The State Department of Transportation doesn’t believe Westport’s single traffic light is necessary. Residents strongly disagree.
At a recent City Council meeting, the Department of Transportation announced its intention to remove the light at South Montesano Street and Ocean Avenue, right by the Shop ‘n Kart grocery store. The state’s preferred option is to install a stop sign at the east end of Ocean Avenue. Traffic on South Montesano Street, the main drag between Highway 105 and the marina, would be free-flowing.
The state’s presentation to the City Council stated that a “traffic signal is not warranted” at the intersection. A new light or a roundabout would be too expensive, so the alternatives left were an all-way stop or the preferred alternative. According to local Kathryn Franzen, the state said the plan to do so was a “done deal,” and provided a timeline for the removal of the light in June.
The state conducted a survey of traffic at the intersection and came up with 5,600 vehicles the week of July 8-12, 2019. The numbers do not reflect the actual traffic volume during the especially busy summer months, according to some locals.
“They did the survey the week after the July 4 weekend, which is a notorious slower time,” said Brook Priest, who lives in Westport and is opposing the change. She said it didn’t take into consideration the hundreds of hotels and beds and breakfasts that are filled most of the summer, and more so did not survey traffic on a weekend.
“Our one and only grocery store is right there by that intersection,” said Franzen. The post office — “most of us have P.O. boxes because there’s no home delivery” — and the library are also in close proximity.
Franzen fears there could be an increase in accidents and extended wait times getting in and out of town, which could negatively impact tourism.
“If you’re a tourist and you come down to Westport now and you’re lined up for a half-hour waiting to get in and out of the grocery store, are you going to pick Long Beach or Westport next time?” she asked.
Priest is a mom and said the state’s plan does not adequately address the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists at the intersection.
“My older kids (ages 11 and 13) have the freedom to walk to the store, the Little League fields, the library,” she said. With the proposed traffic configuration, she said she would not feel comfortable allowing the kids to cross the intersection without a parent.
“This affects my livability in this town,” Priest continued. “It affects anyone who walks or bikes, which is what makes this town so glorious in the summertime. And when you’re making the town less walkable, you’re making the town less desirable.”
Priest said she had asked for clarification about the inclusion of pedestrian traffic in the study and was told the proposal “doesn’t consider pedestrian delays in their calculations, which is absurd in a small town like this. Here in Westport we have a lot of people that bicycling or walking is their main mode of transportation.”
Petitions against the removal of the stoplight are available at the grocery and drug stores. Mayor Rob Bearden said the city will gather those up and present them to the state to show the town’s dismay over the removal of the light, which came with little or no formal chance for public comment.
Priest forwarded an email from the Department of Transportation’s Aberdeen office, which said the agency is considering the comments received at the recent council meeting and “may develop a public outreach plan at a later date.” As for pedestrian safety, the email stated, “Pedestrians will have to determine when it is safe to cross.”
