Help Determine How Downtown Westport Evolves at Saturday Workshop

An announcement from the Westport First Selectman's Office:

First Selectman Jim Marpe has announced that as part of the YOUR DOWNTOWN campaign, a Downtown Visioning Workshop will be held on Saturday, June 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Bedford Middle School. The workshop is a critical part of the development of the Downtown Westport Master Plan.

“Westport residents, this is Your Downtown,” Marpe said. “Please mark your calendars to attend the June 7th workshop. This is a not-to-miss opportunity for you to participate in the process of determining how Downtown evolves over the next 10 to 20 years.”

The workshop will be highly visual and interactive so that residents can discuss topics and share opinions with each other and make clear, thoughtful choices about what’s appropriate for Downtown, what might make it more successful and vibrant, and how it can better serve residents of all ages. The main, interactive part of the workshop – “Downtown 101: Streets, Buildings, Places” - guides participants through a roundtable exercise in which they will view and discucss various elements and concepts for Downtown Westport. Citizens will have the opportunity to discuss the proposed ideas and rate their appeal or appropriateness to Downtown.

The workshop will also cover topics related to historic preservation in specific parts of Downtown, which is at the heart of the Town’s Village District Study. The Village District Study is being undertaken concurrently with the Downtown Westport Master Plan and the two efforts are being coordinated. The Village District Study is being funded by a Vibrant Communities Initiative grant from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.

Downtown Steering Committee Chairman, Dewey Loselle thanked the more than 700 residents who have taken the Downtown Survey since it was launched last week and encouraged those who cannot attend the June 7 workshop to make sure they respond to the survey, which can be accessed through www.downtownwestportct.com. Loselle added, “We are making a maximum effort to reach out and engage the Westport community and have set an ambitious goal of receiving 2000 completed surveys which would be more than 10% of the adult citizens of Westport.”

Residents who have not yet taken the Downtown Survey online or on paper can do so until mid July. The survey, as well as detailed information on events for the Downtown Westport Master Plan, will continue to be available on the the Committee’s Downtown web site at www.downtownwestportct.com. Paper versions of the survey are located at Town Hall, the Library, and the Senior Center.

A Downtown Steering Committee (DSC) is providing guidance and technical assistance to the consultant team, led by The RBA Group, in developing the master plan. The full membership of the DSC can be viewed on the town website..