[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by GoHuskies

I see Providence in a similar light to New Haven. Both are college towns with train access to major metro areas. The mass transit access promotes downtown residential development. Hartford is too far to be greatly influenced by New York or Boston. I'll begrudgingly admit Hartford might be a college town.

Personally I've never been outside the "nice" parts of Providence aside from finding a big liquor store. (Warwick.. maybe E Providence?)

Agreed. Providence to New Haven is the better comparison, and at this point I think New Haven may be ahead. Hartford is most definitely not a college town, although the UConn Hartford campus may change that.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by just_because

I don't understand this comment. NY is important for CT and much of CT is part of the NY Metropolitan Area so transportation infrastructure problems most certainly do have something to do with CT. It's not about blame, it's about the infrastructure that is in place serving CT residents.

Read the post I was responding to. GeoffD was complaining about rail service from Connecticut but the problem is not in our state, it is in New York. What can Connecticut do about a problem that is in New York? He is complaining about a system that was designed and built 150 years ago. We know it needs improvement but that needs to be addressed by New York and Amtrak. Connecticut has little control over it. Jay

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Read the post I was responding to. GeoffD was complaining about rail service from Connecticut but the problem is not in our state, it is in New York. What can Connecticut do about a problem that is in New York? He is complaining about a system that was designed and built 150 years ago. We know it needs improvement but that needs to be addressed by New York and Amtrak. Connecticut has little control over it. Jay

Well CT is part of the issue. Mostly It's federal thou. At least for Amtrak. CT's biggest issue is fighting every change to rail that's proposed. The new improvements along the NH to Springfield line should cut time a bit but they still change power (locomotives) in NH. The big problem would be straightening the line in Fairfield county and that will be a CT issue.

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Providence is more similar to New Haven (college town), but also feels more like a real city than Hartford. Much more vibrant with things to do, dining, bars, pedestrian traffic, etc. It also has some nicely preserved Colonial neighborhoods.

See I think as far as skyline and buildings Hartford feels like a much bigger city then Providence or NH. But your right the culture and feel in the evening is not the same most of the year. I think NH is boosted by Yale.

Hartford may get help from Uconn, I always thought Trinity was a nice asset for Hartford but every time they try to interact with the neighboring areas it seems to go poorly which is a shame for Hartford.

I also think the suburbs surrounding the cities have an effect. In the case of Hartford, there are a lots of restaurants and things to do in surrounding towns like West Hartford Glastonbury etc, that I think make it harder to justify going into the city for things. I know for me the last time the wife I had a date night in Hartford was years ago. We either go to somewhere in Manchester South Windsor or Glastonbury.

[jxzz]

Originally Posted by East of the River

See I think as far as skyline and buildings Hartford feels like a much bigger city then Providence or NH. But your right the culture and feel in the evening is not the same most of the year. I think NH is boosted by Yale.

Hartford may get help from Uconn, I always thought Trinity was a nice asset for Hartford but every time they try to interact with the neighboring areas it seems to go poorly which is a shame for Hartford.

I also think the suburbs surrounding the cities have an effect. In the case of Hartford, there are a lots of restaurants and things to do in surrounding towns like West Hartford Glastonbury etc, that I think make it harder to justify going into the city for things. I know for me the last time the wife I had a date night in Hartford was years ago. We either go to somewhere in Manchester South Windsor or Glastonbury.

Impact of UCONN on Hartford still needs to be seen in the future. In the past, Hartford is not college town. It is town for CT government and insurance industry.

Providence is more similar to New Haven due to 2 ivy campus downtown.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Read the post I was responding to. GeoffD was complaining about rail service from Connecticut but the problem is not in our state, it is in New York. What can Connecticut do about a problem that is in New York? He is complaining about a system that was designed and built 150 years ago. We know it needs improvement but that needs to be addressed by New York and Amtrak. Connecticut has little control over it. Jay

Huh? That's total BS. Hartford to the state line in Greenwich takes 2 1/2 hours on Amtrak. It's disgraceful. Westchester County into Penn Station is higher average speed than anywhere in Connecticut.

[MMS02760]

Originally Posted by jxzz

Impact of UCONN on Hartford still needs to be seen in the future. In the past, Hartford is not college town. It is town for CT government and insurance industry.

Providence is more similar to New Haven due to 2 ivy campus downtown.

Providence has the advantage of being a very diversified city. It is home to colleges, state government, business, entertainment/arts, and tourism.

As for colleges, it is not just restricted to Brown. Downtown Providence is actually the home to the main campus of THREE colleges - Brown, RI School of Design (art and architecture), and Johnson & Wales University (culinary arts/hospitality/business). URI and Roger Williams University also both have extension facilities in their own buildings right downtown as well. The new downtown RI Nursing Education Center which opens in September will also house both the URI and RI College nursing programs. Furthermore, both Providence College and RI College are located in residential areas within Providence city limits.


Brown 6,320 undergrads
RISD 1,883 undergrads
JWU 8,000 undergrads
PC 3,850 undergrads
RIC 7,500 undergrads (mostly commuter state school with only 1,200 living on campus)

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Huh? That's total BS. Hartford to the state line in Greenwich takes 2 1/2 hours on Amtrak. It's disgraceful. Westchester County into Penn Station is higher average speed than anywhere in Connecticut.

Once again, you are on Amtrak which the state has little to no control over.

Hartford is 115 miles from Manhattan (longer by train routes) so overall you are averaging speeds of about 38 miles per hour. You likely had at least two stops (maybe 3) that take time so take 15 to 20 minutes from that trip for stops. That would give you an average speed of 42 to 44 miles per hour on your trip.

Also I doubt it took you only 1/2 hour from Greenwich to Manhattan (a distance of 30 miles) because that would mean the train was traveling at over 60 miles per hour in New York. While that may be possible on some portions of the tracks in Westchester, it is unlikely that is possible in the Bronx and Manhattan where the train speed limits are a lot lower. Jay

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Huh? That's total BS. Hartford to the state line in Greenwich takes 2 1/2 hours on Amtrak. It's disgraceful. Westchester County into Penn Station is higher average speed than anywhere in Connecticut.

Hartford to Fairfield County line 47.5 miles about 45-50 minute drive
Hartford to NY State Border 79.6 miles 1 hour 25-30 minutes
Hartford to The Bronx 93 miles 1:45 min
Hartford to Penn Station 108 miles 2:15 mins

Amtrak take 15-30 minutes more than driving without traffic

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Hartford to Fairfield County line 47.5 miles about 45-50 minute drive
Hartford to NY State Border 79.6 miles 1 hour 25-30 minutes
Hartford to The Bronx 93 miles 1:45 min
Hartford to Penn Station 108 miles 2:15 mins

Amtrak take 15-30 minutes more than driving without traffic

In New Jersey, Amtrak goes 125 mph. Connecticut is pathetic.