[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Fasttrak should expand up to Meriden, Shoreline East should expand to Providence, RI for connections to Boston Metro area, Waterbury Line need to improve

The New Haven- Hartford-Springfield rail project will provide service between Meriden and Hartford. In fact the service will connect New Haven all the way to Springfield with stops in many towns along the way.

Shoreline East will never go all the way to Providence. That would be treading on Amtrak's business. The best you will see is to Westerly. Jay

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

My point is that if CTfastrak service was stopped and no replacement service was implemented, the potential exists for adding as many as 14,000 more vehicles to I-84. That obviously is not going to happen but people need to realize that the money spent on CTfastrak is not wasted and the impacts of not having it could be significant.

To answer your question, yes one person going to and from work would count as 2 rides, one each way. And your next step, building little transit nodes, is what communities along the line are doing. It will be interesting to see how they respond. I know it is a big controversy in Newington where there is concern that massive towers will be built that are out of scale with the rest of the town. I think that is a bit dramatic but the need for more dense development in and around the stations is apparent. Jay

Isn't there a Fast Track site in Newington already, right near the Fenn Rd Stop & Shop? If the town is worried about development there, they're really being silly. There has been nothing there for years (I lived in Newington from 1997-2004 and grew up in nearby Cromwell) and I had never heard anything about it being developed. And, if these "towers" are parking garages there, it's not like they'll be towering over Grandma and Grandpa living right next door. There is a gas station at the corner of Fenn Rd and Cedar St (Rte 175) and a Dunkin Donuts and a few small businesses and another gas station on 175, and the strip mall at Stop & Shop. Is the Jade Lee Chinese restaurant going to suffer if it's in the shade?

Or, is this a new site you're talking about?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

Isn't there a Fast Track site in Newington already, right near the Fenn Rd Stop & Shop? If the town is worried about development there, they're really being silly. There has been nothing there for years (I lived in Newington from 1997-2004 and grew up in nearby Cromwell) and I had never heard anything about it being developed. And, if these "towers" are parking garages there, it's not like they'll be towering over Grandma and Grandpa living right next door. There is a gas station at the corner of Fenn Rd and Cedar St (Rte 175) and a Dunkin Donuts and a few small businesses and another gas station on 175, and the strip mall at Stop & Shop. Is the Jade Lee Chinese restaurant going to suffer if it's in the shade?

Or, is this a new site you're talking about?

No, that is one of the sites. The other is further north at Newington Junction. The town residents feared losing control of what gets built when there was a Bill at the Capitol that would have formed a Transit Oriented Development Commission. They were worried that high rise buildings would get built. Remember this is a town that fought the construction of a modest 55+ development up on Cedar Mountain. They don't want change to their community. I guess you can't blame them. Jay

[JayCT]

It looks like the state is beginning to move forward with the planning and design of some major new projects under Governor Malloy's massive transportation program. There is money being allocated to pay for beginning such projects as I-84 in Danbury, the I-84/Route 8 interchange in Waterbury, the I-91/Route 15 interchange in Meriden and a bus-rapid transit corridor between Norwalk and Stamford. All are interesting and much needed projects. Jay

State OKs money for I-84 widening, public transit - Connecticut Post

[JayCT]

And not to scare any of our Fairfield County commuters but CTDOT is beginning to plan for a major repaving project on I-95 in Bridgeport and Fairfield. Should create some real problems next year. Jay

State plans paving on I-95 next summer - Connecticut Post

[RunD1987]

Heard in the news today CT is going for this five year plan to fix CT infrastructure. Bit hesitant on the whole bit. I mean CT fixing transportation can go 98% good, Fast Track, and some empty promises, Mix Master. Definitely roads and bridges need improvement in the state.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Heard in the news today CT is going for this five year plan to fix CT infrastructure. Bit hesitant on the whole bit. I mean CT fixing transportation can go 98% good, Fast Track, and some empty promises, Mix Master. Definitely roads and bridges need improvement in the state.

This is the first part of a $100 billion 30 year transportation plan for the state that Malloy has proposed. This begins the planning and design of several of the major projects that are proposed under the Malloy plan. Jay

[Mr_250]

Yippy! Looks like I'll be busy for the next 10 to 15 years.

Keep the jobs coming. Minus the FFC jobs, I dont feel like driving that far.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by JayCT

And not to scare any of our Fairfield County commuters but CTDOT is beginning to plan for a major repaving project on I-95 in Bridgeport and Fairfield. Should create some real problems next year. Jay

State plans paving on I-95 next summer - Connecticut Post

Only in CT can paving a few miles of road take 5 months. Face palm. In Virginia, they would have built a forth lane in each direction all the way to Stamford during this tenor. I'm also appalled by the overhaul of the RT 7 interchange with 95. What was the point of the project to not have 2 lanes from rt 7 southbound connect with I 95 and increase capacity? Both of these lanes could have extended to exit 14 before terminating. At least northbound there is an additional lane from exit 13 to exit 15/rt 7. Epic fail. So much for fixing bottlenecks. I'm tempted to file a lawsuit over a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars.

[tengushark]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Well the Republicans in Connecticut have now proposed spending less than half of the amount proposed under Governor Malloy's $100 billion 30 year plan. They say we have to live within our means and do not need to look beyond current funding sources (i.e. no tolls). They also think that the Federal government will increase the amount they contribute in the future to roadways but that is not likely given the way things are going in Congress today.

Amazon.com ramps up for CT hiring | HartfordBusiness.com

Personally, I find the Republican plan to be more of the same old thing. Our transportation infrastructure is falling apart and there is a strong need to do something bold to fix things. State Senator Fasano's statements on Federal funding and that you can only do "one project" at a time on I-95 show he knows very little about transportation projects. Right now there are several projects going on along the highway including the Q Bridge, the West River Bridge, the Moses Wheeler Bridge and the operational lane project near Route 7 in Norwalk. In the past they rebuilt I-95 in Bridgeport when projects were going on in Darien and Stamford. I also like how former CTDOT Commissioner and Deputy Secretary of Transportation at the USDOT, Emil Frankel, told him his assumptions on Federal money increasing were not the best assumption to make.

So the question is, do we keep going along at the same pace we have been for the past 20 years or do we change? What do you think? Jay

Agree with this assessment, the fact is Infrastructure does need the push, and the rich trash from fairfield, no bias here, will just up and move out of state once it does eventually. Democrats aren't better but the same old same old Republican song and dance is a tired one.