomen say

After more than an hour of public comment, the selectwomen unanimously voted to extend the originally proposed summer closure by several weeks, from May 15 through Oct. 5.

Selectwoman Andrea Moore said she listened to concerns expressed by some merchants, but was persuaded by the majority of the speakers’ support for a longer timeframe to maximize the benefits of the pedestrian mall for town residents.

“The weather is beautiful in September. I keep coming back to the point that 92 percent of our residents want this. And I just think that speaks volumes,” Moore said.

Meghan Muldoon is a freelance writer.