[GlaiveGuy]

Does anyone here commute from Danbury/Bethel down to Norwalk or elsewhere in lower Fairfield country? How long does it usually take you? What route do you take?


My wife and I are considering buying a house in Danbury/Bethel after finding Ridgefield and Redding to be a bit out of our range and I would be commuting to Merritt 7 in Norwalk. I've heard horror stories about Route 7 being extremely slow, would love to hear anyone's experiences/workarounds/what have you.


Thanks!

[kidyankee764]

Given that you're going to Merritt 7, it won't be TOO bad. From southern Danbury (mall area), I'd say plan on about 35 minutes. Remember that Route 7 is a road with stop lights, businesses and homes so it will not be express. A lot of people do it, so expect some traffic.

[Mike 75]

Kid is right on. There are some choke points in Ridgefield and Wilton where Rt 7 goes down to one lane, but it moves pretty well since they widened it to 2 lanes in most of Wilton. If you end up in Bethel, there are some back road routes through Redding and Weston that are useful for the days when traffic gets bad on 7.

[Stylo]

I personally prefer the commute from Bethel, as you can skip a lot of 7. From Southern Bethel it's a 30-35 minute commute. From Danbury it'll vary depending on where in town you are, but up to 45 minutes.

[Sylko]

Hi - You could take the train from Danbury or Bethel. Easy. About 30-25 mins to Merritt 7 station.

It's never crowded on that stretch. There's parking at both Danbury and Bethel stations, you'd need to check for availability of spaces.

Danbury station parking costs $250 per calender year. There seem to be lots of empty spaces, but check with Danbury parking authority for availability.

I commute from Danbury to Stamford daily by train. A monthly ticket costs me about $84. You can check the ticket prices on the mta website but I'd guess you'd be paying about half that to get to Merritt 7.

As others have said Route 7 can be a bit of a pain, but if you're only going as far as Merritt then it's bearable - it gets to be unbearable to go from there onto I95. There are also back routes to try. So driving is definitely an option.

Good luck

S

[7 Wishes]

I don't know if this helps, but should give you an idea. For a couple of years, I was commuting to a job in Bridgeport from southern Westchester and it took me 40-45 minutes (I live just a block from the parkway and the job was a couple of blocks off of I-95).

I had a co-worker who lived in Ridgefield, and though he would be considerably closer distance-wise, he said traffic and lights on rt. 7 made it almost the same amount of time for him.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Given that you're going to Merritt 7, it won't be TOO bad. From southern Danbury (mall area), I'd say plan on about 35 minutes. Remember that Route 7 is a road with stop lights, businesses and homes so it will not be express. A lot of people do it, so expect some traffic.

Exactly..Merritt 7 makes it doable..figure on 45 min from Danbury Mall..calculate from there. You think 35 ...? i'd say 35 during off commute hours.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by jp03

Exactly..Merritt 7 makes it doable..figure on 45 min from Danbury Mall..calculate from there. You think 35 ...? i'd say 35 during off commute hours.

5 years ago I would have said 45-50, but they have since opened Wilton up a little bit. I haven't done it during rush hour in awhile but I think it's a lot better.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

5 years ago I would have said 45-50, but they have since opened Wilton up a little bit. I haven't done it during rush hour in awhile but I think it's a lot better.

it is better for sure. I take it from rt. 57 down and its better than it used to be. Still during rush hour it is a slow go. Not sure how the north part of 7 is faring these days ..that used to be slow too.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Route 7 is much improved, but still has choke points. Ridgefield and North Wilton in particular. Plan on 35-40 minutes from lower or Central Danbury to South Norwalk. Greenwich or Stamford changes the equation dramatically. Although there are back roads and even 684 if Greenwich is the destination. Do you know with a high degree of confidence the job location?