Designed during the horse and buggy era, downtown Pawcatuck is a quaint and fragile New England village which abuts the scenic and flood-prone Pawcatuck River. Located at the intersection of two major state highways, one leading to Foxwoods and the other to Westerly and its popular beaches, it is a major traffic chokepoint, particularly in summer. Narrow streets, limited parking, pedestrian traffic, an archaic one-way traffic pattern entering Westerly, and a mammoth concrete slab all exacerbate this situation. Remarkably, due to the goodwill of its residents who often grant the right of way to vehicles entering from side streets and businesses, traffic lights are not needed, which would otherwise cause major back-ups on Route 1 and in downtown Westerly.

A housing complex being proposed on Cogswell Street will lead to more right of way-granting, stop and go traffic or to a crippling traffic light, since residents turning left into Westerly will have to wait for two lanes of traffic to clear. “New proposal for Campbell Grain building in Pawcatuck,” (Sept. 6). Those with the authority to approve this project should listen more carefully to local residents rather than outsiders whose quality of life is not adversely impacted.

Edward F. Kleinman

Pawcatuck