Church Lane will be temporarily closed to public traffic for outdoor entertainment as the weather starts to warm up.
On March 13, plans were finalized to close the road that runs through downtown Westport from April to November, transforming the area into a pedestrian-friendly zone for dining, music and various forms of entertainment. These decisions were also made to address safety, transportation and other related issues.
“Every year I go in front of the first selectwoman and her administration at a public town hall meeting to get approval,” President of the Westport Downtown Association Maxxwell Crowley said. “We put applications together showing what the plan is, where we’d be closing it as well as the dates.”
During the town hall meeting, plans were made to ensure a safe environment for everyone as warmer weather approaches and the date for the activities become more certain.
“We meet with the fire department, police department and the EMS just to make sure they’re aware of all the plans,” Crowley said. “If they have any issues or things they need us to address they will tell us because, of course, we want to make it safe for everybody.”
The temporary street closure will not affect downtown businesses, as all shops and establishments will remain open. Pedestrians are welcome to stroll around the town freely since the surrounding streets will also be reachable.
“The way we close it off is by using little plastic police barricades so there’s still access if there’s some sort of medical or fire emergency,” Crowley said. “Trash trucks can still get by in the morning, delivery trucks can still get by in the morning. We close it off just for public traffic.”
These precautions following the open-air style of downtown, have contributed to the popularity and success that the association has achieved since the onset of COVID-19, making this tradition a welcoming event where everyone can perform and entertain passersby. The plans also included a church lane music series Staples High School students and bands are encouraged to participate.
“I’m really excited for this change of scenery because it creates a more walkable area and a lively atmosphere in town which is great as it gets warmer,” Madeleine Saounatsos ’25 said.
