[RogerAnthony]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Sorry but during the planning of the Q Bridge there was little interest from the Hartford area. I doubt there was much in Stamford either. As for the M-8 trains, same thing really.

I'll second this. I have heard of the M8 trains, but not nearly to the extent of the busway. I do not know what the Q bridge is.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

I'll second this. I have heard of the M8 trains, but not nearly to the extent of the busway. I do not know what the Q bridge is.

The Q bridge (now called the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge ) project inevitable. It's an old crumbling bridge that carries 150,000 vehicles a day (75% greater than what it was made for), and had to be replaced. It was a safety issue.

Far different circumstances than the Busway.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Good grief people, read the newspapers and not just your local ones. Facts are facts and the claims of this being some sort of secret are just plain lies. That said I will stop saying anything more about it on this thread. Jay

Again, we should not have to blindly seek information about something we have no knowledge about.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

The Q bridge (now called the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge ) project inevitable. It's an old crumbling bridge that carries 150,000 vehicles a day (75% greater than what it was made for), and had to be replaced. It was a safety issue.

Far different circumstances than the Busway.

Thought it was always called that and Q Bridge was just a nickname?

Anyway that project, the Moses Wheeler bridge, the redoing of the 95/7 interchange in Norwalk, the M8 trains, the proposed New Haven > Hartford > Springfield commuter line. All very necessary for our future. Busway? Ha.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Thought it was always called that and Q Bridge was just a nickname?

I thought it was the Q River Bridge until 1995 - could be wrong. I've just always known it as the Q Bridge.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Sorry but during the planning of the Q Bridge there was little interest from the Hartford area. I doubt there was much in Stamford either. As for the M-8 trains, same thing really.

Also I would not say my interest in the project is rabid and I have no vested interest other than correcting a LOT of misconceptions about the planning for the project. For years people kept saying the Hartford area needed to plan more for mass transit. They tried proposing a streetcar down Farmington Avenue but met with very stiff opposition. They came up with a mass transit plan that finally got enough support to go forward. It was well publicized as required and after years of waiting for funding it finally begins construction and there is a sudden swell of opposition from people saying that they did not know about it. Good grief people, read the newspapers and not just your local ones. Facts are facts and the claims of this being some sort of secret are just plain lies. That said I will stop saying anything more about it on this thread. Jay

Sorry but you are completely incorrect. The Q Bridge and new Metro North cars are projects that have received great interest throughout the state. You yourself are constantly praising the proximity of Hartford and most of CT to the NYC (and Boston) metro area. Whether you drive or train it in to NYC, these projects greatly improved travel to NYC. You may be correct that Hartford area travelers would not travel over the Q-Bridge, but the project also improved the 91/95 interchange which was previously traffic plagued. If the preferred travel mode is trains, folks from throughout the state benefit from the M-8 trains. Both of these projects were heavily saturated in the press in all newspapers and news stations.For example, using the courant post 2002-search tool yielded more results for the Q-Bridge (and all related words) and new Metro North cars than for the Busway.

Lastly let's look at the numbers for the three projects. 11,000-16,000 (very ambitious targets) daily riders on the Busway. 140,000 cars (and well over 200,000 passengers) cross the Q-Bridge. The New Haven Line averages 105,000 riders per day. To avoid controversy, I won't bring in the economic contribution of the Q-Bridge and M-8 passengers.

[Stylo]

The New Haven line and M8 cars benefit many commuters and serve 3 out of our 4 biggest cities. It's also the area where traffic is the worst. Improvements of that line should be #1 priority moving forward. You want to talk gentrification? Have a non-stop commuter train from New Haven that gets to GCT in less than an hour (it's totally possible). THAT will cause gentrification in New Haven like nothing else.

I also think the Springfield/Hartford/New Haven link is very important. I just can't see how the busway is even close to as important.

[nep321]

Ever since I returned to CT this week from Charlotte, I have to say, it feels like I went back in time about 50 years. Not kidding. Old construction everywhere you look, rusted bridges, guardrails, crumbling office and government buildings and more. However, I am impressed with CT highways now. They have mostly been resurfaced and are excellent now, with no potholes or cracks. They look new and clean. But, I have to ponder....will CT in general EVER see an economic/developmental boom in the future? Or is it completely over? Will we EVER get to see more new construction of office buildings, highways and housing? I'm not advocating sprawl or whatever, but just renewed structures and infrastructure in general. Because, after coming from the New South, I gotta admit, it does leave something to be desired.

I do believe that if high speed rail was built across CT, it would help things a bit. Gentrification and "newness" also tends to attract and keep young talent, which is vital to the long term economic condition of a state.

I mean jeez. Whenever are they going to complete Route 11? Or I-384? Or any other unfinished highway for that matter? I guess the days of economic growth are over for CT.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by nep321

Ever since I returned to CT this week from Charlotte, I have to say, it feels like I went back in time about 50 years. Not kidding. Old construction everywhere you look, rusted bridges, guardrails, crumbling office and government buildings and more. However, I am impressed with CT highways now. They have mostly been resurfaced and are excellent now, with no potholes or cracks. They look new and clean. But, I have to ponder....will CT in general EVER see an economic/developmental boom in the future? Or is it completely over? Will we EVER get to see more new construction of office buildings, highways and housing? I'm not advocating sprawl or whatever, but just renewed structures and infrastructure in general. Because, after coming from the New South, I gotta admit, it does leave something to be desired.

I do believe that if high speed rail was built across CT, it would help things a bit. Gentrification and "newness" also tends to attract and keep young talent, which is vital to the long term economic condition of a state.

I mean jeez. Whenever are they going to complete Route 11? Or I-384? Or any other unfinished highway for that matter? I guess the days of economic growth are over for CT.

Most Growth these days is along current and future Railways , not Highways so to build the even bigger Boondoggle of a highway 11 which would service about the same as the busway makes little to no sense. 384 is similar in that department , all you need to do is restore more Rail lines. Create a State wide Network connecting the Large cities with the small towns and tourist areas. All Building 11 and 384 Extensions does is create even more sprawl which raises taxes and erases valuable farming land along with with putting a strain on local roads... Stamford is the only booming city with alot of Developments , New Haven , Hartford and all the other Knowledge Corridor cities are waiting for the Knowledge Corridor to open up. Bridgeport , New London , Waterbury , Danbury and Norwalk seem to be waiting on various Rail Projects some of which should have been completed by now.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Stylo

The New Haven line and M8 cars benefit many commuters and serve 3 out of our 4 biggest cities. It's also the area where traffic is the worst. Improvements of that line should be #1 priority moving forward. You want to talk gentrification? Have a non-stop commuter train from New Haven that gets to GCT in less than an hour (it's totally possible). THAT will cause gentrification in New Haven like nothing else.

I also think the Springfield/Hartford/New Haven link is very important. I just can't see how the busway is even close to as important.

Impossible , between the various curves and CT's refusal to remove said curves that travel time will never happen. Its one of the reasons Amtrak went inland with their proposal they were tired of dealing with the state and MNRR.

What would make New Haven Attractive is a Streetcar network fanning out from the Core to all the Neighborhoods..... Streetcars are hip and attract a ton of redevelopment , along with having decent Ridership. Toronto , Philly , Portland all have Streetcar systems that are expanding....along with Ridership which is exploding , its up to 285,000 in Toronto and 106,000 in Philly , Portland's system is new so only 10,000 per day ride it...but New Haven could be similar to Portland except with Higher Ridership.