Groton — The Groton Town Council on Tuesday decided not to ask the state Department of Transportation to change the Exit 89 sign on Interstate 95 from Allyn Street to Mystic, after Mystic residents jammed a meeting and protested the possible change.

Councilors voted 1-6 against ending a prohibition on changing the sign, with one councilor abstaining. Councilor Bonnie Nault cast the sole vote in favor of the change and Councilor Joe de la Cruz abstained because he wanted to postpone the decision to get more information.

Mayor Bruce Flax said he decided against the change after hearing from the crowd and considering the options for business.

"If I was a person who purchased land on Allyn Street 10 years ago knowing that there was something that limited traffic on the street, and moved in had a couple of kids, and then the traffic patterns were changed and there was increased traffic on my street where I couldn't pull out of my driveway, I don't think that would be the right thing to do," he said.

More than 60 people packed the council meeting on Tuesday, mostly to protest the possible change.

“I find it incredulous that people want to place the needs of a few downtown business people, most of whom probably are not Groton residents, ahead of the numerous people who use Allyn Street to get to their houses or come to work from that area,” said David Scott of Pequot Avenue.

Councilors had voted last week to ask Town Manager Mark Oefinger to draft a resolution reversing a 1989 prohibition against changing the sign. But they opted not to pass that resolution.

The sign will not change unless the town notifies the state Department of Transportation that it wants a change, Barry Schilling, transportation supervising engineer, wrote in an email to town officials.

The transportation department plans to replace the I-95 signs northbound and southbound, including entrance and exit ramps and supports, from Exit 85 in Groton to the Rhode Island line.

Groton's economic and community development manager had described changing the sign as a key opportunity to direct business to downtown Mystic.

The whole project would cost about $9 million, be paid for with state money and completed in early 2017.

Charles Stevens of Stony Hill Drive called changing the sign without sufficient public notice “a breach of faith” of people in the Allyn Street neighborhood.

He said he can’t believe a state in a fiscal crisis wants to spend $9 million to replace perfectly fine, serviceable signs.

On I-95 southbound just before Exit 90, a sign reads: “Historic downtown/drawbridge,” and a similar sign sits between Exits 89 and 90 and could be moved, he said.

“You don’t need to spend $9 million to fix a 10-cent problem,” he said.

Former Town Councilor Mick O’Beirne of New London Road said no one asked town staff how adding more cars would help Mystic.

He recently counted 35 businesses between the drawbridge and Mystic Pizza, then counted 29 parking spaces in the same stretch, he said.

One of his neighbors also surveyed the Mystic Chamber of Commerce database and found that of the 76 restaurants in Mystic, 61 are in Stonington and 15 are in Groton; of the 37 hotels, 35 are in Stonington, and 2 are in Groton; of the 23 gift shops, 17 are in Stonington, and six are in Groton, he said.

Linda Robert of Sandy Hollow Road said drivers already get stuck in jams.

“Something has to be done because the quality of life of the residents is suffering,” she said.

But David Brown, speaking for the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, said his organization supports the change.

Just as it wants an Exit 90 sign that showcases Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport and Olde Mistick Village, the chamber believes the Exit 89 sign should showcase Historic Downtown Mystic, he said.

“After all, our collective work as a business community is to not only embrace visitors in our region, but help guide them equally through all of what Mystic has to offer,” he said. “Both west and east of the river.”

Catherine Cook of Mystic, a former state senator, urged councilors to listen to the speakers and deal with the real issue, which is parking.

“More through traffic is not going to create happy tourists, certainly not going to create happy citizens,” she said.

Unhappy tourists won’t come back — they'll decide Mystic is too crowded, she said.

Kathleen O’Beirne of New London Road said Mystic is unusual in its mix of residential and commercial properties.

“It is a living, vital community,” she said. “Not a museum, not a theme park, and not a shopping mall.”

d.straszheim@theday.com