Last week, Governor Rell canceled nearly $390 million in unallocated bonding funds as a way to pare down Connecticut’s anticipated $500 million deficit for this fiscal year. These cancellations only impacted projects that had been authorized by the State Bond Commission but had not been funded for five years or longer. Of the cuts, $61 million — almost 16% — represented cuts to bike and pedestrian projects including a bikeway grant program, sidewalk construction, streetscaping and downtown revitalization efforts.
To make up for these cuts, Connecticut’s elected officials could build upon last year’s complete streets law and create a competitive grant program for pedestrian, cycling and active community initiatives. New legislation to create such a program, administered by ConnDOT and the state’s metropolitan planning organizations, has just been introduced in the General Assembly.
Notable Cancellations
Some notable projects whose bond funding was canceled include:
- The Meriden Flood Control and Hub project to mitigate serious floods and create a downtown for Meriden (pictured at right, $9 million).
- A bikeway grant program that municipalities could apply to and receive money for cycling projects ($6 million),
- A grant to Bridgeport for design and construction of a replacement for the closed Congress Street Bridge ($5 million),
- Streetscaping of Barnum Avenue in Stratford ($500,000).
[...] a way to curb Connecticut’s deficit and maintain its bond rating. Unfortunately, the plan impacted a variety of projects that would have promoted more bikeable, walkable and smart growth oriented initiatives. This week, [...]