[simonusa3]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The state legislature and CTDOT officials understand the historic and visual importance of the Merritt Parkway.

After the Route 8 interchange was built and viewed as a giant scar on the otherwise charming highway there was a lot of outcry to preserve the character of the parkway. In response to that outcry did a study to develop design criteria for the parkway. I believe the Conservancy was formed to provide the state with local input into the process as well as all future projects.

It is unclear how strong a role the Conservancy should be in the future of the parkway. In 2006 they sued and won to stop the construction of a new bridge over Main Avenue in Norwalk. This kind of gave them more strength than just the advisory agency it was formed. Jay

I've driven all over the United States...and (considering where it is in proximity to large population centers), the Merritt Parkway is the most outdated and dangerous road I've ever been on. The short exit and entrance ramps alone are a huge hazard. Its just another example of outdated things that CT refuses to let go of.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by simonusa3

I've driven all over the United States...and (considering where it is in proximity to large population centers), the Merritt Parkway is the most outdated and dangerous road I've ever been on. The short exit and entrance ramps alone are a huge hazard. It’s just another example of outdated things that CT refuses to let go of.

Most of them are fine. It’s the exits and on ramps in Norwalk that are REALLY sketchy.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by simonusa3

I've driven all over the United States...and (considering where it is in proximity to large population centers), the Merritt Parkway is the most outdated and dangerous road I've ever been on. The short exit and entrance ramps alone are a huge hazard. Its just another example of outdated things that CT refuses to let go of.

Outdated and dangerous to say the least. It's beyond any realm of comprehension Simon. You would not believe the things I see on the Greenwich portions in the morning and evening commutes and the treacherous backed up exit ramps. There's an on ramp up in Orange that is just mind-boggling. You say to yourself how can this be happening in 2023, and in one of the wealthiest and most educated states in the union. It just doesn't make any sense. It almost seems like a lost cause at this point. Beijing, Istanbul and South Florida would have had these issues shored up in mere weeks by now.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Outdated and dangerous to say the least. It's beyond any realm of comprehension Simon. You would not believe the things I see on the Greenwich portions in the morning and evening commutes and the treacherous backed up exit ramps. There's an on ramp up in Orange that is just mind-boggling. You say to yourself how can this be happening in 2023, and in one of the wealthiest and most educated states in the union. It just doesn't make any sense. It almost seems like a lost cause at this point. Beijing, Istanbul and South Florida would have had these issues shored up in mere weeks by now.

I wouldn’t look at South Florida to have the answers. While they are increasing mass transit, the “more lanes are better” mindset that had Los Angeles and Atlanta learning the hard way, is still very much the rule.

I do agree that the Merritt is outdated and dangerous. Anyone who has lived in the area knows to avoid it during heavy rain and moderate wind, yet they still plant trees in the median that have cost motorists their lives. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to see the many of the on-ramps were modernized.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I wouldn’t look at South Florida to have the answers. While they are increasing mass transit, the “more lanes are better” mindset that had Los Angeles and Atlanta learning the hard way, is still very much the rule.

I do agree that the Merritt is outdated and dangerous. Anyone who has lived in the area knows to avoid it during heavy rain and moderate wind, yet they still plant trees in the median that have cost motorists their lives. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to see the many of the on-ramps were modernized.

We won't have that kind of growth. Everyone knows this. There won't be an explosion of suburbia. It's just not going to happen that way. We'll continue to stagnate and that's ok .The "if you build it they will come crowd" already came. The Merritt and 95 need to accomodate this. Even NYers I know and work with ask what's up with CT transportaion and why it's so outdated.
There's one thing for certain, CT's transportation future is at a serious crossroads. Changes are needed.

[BPt111]

Should Brightline build highspeed rail between Long Island and Connecticut that could go all the way to Boston and Penn Station. I see Brightline have high speed rail between Miami and Orlando they extending to Tampa also California is working on Los Angeles to Las Vegas high speed train it almost done and San Francisco is in question.

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Should Brightline build highspeed rail between Long Island and Connecticut that could go all the way to Boston and Penn Station. I see Brightline have high speed rail between Miami and Orlando they extending to Tampa also California is working on Los Angeles to Las Vegas high speed train it almost done and San Francisco is in question.

Brightlne is interesting. It's run by Florida East Coast Railway, and operates for most of the distance over their existing right of way. Since they also run the freight on this route they have a lot of control and the operate their freight trains faster then most freight operators in particular on the East Coast.
Brightlines biggest issue seems to to be with the grade crossings here in the NE Acela and in fact many rail lines in general are grade separated (bridges etc) Brightline has a high rate of pedestrian and vehicle accidents with it's trains as they often travel over 75 mph thru the grade crossings. I gather as the are building the east west connection to Tampa most of the crossings are grade separated (and easier thanks to lower populations numbers and density of roads) .

I don't expect to see a new private service like that here in the North East as the possible routes between NYC and Boston are pretty well developed and land costs would be too high to make economic sense. I can't think of any rail right of ways that CT still has free that would make much sense. Maybe the Housatonic line then a jump east from Pittsfield? Not sure that would do much for CT thou.

[bomgd3]

We're obviously reached our carrying capacity for cars. I strongly feel that we have plenty of room for more people, but little to no more room for cars. Anytime I need to drive outside of my immediate area, I hit traffic jams. Hartford? Traffic jam. Springfield? Traffic jam. Waterbury? Traffic jam. If we keep focusing on the private automobile at the expense of all other transportation methods, we make huge financial and environmental sacrifices: more lanes, more parking, billions of dollars, and it makes us all poorer and less healthy. I'm a huge fan of rail. I've ridden Chinese and European HSR numerous times and it is incredible what they have achieved. With that said I still appreciate MNR and Amtrak and ride them frequently. 2.5 hours from Hartford to NYC on Amtrak/CTRail/MNR is still better than 2-4 hours by car depending on traffic. It's frustrating to be an American and see what other countries are doing. Canada has no shortage of NIMBYs and their labor costs are not low, but Montreal just built a brand new transit system called the REM which took about 5 years and $6 billion USD. My understanding is that NIMBYs killed REM service to the east end of the island, so they simply don't get the service while other areas will have a state of the art, high-frequency new train. Here in the US, I'm pretty sure it took like 4 years just to add a single lane to Farmington Avenue and it's still jammed up all day long.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The train service on the Waterbury line is not scheduled to accommodate commuters to Waterbury. They are VERY few, if any. If there was a need for that, and I’ve never heard of one, I’m sure the state would have scheduled a train to run earlier.

The schedules on the Waterbury line are made to accommodate commuters into lower Fairfield County. That’s where the vast majority, if not all commuters are destined.

In the morning the 7:03 out of Waterbury gets you to Bridgeport at 7:58 AM; South Norwalk at 8:33 AM; and Stamford at 8:51 AM. Returning the 4:55 PM out of Stamford gets to South Norwalk at 5:11 PM; Bridgeport at 5:41 PM; and Waterbury at 6:48 PM. That’s not bad for commuters.

You must remember the ability of the Waterbury line to accommodate more trains is limited by the single track on it. It would be VERY expensive to upgrade the line to double tracks. That’s money the state does not have and if it did, there are other priorities like the Danbury line, where the money could be used. Jay

I remember there was the intent to increase frequency and improve service and there was work on passing sidings and signal control so that it's not strictly limited to single track, so I went looking for that work online: https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/...terbury-branch That's signal upgrades to be able to safely have more than one train on the tracks and three passing sidings completed then (Derby, Beacon Falls, and one just south of Waterbury) along with a fourth one to be installed at Devon after November 2021.

Apparently it was completed during November 2021 which would not have been a great time for rail travel. Was there a subsequent increase in service over pre-pandemic levels? Is service at track capacity now or are there still plans to roll out additional service? Also, is there a site that shows schedules of the different lines over the years? Three passing sidings (maybe four, I don't know if and when the Devon one is completed) on a route that takes about an hour each way should technically allow for a much higher frequencies though the schedule I see here seems to do hourly service each way at most and once every two hours for most of the day. Is there another constraint, perhaps more temporary one, like lack of staffing? Or something is down for repairs?

[okbymeman]

I have to wonder what use is it being the “richest state” if we can’t even have acceptable infrastructure because it is “too expensive”?