City Point Neighbors Argue Against Each Other On I‑95 Mess

City Point neighbors spent as much time disagreeing with each other as they did blasting state officials in their latest encounter over traffic problems caused by the rebuilding of I‑95.

Tuesday night saw the third time in the past month that the Department of Transportation (DOT) met with City Point neighbors to discuss the I‑95 West River project and complaints about traffic tie-ups caused by the reconfiguring of Exit 44. But, this time, a new group of neighbors showed up with a message different from the previous encounters.

Previously, conversations between neighbors and the DOT had centered on a right hand turn from Interstate 95 into the City Point neighborhood. Neighbors appeared to firmly agree that adding a right-hand turn would be the best option, allowing them to turn off the highway and on to Sea Street. Just two weeks before, on July 9, when the DOT met with residents of the Harbour Landing condominium to discuss the project, the right-hand turn seemed to be an unanimous plea.

The I‑95 project includes a $130 million reconfiguration of diamond-shaped Exit 44 Sea Street and Ella T. Grasso Boulevard, including the removal of one exit ramp. That has led to all the fuss.

Tuesday night’s 105-minute open forum, held at the parish hall adjacent to Betsy Ross School, drew not just the condo owners but people who live in homes on other streets of City Point. Those neighbors told the DOT they don’t want the right-hand turn. The meeting ended with raised voices, pointed blame and disunity.

Debbie Terry, for instance, said the potential of increased traffic due to the right hand turn would bring high-speed traffic into what is now a peaceful and historic part of the city.

On the other side, Patricia Nicolari, a Harbour Landing owner, echoed what she had said two weeks before: the right-hand turn is still the safest option, and the most convenient for those in the neighborhood.

Some neighbors complained that the previous meeting with DOT was restricted due to size constraints, preventing non-condo owners from getting a chance to share their opinions.

Amid the tension surfacing of the group, neighbor Steve Wilcox stressed the importance of working together on the issue. If his property value is reduced by highway traffic coming through the neighborhood, he said, the value of the condominiums will fall also.

James Pelletier and Rich Anderson, now familiar faces in the City Point neighborhood, represented DOT once again, accompanied by a number of their colleagues from the project. City transit chief Doug Hausladen and Engineer Giovanni Zinn attended, too. Acknowledging the contentious issues at hand, Anderson began the meeting by recognizing conversations regarding the project are far from over.

“We know we have some challenging issues to work through,” he said.

They said the state anticipates that the traffic problems will be short-lived and is seeking to relieve some of the stress of construction by posting better signs and keeping in touch with the community. But that does not mean the headache is over.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Pelletier said, and repeated that message throughout the evening.

Neighbors also expressed concern about increased traffic from shoppers using the highway to visit two new nearby developments: Jordan’s Furniture, schedule to open on Sargent Drive this winter; and a proposed mall just over the line in West Haven. Anderson explained that the West Haven proposal has not yet been submitted for approval by the state, which will need to approve a traffic mitigation plan.

As the meeting moved from traffic concerns and returned to the right-hand turn, raised voices began to be targeted away from the DOT representatives and toward other neighbors.

It began when Warren Seacord proposed eliminating houses on Fifth Street and expanding that road to meet the highway. Occupants of those homes interrupted him to reveal themselves as present.

Anderson and Pelletier quickly moved the meeting on to Seacord’s next proposal: a roundabout where the contested right-turn would be. The roundabout, Seacord said, would deter speeding traffic. The suggestion was firmly met with applause from the condominium owners; others said ​“no.” It was only one of many suggestions that received firmly mixed opinions.

Carmen Rodriguez, organizer of Tuesday’s meeting, stood up to close the meeting, reminding neighbors of the greater goal: to achieve the safest driving experience for residents of City Point.

“Sometimes we come to meetings and attack and beat each other up,” she said. ​“Let’s not let our vision get clouded. [The DOT] is here to help us.” She said that a lack of consensus among the residents may discourage the DOT from listening to and helping the community.

While many questions remain less answered than before, one point met with agreement: The conversation is not over.

Further meetings will be scheduled, possibly as early as next week, in the same location.

Those interested in finding out more about the project can go to www.i95wesstriver.com.