There was plenty to be happy about in Connecticut last year, with progress on the CTfastrak bus rapid transit corridor, lots of new bike infrastructure and the election of livable streets champions in cities across The Nutmeg State.
But as there almost always is, there was room for improvement in 2013. Connecticut’s elected officials boosted transit fares, failed to vote on a key piece of safety legislation and continued to use limited highway dollars for capacity expansion instead of sorely-needed road and bridge maintenance.
The Good
Positive outlook for CTfastrak, now under construction — Construction is underway on Central Connecticut’s bus rapid transit system, and much of the negativity surrounding the project appears to have given way to excitement. And on top of that, the busway has proven to be a catalyst for transit oriented development.
Never-before seen in Connecticut bike infrastructure on the way — Under the leadership of Transportation, Traffic and Parking Director Jim Travers, the City of New Haven introduced the City’s first bike corral. New Haven will also be home to Connecticut’s first cycle track, which suggests a changing mindset at the Connecticut Department of Transportation. On top of that, (soon to be painted) green lanes will be installed in Hartford.
New mayors get it — A new crop of mayors was elected in cities across Connecticut, and they made it clear that transportation was on their agendas. Stamford Mayor David Martin promised to make safe streets a priority and set the tone by riding his bike around the city. New Haven Mayor Toni Harp called for New Haven Line improvements and came to embrace bike lanes, bike share and lower speed limits. And New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, after getting up to speed on CTfastrak, told reporters they could “count on [her] to be one of the system’s first riders.”
The Bad
Too-slow change on Complete Streets. Four years after the state passed a groundbreaking complete streets law, only a few internal reforms have gotten off the ground at ConnDOT. Alarmingly, there is no stated timeline for needed changes like a rewrite of the department’s Highway Design Manual. However, the culture is changing at ConnDOT, which had the power to block some of the innovative bike projects in New Haven and Hartford mentioned above and embraced them instead. But this must be translated into strong internal policies that can guide future employees.
Fare hikes for rail and bus riders — Legislators swept $110 million out of the (supposedly) dedicated Special Transportation Fund and enacted a 15 percent fare hike on CTTRANSIT bus riders as way to reduce state spending on bus service. In other words, Connecticut’s elected officials chose to balance the budget on the backs of those who could least afford it.
Vulnerable user bill fails to pass — The Connecticut Legislature passed a distracted driving bill in 2013, but a “vulnerable user” bill failed to pass. The bill, which would have created penalties for careless driving that injures or kills pedestrians, cyclists, highway workers and other “vulnerable users” of the road passed the Senate unanimously behind the efforts of safety champion State Senator Beth Bye, but it did not receive a vote in the House.
The Ugly
Metro-North meltdown — There were a few unfortunate events on the Metro-North New Haven Line in 2013: a derailment in Bridgeport, a power failure, and the death of a worker led to a crisis of confidence, and a renewed push for increased rail funding. And the derailment in the Bronx only brought further jitters for riders.
$500 million I-84 widening — Connecticut leaders approved $500 million in borrowing to widen just three miles of Interstate 84 in Waterbury. To put this in perspective, Connecticut receives just $486 million a year in federal funds for all road and bridge projects. There couldn’t be a worse time for such a misallocation of funds: the state’s road conditions are dismal and one in ten bridges are structurally deficient.
