By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Cuts in federal funding pose what could be a rocky road ahead for the town’s “Safety Streets and Roads for All” action plan, the subject of a wide-ranging study of local traffic and pedestrian issues that recently was completed.

That warning was issued by Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich as the Board of Selectwomen formally adopted the “SS4A” report Wednesday.

The cloudy future for upgrades recommended in the action plan — designed to improve traffic and pedestrian safety at flashpoints across town — results from uncertainty over federal funding for a range of programs under the Trump administration.

“I am concerned about federal funding in every aspect of what we do here because it’s just uncertain what programs will be frozen, what programs will be cut and what programs will be allowed to go forward,” Ratkiewich told the selectwomen.

Although the town plans to apply for U.S. Department of Transportation grants to undertake projects outlined in the plan, if that funding does not come through, there are other grant-funding entities, he said. To be considered, those resources also may require that a safety action plan be in place, he said, underscoring the importance of the selectwomen approving the plan.

Local traffic safety initiatives were launched with a resolution approved by the selectwomen to commit to zero deaths and serious injuries in town by 2040.

In line with that goal, Fire Chief Nicholas Marsan helped organize efforts to qualify for “SS4A” grants under the Biden administration, Ratkiewich said.

The town received a $450,000 federal grant to conduct the SS4A study in 2023, which supplemented by town money, was used to hire the engineering firm, Tighe & Bond, to conduct the study. 

The consultants were charged with developing a list of local transportation safety priorities, such as mitigating accident “hot spots” and roadside hazards, or adding safety improvements like bicycle lanes or sidewalks along designated corridors.

Several public forums and an online survey were used by the consultants to identify issues of greatest concern to residents.

“Robust community engagement through pedestrian and safety task force meetings, and other community outreach meetings” followed, the public works director said Wednesday.

Tighe & Bond consultants then compiled the data and analyzed the findings.

“We were able to come up with a plan where we should prioritize projects that would have the most impact,” Ratkiewich said.

Although the SS4A plan is complete, the independent work of the town’s Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Task Force “will continue,” First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said. The task force held meetings in each Representative Town Meeting district to identify localized safety issues.

“It’s an ongoing effort, it will not stop,” she said, and thanked town officials who worked on SS4A plan.

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.