The Connecticut Department of Transportation has closed a 28-year-old, 727-space parking garage adjacent to the Stamford Transportation Center, the busiest station on the New Haven Line after Grand Central Terminal. The shutdown, according to the Stamford Advocate, “is expected to affect more than 1,000 train commuters who use the 727-space garage, both on a regular and intermittent basis.”
Despite the closure of the garage, many commuters will still be able to drive to the station. They’ll just have to park in one of the nearby garages, such as the state-owned, 1,200-space garage right next door, a privately-owned 750-space garage across the street, or one of the many other parking facilities in the area.
For others, the loss of this garage might be enough of a reason to forgo driving to the station entirely. But Stamford’s streets in the vicinity of the Transportation Center aren’t exactly the most pedestrian- or bicycle-friendly.
Mike Norris of the Connecticut-based cycling blog DIY Biking offered “a short list of action items we can all do in the wake of the station suddenly vanishing”:
1. Instead of driving to the train station, #choosethebike.
2. Advocate for better bike parking and bike lockers in and around the station.
3. Advocate for sharrows and bike lanes around the station and throughout downtown Stamford.
4. If you’re a legislator, raise the car tax but grant breaks for one-car households.
5. Make it safer to walk and bike to the Stamford station – starting tomorrow.
6. When it comes to car parking, remind people to reduce the demand instead of increase the supply.
Steven Higashide of TransitCenter (and formerly of TSTC) also offered an idea:
https://twitter.com/shigashide/status/588014606490013696
The City of Stamford is soon expected to hire a Transportation Bureau Chief. Now that the City has officially adopted a Complete Streets policy, we hope the incumbent will put pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to the transportation center among their top priorities.
Rather than seeming to delight in the loss of essential parking and using it as an excuse to promote bike / ped, can’t TSTC get serious and realize that this parking facility is crucial to the city and the thousands of commuters who use it each day? Not all of us can walk or bike the many miles to this station.
Might it not be a better idea to ask why CDOT let this garage deteriorate (like the railroad it serves) and has not been able to sign a deal for almost two years to replace it?
Not delighting in the loss of the garage at all, Jim. This closure, and the fact that there’s less available — and certainly, for many, needed — parking is one more reason Stamford ought to improve transit/bike/walk connections between the station and the many commercial and residential buildings in and around downtown.
Your note doesn’t capture all of the pain caused to rail commuters (and Amtrak riders) from the closure of the garage. over 1,000 people will now need to walk much further or pay more for alternate parking, all due to a lack of maintenance by the State of CT on a facility they control. The adjacent (actually integrated) garage is being reserved for those few commuters with monthly passes to the facility.
Walking, riding a bike, or any other option you may prefer to those who drive, isn’t practical for covering the many miles between people’s homes and the train station. Especially on a rainy day like today, or Monday – the first work day after the state closed the facility on short notice.
Your derision of those who choose to drive is clear from the tone of your article and isn’t welcome. All choices of transportation should be welcome, based on each person’s needs and circumstances.