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(Clockwise from left): New Haven after a boulevard conversion of Route 34, new ConnDOT Commissioner Joe Marie, Hartford-New Britain Busway, a station on the New Haven-Springfield Commuter Rail line. Last year, MTR wrote that Connecticut was “poised for success” after the state began to embrace progressive transportation policy reform in 2007. Though a broad overhaul [...] New ConnDOT Commissioner Joseph Marie has taken over an agency that has been marred by corruption and is in dire need of policy reforms that shift its culture away from prioritizing the expansion of roadways and towards maintaining Connecticut’s existing road and bridge infrastructure, promoting mass transit, and investing in smart growth. Those aren’t the [...] On March 28, the Connecticut State Bond Commission released $75 million dedicated to a new “Fix-it-First” program. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign welcomed the Bond Commission’s release of these monies, but noted that ‘Fix-it-First’ should be the underlying strategy behind all of ConnDOT’s transportation policy and investment decisions, not a separately funded program. In a statement, Tri-State [...] Though ConnDOT and the MTA have been sluggish to catch on to the potential of transit-oriented development (TOD), both agencies recently made clear their intent to embrace TOD principles. At yesterday’s State of the MTA speech, MTA CEO Elliot Sander said his agency must “be a catalyst for environmentally sound land-use, smart growth and transit-oriented development.” [...] Connecticut’s legislative session opened earlier this month with much fanfare surrounding Governor Rell’s proposed split of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) into a Department of Highways and a Department of Public Transportation, Ports, and Aviation. This emphasis on bureaucratic reorganization is unfortunate and misplaced. Attention should focus instead on policy ideas that actually [...] Governor Rell presented her 2008 State of the State address to the General Assembly on Wednesday, focusing on issues ranging from crime reform to economic development. Her biggest transportation proposal was to split ConnDOT into a Department of Highways and a separate Department of Public Transporation, Aviation and Ports. The Governor also proposed a speed camera [...] The Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee received a briefing by ConnDOT Interim Commissioner Emil Frankel last week on the draft report of the Governor’s Commission for Reform of the Department of Transportation. The report focused on how ConnDOT could become more transparent and accountable, but also recommended that the agency pursue “fix-it-first” policy, smart growth, [...] The Governor’s Commission on the Reform of the Department of Transportation issued its final draft recommendation report earlier this month in Hartford. The Commission, created by Governor Rell in response to contracting irregularities along I-84, was tasked with providing steps to developing, according to the Governor, “a more responsible DOT, and a DOT [...] Connecticut began 2007 having made some recovery from the backwards policies of former Gov. John Rowland. Earlier in her term, which began in 2004, Gov. Jodi Rell worked with the legislature to pass more than $3 billion of investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure. She also took steps on smart growth, creating an Office of [...] The Governor’s Commission on the Reform of the Department of Transportation announced that its much-anticipated recommendations, due to be submitted to Governor Rell today, will be delayed until the first part of January. A short statement on ConnDOT’s webpage, as well as subsequent news reports, indicate that the Commission postponed its meeting this past Friday, [...] |
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Copyright © 2010 Tri-State Transportation Campaign |
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