Authority Approves Traffic Improvement Plan for Y's Proposed Move To Mahackeno

After listening to convoluted descriptions of traffic patterns and intersection signalization, followed by comments from the public, the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night unanimously approved recommended improvements to northbound Exit 41 of the Merritt Parkway to accommodate the Westport/Weston Family Y's proposed move to its Mahackeno property in the northwest corner of town.

In reaching their decision, First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff, and Selectmen Shelly A. Kassen and R. Gavin Anderson, acted as the town's Traffic Authority and "concurred" with a report from the State Traffic Commission containing 30 recommendations for reengineering the exit.

The proposed changes include widening Sunny Lane, which the exit's on- and off-ramps connect to, moving the ramps 80 feet east, and adding several traffic lights.

Sunny Lane connects Weston Road —  Rt. 33 — to the Y's Mahackeno property, which is now a woodsy campground bordered on the east by the Saugatuck River.

The Y, which is currently at 59 Post Road East in Westport's businss district, plans to build a more than 100,000 square-foot building at Mahackeno.

The Y's decision six years ago to move to Mahackeno has been met by bitter opposition for several reasons, including the suggested threat that overwhelming traffic will swamp the surrounding residential neighborhood.

The Traffic Authority meeting's narrowly-focused purpose stifled opponents in Town Hall's auditorium from expressing the full range of issues they have in opposing the Y's move, with the authority restricted to deciding whether implementing the proposed changes to the highway's ramps will not imperil the safety of the public.

Town attorney Ira Bloom told the selectmen that, under state law, the YMCA was not obligated to "improve the traffic situation" at exit 41, but to "mitigate the impact of (its) development" there.

Two lawsuits have been filed against the Y's proposed move, seeking to overturn approvals given to it by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Conservation Commission.

During the period of the meeting open for public comment, several people said much of the documentation being presented – including maps and narrative descriptions – had changed from what was previously seen and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Conservation Commission, and the Flood and Erosion Control Board. They argued the modified material should be resubmitted to those panels for reapproval.

If its move to Mahackeno occurs, the Y would have to cover the cost of reconstructing the highway's ramps, installing new traffic control signals, and widening Sunny Lane to four lanes. The president of the Y's board of directors, Iain H. Bruce, said his organization has covered all of the costs of planning for the move, except for $208,000 the town has paid to respond to lawsuits.

In their resolution approving the State Traffic Commission's recommendations, the selectmen added their own recommendations, proposing that in the future:

1) the traffic control signals at the intersections of Route 33 and 57, and  Route 33 and the southbound off-ramp of Exit 41 of the Merritt Parkway, be reexamined for retiming;

2) the intersection of Route 33 and Partrick Road be considered for installing a traffic light.