[yankee.peddler]

Originally Posted by sliver203

NIMBYism is alive and well in Connecticut - thanks to environmentalists, Connecticut is a very well-planned and lush state. Without the protests of residents, we could have fallen prey to chain developers, 5 lane highways and tiny, .25 acre lots. Imagine CT being like suburbs in Charlotte, Phoenix, Atlanta and even Orange County? EEK, makes me quiver! lol

I argue that it's not primarily NIMBY tendencies here; it's the market-driven economy. The places you mention (Charlotte, Phoenix, Atlanta and Orange County) have seen tremendous economic and population growth in the last couple of decades -- growth that far outstrips anything seen in the Northeast. If Connecticut were to have experienced that level of growth, I think you would see today a Nutmeg State landscape not unlike the landscapes of the South and Southwest.

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Well, it does leave the state with a completely inadequate transportation network. Lousy transportation is the biggest barrier to further economic growth in Fairfield County.

Not that I'm saying it shouldn't be revamped, but I think CTs transportation network is far better than most other states. Traffic stinks in parts of CT, but for one of the most densely populated state situated between NY and Boston, we're doing pretty well. Tens of thousands of people use mass transit into NYC daily. Compare that to the metros in Atlanta, LA, and DC.

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by yankee.peddler

I argue that it's not primarily NIMBY tendencies here; it's the market-driven economy. The places you mention (Charlotte, Phoenix, Atlanta and Orange County) have seen tremendous economic and population growth in the last couple of decades -- growth that far outstrips anything seen in the Northeast. If Connecticut were to have experienced that level of growth, I think you would see today a Nutmeg State landscape not unlike the landscapes of the South and Southwest.

It's all in the way the growth is planned. Those cities didn't do very well (especially Phoenix - it's a mess there) and should Connecticut ever see the huge population growth seen in those areas, I think the towns and cities would require careful planning.

We can both have our opinions on it but nobody can really tell what would happen. It would be interesting to see though.

[ZARDOZ]

Canada built the Confederation Bridge, from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. It was built to last at least 100 years, and takes into account all types of environmental considerations.

A cross-sound bridge would be economically viable, and take plenty of traffic off I-95, western LIE, and the Throgs Neck Bridge.

It won't ever be built. The nature of Connecticut and New York is such that great leadership no longer exists. If you think that folks like Teddy Roosevelt are still drawn to public service, think again.

[momfromct]

YES! All my inlaws live on LI and I would most certainly rather take a bridge, then get stuck in all that traffic.

[Jdawg8181]

I think this bridge is a great idea and have wanted it for years...however I think it would benefit LIers moreso than CTers...b.c it would provide a shorter gateway to new engand. It wouldn't really make much sense for a CTer to use the bridge to go to NYC. It's prob the same distance to go from CT to NYC as it is to go to NYC from Riverhead...in fact, depending on where in CT you are coming from, it might actually be a shorter distance. Long island is called so for a reason- it's "long"...Riverhead to NYC is easily a 2 hour commute.

And oh ya, for the record, the Hamptons are overrated anyway.

[bluecountry]

I have to again disagree.

I think a bridge in the Western Part/Central/and Eastern areas of Long Island to NY/CT would benefit everybody.

The CT Turnpike is a mess.
I find it really stupid again that given how large the Northeast is from NY to BOS we don't have a bridge to connect the regions YET in VA they have a 20 mile bridge to nowhere.

Even if people of Long Island get the most out of it, the bridge is worth building.
It gives people there much easier ways to New England, which in turn should give CTers easier access to the Long Island Beaches.

What else happens though is less people take the jammed I-95 in CT, making it easier for CTers to get NYC plus they have a second option.

Built the bridge
I-95 needs a bypass.
Long Islanders deserve/it is absurd they have to go through NYC to reach NE.

[yankee.peddler]

Originally Posted by bluecountry

I have to again disagree.

I think a bridge in the Western Part/Central/and Eastern areas of Long Island to NY/CT would benefit everybody.

The CT Turnpike is a mess.
I find it really stupid again that given how large the Northeast is from NY to BOS we don't have a bridge to connect the regions YET in VA they have a 20 mile bridge to nowhere.

Even if people of Long Island get the most out of it, the bridge is worth building.
It gives people there much easier ways to New England, which in turn should give CTers easier access to the Long Island Beaches.

What else happens though is less people take the jammed I-95 in CT, making it easier for CTers to get NYC plus they have a second option.

Built the bridge
I-95 needs a bypass.
Long Islanders deserve/it is absurd they have to go through NYC to reach NE.

First, I-95 is primarily a "mess" because of daily commuters and long-distance traffic bound for or traveling from points along the entire Eastern seaboard. I don't believe the traffic bound for or traveling from eastern L.I. comprises a significant portion of the traffic volumes along I-95. Therefore, I argue that a bridge would not provide any noticeable relief to the corridor, especially during peak congestion times.

Second, no one from Connecticut would travel to N.Y.C. via a bridge to Long Island and the L.I.E. (or any of the other parkways). In addition to I-95, the Merritt Parkway and I-84/I-684 provide alternative access to the city. These routes are busy but would be substantially shorter than traveling across the Sound and turning west.

Third, if Connecticut does not benefit from a bridge, then Connecticut will not support a bridge. Sorry. That's just the plain truth. Ella Grasso stated as much when she was governor in the 1970s. As I said in an earlier post, if New York wants to do a better job connecting eastern L.I. to the mainland, then New York can construct a span connecting Nassau to Westchester and shoulder all of the costs that go along with it.

Finally, I recommend increasing passenger ferry service between Montauk, Orient and New London if the demand is there.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by yankee.peddler

Ella Grasso stated as much when she was governor in the 1970s.

Ella Grasso happens to be the most short sighted Governor the State of Connecticut ever had. You can blame a lot of the traffic mess we have to deal with today on her and her administrations short-sighted transportation planning. If it were not for her, there would be mass transit serving Bradley Airport. The State built a monorail system at Bradley Airport that could have been the beginning of mass-tansit in the Hartford region. She cut off fund to operate it and had i disaseembled. If it had been opened whoi knows where it would or could have led.

She also killed the beltway around Hartford (the one that would have brought a safe highway into the Farmington River Valley bypassing Route 44 over Avon Mountain).

She also cut funding at DOT to the point where inspections of bridges were decreased to the point where the Mianus River Bridge collapsed in the early 80's. JMHO Jay

[yankee.peddler]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Ella Grasso happens to be the most short sighted Governor the State of Connecticut ever had. You can blame a lot of the traffic mess we have to deal with today on her and her administrations short-sighted transportation planning. If it were not for her, there would be mass transit serving Bradley Airport. The State built a monorail system at Bradley Airport that could have been the beginning of mass-tansit in the Hartford region. She cut off fund to operate it and had i disaseembled. If it had been opened whoi knows where it would or could have led.

She also killed the beltway around Hartford (the one that would have brought a safe highway into the Farmington River Valley bypassing Route 44 over Avon Mountain).

She also cut funding at DOT to the point where inspections of bridges were decreased to the point where the Mianus River Bridge collapsed in the early 80's. JMHO Jay

Actually, Governor Grasso continued transportation policies that were originally implemented by Governor Thomas Meskill in the early 1970s. It was under Meskill's administration that work on I-291 and Route 7 stopped and plans for the Avon Mountain expressway were killed. Meskill also put a monkey wrench into the construction of Routes 8 and 25, delaying the completion of those expressways (a partial completion in the case of Route 25) by more than a decade.

I think a debate on the merits of Grasso's transportation policies are best suited for a another thread. However, I do believe that Grasso (along with scores of other Connecticut residents in public and private life) were correct in opposing a Long Island bridge when plans were circulated in earnest in the late 1970s. For Connecticut, the costs associated with planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining such a structure (even in concert with New York) far outweighed any present or future economic benefit.