|
|||||
|
Photo: Brittany Lyte, Connecticut Post Last week, several Connecticut Post reporters found that getting to work without a car isn’t as easy as the New Haven line’s record-breaking 2011 ridership would suggest. In a series entitled “Getting There,” the paper’s staff spent a day without a car, travelling instead by train, bus, bike, [...]  ConnDOT Commissioner Jim Redeker In 2007, after a troubled widening of I-84, a reform commission reported that the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) “badly needs fundamental change.” TSTC analyses indicate that ConnDOT has been slowly improving since then, and we sat down with Commissioner Jim Redeker, who has headed the agency since last March, to talk about his work. He will be speaking at tomorrow’s transportation financing forum in Hartford. TSTC: How did your work at NJ Transit prepare you for the commissioner job? Commissioner Jim Redeker: I think that Connecticut is much like New Jersey was 30 years ago: there’s not a lot of transportation-oriented development happening, there’s still opportunity for new investment in transit and opportunity to improve branch lines. And I really came to try to make a difference there. Photo: Mira Hartford Last week, the Connecticut Department of Transportation provided a friendly holiday reminder to transit riders that the first of three scheduled 4% fare increases will take effect on January 1, 2012. The fare increase really is a gift that keeps on giving—it will be the first of three consecutive 4% [...] Governor Malloy and FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff at the signing agreement on Monday. (Photo: Scott Vargas/FoxCT) Apparently 13 is a lucky number for Central Connecticut transit riders and businesses. That’s because after 13 years, Connecticut and the Federal Transit Administration have finally signed off on a Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Hartford-New Britain [...] The Putnam Memorial Bridge connects Glastonbury and Wethersfield in central Connecticut. For years, livable community activists, including current and former elected officials, have advocated vigorously for pedestrian and cycling access to the Putnam Memorial Bridge, oftentimes in the face of consistent ConnDOT refusal. Earlier this month, however, the Department announced that the debate [...] ConnDOT's Eugene Colonese loads a bicycle onto a prototype rack being tested on a Metro-North train at Union Station in New Haven on Thursday. Metro-North Railroad officials are testing bike racks on the railroad’s newest rail cars, the M-8s, which are being rolled out on the New Haven Line. The agency had prototype [...] Redeker. This morning, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy announced that he would appoint ConnDOT Acting Commissioner Jim Redeker to lead the agency. In a statement, Tri-State Transportation Campaign Executive Director Kate Slevin said: Congratulations to Jim Redeker on his appointment as ConnDOT Commissioner. Since becoming Acting Commissioner earlier this year, he has shown effective leadership [...] Despite a cost-saving agreement between CT workers and the state, transit service cuts and fare increases of 10-16% are still on the table. Last week, Connecticut’s state unions overwhelmingly ratified a cost-saving deal that will avert thousands of employee layoffs and Governor Malloy’s “Plan B” budget, which would have enacted severe budget cuts, [...] Connecticut residents continue to grapple with the ramifications of the state’s “Plan B” budget, released after a $1.6 billion cost-saving agreement between the state and its employee unions fell apart earlier this year. Among these are fare hikes and service cuts to transit agencies across the state. Late last Friday, the details of the [...] The existing Merritt 7 Metro-North station has only a small shelter and a low platform. The prospect of a balanced budget in Connecticut is unclear now that an agreement with state employee unions appears at risk of collapse. But one positive highlight from the state’s budget was the shielding of more transportation revenue from [...] |
 
 |
||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Tri-State Transportation Campaign |
|||||
