[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Actually, nearly 100% of all the old factories have been torn down or turned into upscale housing. The last one in the Valley that was slated to be torn down in 2011 burned to the ground in September. The image that the Valley is all old abandoned factories is no longer true at all - it's now a haven for Fairfield County commuters seeking lower priced housing.

Whats upscale housing?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Whats upscale housing?

Keep in mind, I said upscale, not luxury. To name one: Welcome to Beacon Mill Village

The one in Seymour was slated to be expensive luxury apartments but I'm not sure what the plans are now that it was destroyed by fire. The old Wire Company in Seymour was torn down. The one in Naugatuck along Route 8 was torn down. Ansonia's was destroyed by fire, and the remaining one is still in business. Shelton has plans to renovate them in the coming years - they are currently apartments.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Keep in mind, I said upscale, not luxury. To name one: Welcome to Beacon Mill Village

The one in Seymour was slated to be expensive luxury apartments but I'm not sure what the plans are now that it was destroyed by fire. The old Wire Company in Seymour was torn down. The one in Naugatuck along Route 8 was torn down. Ansonia's was destroyed by fire, and the remaining one is still in business. Shelton has plans to renovate them in the coming years - they are currently apartments.

Ah ,LOL alot fires eh. Well the one factory in Jersey City burnt down and a developer recreated it. Came out nicely , 80% of the units are sold. Hopefully they can rebuild some sort of dense housing on all these sites. Harrison is the only town / city in my state that is tearing everything down and building up for scratch. 2 SQ miles of Industrial area , redeveloped into a Dense Retail / Residential city. The rest opted for renovated old factories and warehouses. Just like these places will suck up the Fairfield county ppl looking for a change , my state is sucking on the ex-New Yorkers fed up with rise in Daily living costs.

[JayCT]

You really can't expect what has happened in Jersey City and along the Hudson waterfront to happen in Connecticut. That area was so underutilized and is so close to New York, it was bound to be discovered for future expansion. The Danbury line has potential for increased riderhsip but any significant growth outside of Norwalk and Danbury will be stopped by the local NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard). I doubt any town along the Waterbury line would accept significant change either. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I doubt any town along the Waterbury line would accept significant change either. Jay

Seeing what has happened in the Valley towns in recent years, I disagree with that statement. Shelton and Seymour would be unrecognizable to anyone who has not been to the towns in 10 years, as the town governments are active in their attempts to change the stereotypes of old, depressed mill towns. There have been numerous proposals that have been passed by these towns (including a 15 story luxury apartment building in the center of Seymour - plans have been scaled down though due to the economy). The only town in the Valley that really has "NIMBYism" would be Oxford, I think largely because it has never been a town with factories so residents there aren't actively trying to change the rural image of the town. There was a proposal to have a beautiful downtown "village" and Oxford residents fought it tooth and nail.

[Beeker2211]

I agree with Kid that Derby, Shelton, Ansonia, Seymour, possibly Beacon Falls, and certainly Naugatuck and Waterbury would be open/planning on expanding residence zoning around their stations. Naugatuck already has a few plans, but I'm not too sure how far those projects have gone. Shelton too has a few plans in their downtown I'm aware of, and Derby is attempting to re-establish their well planned out (and potentially absolutely gorgeous) downtown.

All it would take would be a few dozen to a few hundred units in a 1/4-1/2 mi radius around the stations (small footprint) in each of the stops to really make a huge difference in ridership, tax rolls, and just overall activity of their town centres.

..::edit::..

As for the Danbury line: a developer still seems intent on reworking the Georgetown wire mill as a station/residences/and office area. The grand part of the plan would have added about 400 units in the area for residences, but has been delayed. The Branchville station in Ridgefield is already zoned for small lots, perhaps more multi-family dwelings could be allowed. Wilton might be a tougher sell. Norwalk Super 7 complexes are essentially at capacity because of topography unless they rezone the big box stores near the Stop and Shop. Danbury has already expanded housing in the area around the station.

It seems the reopening of the Danbury to Hartford rail for passenger and expanded freight would be the game changer. Connecting the biggest areas of the state together for quick transport (probably not cheap, however) would be a boon for many industries like manufacturing, education, and financial.

~Cheers

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by JayCT

You really can't expect what has happened in Jersey City and along the Hudson waterfront to happen in Connecticut. That area was so underutilized and is so close to New York, it was bound to be discovered for future expansion. The Danbury line has potential for increased riderhsip but any significant growth outside of Norwalk and Danbury will be stopped by the local NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard). I doubt any town along the Waterbury line would accept significant change either. Jay

First off, thanks for explaining TOD (you too Nexis).

I agree with you on the Danbury line (I imagine Georgetown would be "super NIMBY" for example), but not on the Waterbury line. I know from going up and down rt. 8 a few times in the past that Beacon Falls viewed from that highway looked just like an old "upstate NY blue collar town" that would love the economic infusion and even when my wife worked in Norwalk (1999-2006) she had a lot of coworkers who either lived in that corridor already or were planning to move there for cheaper housing (some living as far up the line as Naugatuck or Waterbury itself). It is a growing commuter area and the only thing I think that could stop it is if either the economy itself or rising gas prices a la mid-2008 became permanent enough to make people shy from the long commutes one does from there as a tradeoff to the lower housing prices.

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Hopefully when they extend service up to Pittsfield , and restore service to the Beacon and Shelton lines that will spark alot of TOD in Danbury and that part of CT.

Extend to Pittsfield? As in western Mass.? Has this ever been beyond a distant proposal stage? I can't imagine it, especially on a "branch line" it would be like extending the Hudson Line to Albany (although one could argue there that Amtrak already goes there along the same line).

[CTbrooktrout]

Really hope the Danbury line will survive. I live very close to the Merrit 7 station which I was hoping to start riding especially when it snows. Was even starting to look at possibly buying property further up the line in Bethel and ride the train into Stamford. Very willing to be a paying rider, please keep it open.

[Tin Knocker]

I think if the trains cost the taxpayers money they should be cut back or have the rates increased until they are in the black.
If we ALL used the train the state would go belly up in a month from revenue loss. People seem to forget just how much our economy depends on taxes from personal motor vehicle use, from property tax to fuel tax, income tax from people servicing vehicles, sales tax on vehicles as well as on everything we buy for them, licenseing fees from dealerships & repair facilities. We are talking billions compared to what? I cant think of a single economic benefit for EVERYBODY that comes from train service. Its great if you use it, but if you dont its just another thing sucking up our tax dollars.

What needs to be done is to simply add up the costs of operating our train system, divide that by the average number of riders + a profit margin & set the fare that way. Its long past time we stopped useing tax money for tiny segments of the population. If it costs too much to commute to NYC or wherever then people will just have to live where they work, like they should anyway. Thats how communities are built, not like today where people dont even know the folks 3 doors down.

[DarkWolf]

Well your state just pour at least 60 million into all the Branches in Upgrades , so cutting the 3 branches which would only save 5 million makes no sense. But this unlikely to happen because ur next governor is a Transit pusher and it seems like the towns along the line are pushing back. Developments which bring renevue to towns and cities are a pretty good trade off , even ur wacky governor admitted how important the New Haven line is to your state. Public Transit is not supposed to operate in the Black , however if all the branches increased Ridership then you won't have to subsidize them as much , i would cap at 10,000. If the New Haven line was rebuilt for scratch today it would operate on profit. Your Roads don't operate in the black or anywhere near that , i don't hear any cutting of that dept....although CT has a Transit over roads policy.