Members of the Westport Landing Commission aren’t counting on cooperation with the Masonic Lodge next door, and earned conservation commission approval last week to widen Hix Bridge Landing’s entrance/exit to make it safer and easier for trailers and cars to come and go.

“I know it’s not ideal,” landing commission chairman Jeff Bull told concom members. But “the masons have been very clear for a number of reasons. There isn’t a clear alternative to this, beyond if you want to join the masons and have a vote there.”

For years, cars and trucks entered the landing just east of the bridge, and exited at the far east end of the landing adjacent to the Masonic lodge just up the hill.

But last year, Masons officials blocked the exit after they determined that it lies partially on Mason-owned land. Despite months of negotiation between the Masons and the town, the organization has never backed down from that decision and the town is still barred from using the old exit. Since it closed, vehicles have been both exiting and entering the landing at the old entrance adjacent to the bridge.

The landing commission’s plan, which was ultimately approved by concom 4-3, is to reconfigure that entrance/exit to more easily and safely accommodate vehicles coming and going. Bull said he already has an agreement with the highway department to do the work, and said doing the job in house will save the town $100,000.

Under the plan, a guardrail barrier would be moved further to the east to accommodate the wider entrance/exit, and to improve lines of sight. Several parking spaces would be lost due to the new configuration, he said, and he hopes to have the work done before the busy summer season.

Will it work?

Though Bull said it’s the only clear path forward at the moment, nearly half of the commission’s members voted against the plan last week.

Jason Powell, who uses the ramp regularly, said he doesn’t think the new configuration will pass public safety muster and will cause problems as trucks put boats in and pull them out while having to deal with tight turning circles and vehicles parked close nearby.

“I don’t see any way possible for it to work,” he said. “Even if you have the room it’s going to require the collaboration of just about every user that’s there ... no one can move until this guy goes and that guy goes ... we already have the police there a couple times a year without this debacle.”

Instead, he said landing commission members should consider going back to the Masons and trying to work things out:

“I don’t think that enough effort was made with the masonic lodge,” he said. “There’s got to be a mechanism where we can work something out with these people, there has to be. More effort to resolve the issue would be a great place to start, vs. this plan here. That plan’s not going to work.”

Though Powell suggested continuing the landing commission discussion for two weeks to take a closer look at public safety and other aspects of the plan, chairman Paul Joncas reminded members that their authority in voting applications up and down rests only with whether they meet state and town environmental requirements — public safety is not in their purview.

Following that, Phil Weinberg motioned to approve the plan contingent on the use of proper erosion control and seeding to reduce runoff during and after construction, and it passed 4-3 with members Powell, Kevin Carter and Jake McGuigan voting against.

Bull said he hopes the work will commence soon.

What about the overall plan?

Bull said the town can revisit the issue in the future as the landing commission moves forward with permitting on a long-planned project to completely redesign and reconfigure the landing.

That project is likely to cost $800,000 or more, and would be funded with federal and state grants. It’s not only a good plan for the long-term future of the landing, he said, but also important as one of three concrete slabs that make up the boat ramp is slipping into the river and will need to be replaced.

Though permitting is starting, Bull said at a landing commission meeting last week, the work could still be years away, “if ever.”

“Because our next step is to start looking for money.”