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 that will continue to broaden its focus beyond highways.”

Tri-State Transportation Campaign has been very active in pushing for broad reforms within ConnDOT. This past fall, the Campaign held a press conference detailing a four point agenda that included a prioritizing a ‘Fix-it-First’ policy by shifting ConnDOT’s spending priorities from expansion and widening projects to maintaining existing roads and bridges, developing innovative methods to raise operational funding and incorporating smart growth principles into transportation planning.

Primarily, the report focuses on “transparency” and “accountability.” However, many of the Campaign’s ideas were included in the draft. Some highlights include:

Support for congestion pricing. The Commission recommended that ConnDOT examine new and innovative means of raising state and federal monies, recognizing that ConnDOT is overly dependent upon scarce federal transportation dollars, often in the form of unsustainable earmarks. The draft report not only supported the Transportation Strategy Board in its call for a congestion pricing study, but repeatedly brought up the possibility of tolling Connecticut’s roads and highways. Adopting this strategy would be progressive transportation policy and ensure a sustainable source of transportation system funding for the 21st century.

An unexpected recommendation concerning possible future funding was the proposal to create an Independent Transportation Authority and the partial privatization of transportation assets. This came as a surprise to the Campaign, especially considering the current row over asset monetization, a similar strategy, underway in New Jersey.

Emphasis upon smart growth development, reducing vehicle miles traveled, and non-motorized transit. One recommendation Governor Rell should heed is the Commission’s call to “create a higher-level function for non-motorized transport and smart growth” with the purpose of being responsible for all non-motorized transport initiatives and goals, including specific goals relative to pedestrian, bicycle and smart growth. The Commission rightfully acknowledges that “ConnDOT’s culture is dominated by individuals who solve transportation and mobility issues by building or expanding highway capacity.” The solution, in the Commission’s eyes, is to call for implementing smart growth principles and promoting vehicle trip reduction.

Prioritizing a ‘Fix-it-First’ policy over highway expansion. Tri-State lauds the Commission for understanding the importance of investing in existing infrastructure. Connecticut’s roads and bridges are among the worst in the nation, and are in need of upgrading. However, the Commission insinuates that a “Fix-it-First” strategy should be a separate program. The concern among committee members was that resources are too finite to implement such a strategy. However, a “Fix-it-First” philosophy is a broad policy that recognizes that, given finite resources, infrastructure maintenance must be prioritized over highway expansion.

In a press release responding to the release of the Reform Commission’s report, Gov. Rell said that ConnDOT needs “a strategy that recognizes the vital importance of mass transit, smart growth, transit-oriented development and the critical role of all forms of transportation.” Moving forward, she should push for legislation that measures ConnDOT’s progress in incorporating smart growth principles into transportation projects. A mandated metric that would promote reducing vehicle miles traveled would be a good start.

This report only reinforced the idea that ConnDOT is broken and that drastic measures need to be taken to ensure that Connecticut’s transportation systems become financially and environmentally sustainable, equitable and balanced. The Commission, upon issuing its final report (it is expected to do so by early next month), has a unique opportunity to provide a broad blueprint for Governor Rell to reform ConnDOT from the bottom-up.

I-84 An Opportunity to Put Theory Into Practice

Gov. Rell has indicated in public statements that she will expand upon the ConnDOT Reform Commission’s recommendations in her State of the State address on Feb. 6. However, her recent support of moving forward with the Environmental Impact Study to widen 32 miles of I-84 between Waterbury and the CT-NY state line to three lanes in each direction (MTR #s 528, 534) belies these statements.

The Governor stressed that the widening “must be done in a way that minimizes any impact on the environment” when she announced the release of $3 million for the EIS. A better way to protect the environment would be to scrap the I-84 widening and undertake a new study analyzing the impact of converting the underused HOV lanes on I-84 east of Hartford to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. This would be an innovative way of raising transportation dollars while at the same time reducing traffic congestion throughout the I-84 corridor.

Gov. Rell’s language recalls the Route 11 extension project, whose final environmental impact statement was released by ConnDOT last year. Rell has touted Route 11’s supposedly environmentally friendly design (see MTR # 562) but has missed the larger truth that highway expansion is incompatible with her smart growth and sustainability efforts.