Is Now the Time For Exit 5 Redesign?

A two-year study of traffic patterns on Route 1 in Greenwich released last month by the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency floats the idea of a redesign of I-95 Exit 5, including construction of a new access road connecting the exit on/off ramp to Sound Beach Avenue, as well as the construction of traffic rotaries on Route 1 (East Putnam Avenue) at Exit 5 and Sound Beach Avenue (see attached), in order to ease congestion.

According to a report in the Greenwich Time, the state Department of Transportation and some town officials, including recently appointed Police Chief James Heavey, are in favor of the plan — which was presented at the Riverside Association’s annual meeting at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Thursday night — although it is not likely to happen anytime soon.

Granted, it is SWRPA’s job is to come up with solutions to the state’s transportation problems — and perhaps the plan really would help improve traffic flow through Riverside — but considering the State of Connecticut is in a serious fiscal crisis, is now the time to even bring up such proposals? Even if the project isn’t started for another five years, and funding isn’t an issue, I think it is hard to justify the tens of millions it would cost.

I’m not a traffic engineer, but from what I’ve seen, I know that generally when you eliminate traffic in one place it pops up in another, and I fear that this proposal could have a negative impact on Old Greenwich, which has limited access/egress and its own, unique traffic congestion challenges. I think about all the out-of-towners who could mistakenly turn the wrong way and head down Sound Beach Ave., causing further traffic problems for the downtown (“Remember that quaint little village we found when we got off Exit 5 that one time?”). Consider also that this would provide more immediate I-95 access to town resources such as Binney Park and Greenwich Point. Are there quality of life issues to be considered?

I’m also not a fan of traffic rotaries, having lived through the nightmare of using them in heavy traffic conditions during the summer months on Cape Cod. (In fact, Massachusetts’s transportation authorities recently eliminated the rotary on the west end of the Sagamore Bridge, because it was such a traffic nightmare).

It remains to be seen if the plan is carried forward, i.e., if funding is approved. My question is: Should the state even be considering such projects at this time?

Meanwhile, the state DOT is getting ready to , including a complete reconfiguration of the I-95 interchange with Route 7. The $85.6 million project, which will no doubt cause additional, albeit temporary traffic delays, also calls for the replacement of three overpasses along that stretch...