[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

The effects will not be seen right away. It will take years (if it last that long) to make it pay off. I think one of many objectives of the new busway will be seen when the Viaduct in 84 is being worked on. Traffic will be even worse so having the option to take the busway will be greatly appreciated and utilized.

This is a case of Urban Planning, which in turn will make CT and Hartford a more attractive place to live.

One thing that might hinder the overall use is the complete lack of parking. They want 16,000riders/day but only have an estimated +/-100 spots TOTAL at 11 Stations.

You are right about it taking time to build usage of the busway but it will be an important part of the overall transportation system in Hartford in the future. The point of limited parking is that the busway connects with other local bus routes so they want to discourage people driving to a station and parking there. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but when CTDOT starts reconstructing I-84 in Hartford, it will become more important. Jay

[pulpfiction]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Who uses Shoreline East? Only about 64,000 people PER MONTH. And yes, it has had a tremendous impact on traffic congestion in New Haven, particularly with the construction of the Q Bridge and Route 34/Downtown Crossing. You tell the commuters who drove the Q Bridge before Shoreline East the congestion was a minor issue. That is why the state is spending billions to improve train service and rebuild I-95. Jay

64k per month is hardly impressive usage. That's perhaps 2,500 commuters per workday. Quite insignificant relative to Metro North ridership.

I-95 has always been relatively free-flowing east of New Haven (the area around the Q-Bridge being the one exception). A commuter from Madison to New Haven, for example, doesn't face anywhere near the challenge that one commuting from Westport to Stamford does.

I've yet to see empirical evidence to show that the SLE has made any significant impact, or that it was even needed in the first place. The transportation projects that come out of CT are a complete joke. Look at how NJ, MD and VA have improved their sections of I-95. What has CT done? Added 'auxillary lanes' that are only a mile long and take 5+ years to construct!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

64k per month is hardly impressive usage. That's perhaps 2,500 commuters per workday. Quite insignificant relative to Metro North ridership.

I-95 has always been relatively free-flowing east of New Haven (the area around the Q-Bridge being the one exception). A commuter from Madison to New Haven, for example, doesn't face anywhere near the challenge that one commuting from Westport to Stamford does.

I've yet to see empirical evidence to show that the SLE has made any significant impact, or that it was even needed in the first place. The transportation projects that come out of CT are a complete joke. Look at how NJ, MD and VA have improved their sections of I-95. What has CT done? Added 'auxillary lanes' that are only a mile long and take 5+ years to construct!

Now you are just showing how little you know about transportation. How you can compare Shoreline East to Metro North, one of the busiest commuter rail lines in the country is just ridiculous. And despite what you think 64,000 passengers is a decent number for a rail line serving an area like the shoreline east of New Haven. That ridership represents one additional lane for traffic in each direction on I-95, a project that would cost billions and waste a lot of gas.

As for the widening of I-95, unlike the other states you mention, I-95 in Connecticut goes right through the middle of densely populated communities. There is minimal right of way to widen the highway and as I have said many times the towns along the corridor do not want the highway widened and distroying their community. You may not like it but it is not your decision. If you want to turn Connecticut into New Jersey I suggest you just move there. Jay

[pulpfiction]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Now you are just showing how little you know about transportation. How you can compare Shoreline East to Metro North, one of the busiest commuter rail lines in the country is just ridiculous. And despite what you think 64,000 passengers is a decent number for a rail line serving an area like the shoreline east of New Haven. That ridership represents one additional lane for traffic in each direction on I-95, a project that would cost billions and waste a lot of gas.

As for the widening of I-95, unlike the other states you mention, I-95 in Connecticut goes right through the middle of densely populated communities. There is minimal right of way to widen the highway and as I have said many times the towns along the corridor do not want the highway widened and distroying their community. You may not like it but it is not your decision. If you want to turn Connecticut into New Jersey I suggest you just move there. Jay

You have to be kidding me. Northern Virginia isn't densely populated? New Jersey...THE MOST densely populated state in the US, isn't densely populated according to Jay...I love it. The MD suburbs of Baltimore and DC arent densely populated either, apparently.

But, yeah...I know nothing, and Jay knows everything.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

You have to be kidding me. Northern Virginia isn't densely populated? New Jersey...THE MOST densely populated state in the US, isn't densely populated according to Jay...I love it. The MD suburbs of Baltimore and DC arent densely populated either, apparently.

But, yeah...I know nothing, and Jay knows everything.

When the highways were built back in the 50's, the Connecticut shoreline communities were already built up and densely populated while northern Virginia and Maryland were mostly undeveloped farmland. Even the area where I-95 was built through New Jersey was open farmland and tidal marshes. A big difference between buying right-of-way and running a highway through open land and building it around and through existing communities. Enough with this stupid arguing already. Please return to the topic of the OP which is the busway. Jay

[JayCT]

Well it is finally here. Today is the ribbon cutting and tomorrow begins service on CTfastrak. We will finally see if greater Hartford's first modern mass-transit system will be a hit or a miss, ending years of arguments. I am thinking that like other mass-transit facilities like Shoreline East, CTfastrak will be slow to start at first but will get more and more riders as time goes on. It will be particularly important when construction starts in several years on the massive I-84 Aetna viaduct reconstruction project gets going. It will at least offer people a mass-transit option to sitting in traffic on a highway under construction. This is much like Shoreline East and the Q Bridge project down in New Haven which will be coming to an end in a couple of year. Jay

CTfastrak kicks off Saturday | HartfordBusiness.com

[UconnHusky1]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Well it is finally here. Today is the ribbon cutting and tomorrow begins service on CTfastrak. We will finally see if greater Hartford's first modern mass-transit system will be a hit or a miss, ending years of arguments. I am thinking that like other mass-transit facilities like Shoreline East, CTfastrak will be slow to start at first but will get more and more riders as time goes on. It will be particularly important when construction starts in several years on the massive I-84 Aetna viaduct reconstruction project gets going. It will at least offer people a mass-transit option to sitting in traffic on a highway under construction. This is much like Shoreline East and the Q Bridge project down in New Haven which will be coming to an end in a couple of year. Jay

$567,000,000.00 of boondoggle

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by UconnHusky1

$567,000,000.00 of boondoggle

We will see. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by UconnHusky1

$567,000,000.00 of boondoggle

This.

[Mr_250]

I'll be taking it tomorrow.

It's free for the first 9 days.