A portion of the Saugatuck River’s sea wall, which lines the Westport Library’s riverwalk along Jesup Road, is undergoing renovations and repairs this week - including the addition of a fence along the waterfront span. An RTM member raised the idea after residents shared their concerns with the lack of a fence along the river - making it easy for pedestrians to fall the nearly ten feet to the riverbed below. At a First Night celebration on News Years Eve several years ago, one young resident did fall off of the wall into the river below after sundown - the river was not deep enough to submerge the child, nor was it shallow enough for them to be injured on the rocks below.

Public Works Director Pete Ratkiewitch made the proposal during a May joint committee meeting between the Architectural Review Board and the Historic District Commission - who passed the proposal unanimously. During his presentation, Ratkiewitch also described the seawall’s deterioration overall, with the stairs and lower-level rocks all requiring repairs and renovations.