As
we review the details of Governor Lamont’s CT2030 transportation plan, I have a
strange sense of déjà vu. Haven’t we
been through all this before?
Journey
back with me to 1999 when the famous Gallis Report
warned that southwestern Connecticut’s transportation woes were strangling the
entire state. If something wasn’t done, they
warned, we would become “an economic cul de sac” in the burgeoning northeast.
The
solution? Yet another study, this one
undertaken by Wilbur Smith Associates for SWRPA, the SouthWest Regional
Planning Agency (now part of WestCOG).
The report specifically looked at “congestion mitigation”, i.e. doing something
about our traffic problems.
The
$903,000 report was submitted in February 2003 and was titled “Vision 2020”. You see the pattern… Vision 2020 morphs into
CT2030?
Rereading
the report I am struck with its many good ideas, a few of which actually came
to pass:
Land
Use Review: The idea of T.O.D. (transit oriented development) has been
embraced throughout the state with towns and cities planning for dense
(hopefully car-free) developments near transit hubs.
More
Rail Station Parking: Also
some progress, though many towns still have a 6+ year wait for annual
permits. And 20 years ago who’d have
even imagined apps like Boxcar
or Uber?
More
Bike & Pedestrian Options: We now
have more sidewalks and bike paths as well as bike racks on buses and
Metro-North.
But
other “low hanging fruit” ideas still haven’t happened, like…
· FlexTime, Staggered Work Hours and Vanpools to lighten
the rush hour. Next time you’re stuck in
traffic look around: it’s almost all
SOV’s (single occupancy vehicles).
· A “Smart Card” universally accepted for payment on all
public transit. And free transfers from
buses to trains.
· A “Weigh In Motion” system to monitor trucks without long
queues at seldom-open weigh stations.
But
never addressed were the big (expensive) ideas like:
· Ramp metering, like they have in California, to stop cars
from piling onto I-95 at will adding to the crush.
· Closing some interchanges to make I-95 a truly interstate
highway, not a local shortcut.
· Adding a “zipper lane” to I-95 heading west in the AM and
east in the PM… with tolls!
· Running BRT (bus rapid transit) along the Route One
corridor
· Double tracking the Danbury branch of Metro-North.
· Start a “feeder
barge” system to bring shipping containers
from NJ to New England by water, not truck.
· Resume rail freight service by adding a rail bridge
across the Hudson River.
· Widen I-84 and Route 7 to four lanes.
Haven’t
we heard all this before? How many of
these ideas are posed again Lamont’s CT2030?
A Lot of them.
We
are not lacking in ideas, just political will.
For decades the legislature has been unwilling to commit resources to
our transportation infrastructure and economic future, instead wasting millions
on more and more studies of the same problems.
All
of these big ideas take money… big money.
But the “No Tolls CT” folks have tapped into residents’ cynicism that
anything in terms of new revenue will be misspent. And they’ve so intimidated lawmakers with
threats of “Vote for Tolls, Lose at the polls” that even the bravest members
can’t muster the courage to do the right thing.
Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media
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