Marlene Estabrooks does not like the sign for the Mystic Museum of Art that went up on her neighbor’s lawn in March.
“Before you know it,” she said, “You do have destruction of the neighborhood.”
Now, this Allyn Street resident since 1979 is fighting the proposal by the Connecticut Department of Transportation to change the exit 89 signage on I-95 to read 'Mystic' or 'Downtown Mystic.'
“Shoving some of the traffic over here would just make it worse for Allyn Street,” Estabrooks said, “It would be a disaster, it’s already gridlock.”
With businesses and attractions on both sides of the Mystic River, the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce supports the sign change and hopes the Groton Town Council will reverse a resolution from 1989 that prohibited mentioning Mystic at exit 89.
“What we are proposing is equality for those exits,” the chamber’s manager of membership and sales Kristin Hartnett said, referring to exit 90. “The Mystic Museum of Art, restaurants and the downtown Mystic area, it is best accessed through exit 89 and we wanted to get some representation for that area on I-95.”
Changing the sign at exit 89 may alleviate congestion off Exit 90 on Route 27 in Stonington, but the town’s First Selectman Rob Simmons told NBC Connecticut he opposes the move for public safety reasons.
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Many tourists already know Allyn St. is a shortcut, Estabrooks said, which is another reason she is against changing the highway signs.
“You look at the cars on a nice warm day when the tourists are here and all during the summer you see New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and others,” she said.
The resolution to reverse the one from 1989 is on the agenda for the Groton Town Council Meeting Tuesday night. There is a public comment, where both sides of this debate are expected to speak out.
