Blessing or Boondoggle?
by Hugh McQuaid | Jul 13, 2012 4:40pm
(37) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Jobs, Transportation, New Britain
The New Britain-Hartford busway is happening. Construction crews are working on it across the state. But that hasn’t stopped a group of Republican lawmakers from calling reporters to raise objections at every turn, and the Malloy administration seems to be growing tired of it.
The latest objection comes from New Britain where the busway route passes through Fairview Cemetery over an old Amtrak right of way. Trees had grown up on the abandoned rail line and crews were brought in to remove them. The work brought construction equipment within a few feet of the grave sites.
It prompted Candice Hewins, a New Britain resident with family buried at Fairview, to pen a letter to Sen. Joe Markley, a constant opponent of the busway project. Hewins said the busway will disrupt the “eternal rest” of her grandparents and uncle. Markley’s staff invited reporters to tour the cemetery and listen to the concerns of Markley and other Republican lawmakers.
It wasn’t the first such event. In June, Republicans set up a press conference for the owner of an auto repair shop in Newington, who was unhappy with the state’s acquisition of part of the business’s property to complete the project.
In all likelihood it won’t be the last time Markley and Republican Reps. Rob Sampson and Whit Betts engage the media on the busway topic.
“People are going to realize as time goes on just how intrusive this project is going to be,” Markley said Friday.
But the governor’s administration and the Department of Transportation seem tired of defending a project that’s already been approved and set in motion.
Asked to comment on the project’s impact on the cemetery, one Transportation Department spokesman said he couldn’t help and abruptly hung up the phone. Another DOT spokesman was willing to defend the project, but Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor’s senior communications adviser, said the administration is “puzzled” by the media’s continued attention to Markley.
“Sen. Markley is an elected official and he has the right to do whatever he chooses to do. But this project is moving forward now,” Occhiogrosso said. “... It seems a little silly that at least once a week he has some sort of event and a story or two gets written and there’s really no news.”
The project was fully vetted and the subject of several public hearings where people had the opportunity to voice their concerns, he said. Now it’s going forward whether Markley likes it or not, Occhiogrosso said.
Even with it going forward, Markley, Betts and Sampson have persistently attacked it as a waste of money for a transportation option no one will use. Standing near grave site a few feet from where the rapid transit bus route will someday pass, Markley said the dead are now being disturbed by the project.
“It’s even interfering with the peace of the grave, the one thing one counts on,” he said.
Kevin Nursick, a Transportation Department spokesman, said the department and the contractors used to clear the trees went to great lengths to make sure the cemetery was respected and nothing was damaged. If sawdust from the tree clearing landed on headstones, someone was careful to dust it off at the end of the day, he said.
“We even had protocol established if a funeral was taking place we would stop work a half hour before it started and would not commence work until a half hour after it ended,” Nursick said.
“We understand that loved ones are buried there, including some family members of people who worked on the tree crew,” he said.
Proponents of the project cite the several thousand jobs it’s creating in the state’s badly ailing construction industry. Ed Reilly of the Hartford Building Trades Council said the administration isn’t the only group of people tired of hearing about the anti-busway events.
“We’ve had 40 percent unemployment in the construction industry for years. These constant assaults are aggravating us too,” he said. “I’ve got people with no income, people who couldn’t heat their homes in the winter. It’s that bad and people have got to understand that.”
The busway project is expected to create 3,000 jobs over several years, something Reilly calls “a blessing” for the construction industry. He said it will also help the poor and disadvantaged have access to transportation and even educational opportunities in New Britain. Reilly said he’s grown frustrated with busway opponents.
“After awhile, I have to say to myself, ‘Why don’t they care?’ Not everyone’s pocket is full of money,” he said.
Construction workers even showed up at one of the lawmakers’ anti-busway press conference in April to boo at them.
But the busway opponents argue it’s not a personal crusade on their part, they’re just working on behalf of upset constituents.
“On a daily basis we’re being asked to do whatever we can to stop this busway,” Betts said.
Tags: busway, joe markley, Roy Occhiogrosso, sampson, betts
(37) Comments
posted by: Lawrence | July 13, 2012 7:35pm
Next up: a tree which once shaded the hammock of an retired person is cut down; mock outrage to follow.
posted by: CTRailCommuters | July 13, 2012 8:40pm
The Busway makes sense. Work is underway and when it’s finished it will benefit riders and communities alike.
For more, see…
http://talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/2012/05/support-busway.html
JIM CAMERON
Chairman
CT Rail Commuter Council
posted by: Todd Peterson | July 13, 2012 10:05pm
This “project” stinks twelve ways from Sunday and public opinion of it reflects that reality. Everyone who drives more than about five miles a week in this state drives on roads and bridges that need work right now. Unfortunately the imperial hubris of King Dannel, Clown Prince Roy and their band of social criminals is shoving this busway down whatever orifice is most available.
Mr. Reilly, people do care about employment for tradesman. We also are smart enough to know that boondoggles like this one mean projects with real merit won’t get funded. We want your workers to work on the jobs that we actually need to get done, not garbage like Dannel’s folly.
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 14, 2012 12:06am
Busway is. Serious waste of tax payer’s dollars. How will the state Maintain it during the winter. Can u say shredded fences? Because snow can not be thrown threw fences and on to AMTRAK tracks. Just another waste of funds
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 14, 2012 6:36am
Snow removal - good point! There are also sections where we will have to use pay loaders to clear the snow one bucket full at a time because there is no place to put it! How long will that take and how much will it cost?
What happens when a bus breaks down? I saw a bus sitting at the side of the road the other day and all the tires were flat so it does happen! (It must have run over some broken glass or other debris accidentally dropped in the road by one of the thousands and thousands of people who were so tired they didn’t notice due to the busses rumbling past their house only 10 feet away while they were trying to sleep.)
There is no room for busses to pull over so others could pass on this thing and some of the turns are so tight there is no way a tow truck could make them with a bus attached!
Widening this will be called a ‘cost overrun’ due to ‘enhancement’ (rather the short sightedness!) and require more personal property to be taken away from residents and businesses! Just watch!
posted by: DrHunterSThompson | July 14, 2012 11:50am
I don’t even know what to say about this project. It becomes more mind numbing by the day. If it can be stopped it should. If it can’t let’s pray it’s successful. Because if it’s not it will become the worst move by a governor in a generation.
HST
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 14, 2012 1:01pm
Stan (I mean “Vote Yes”)-
First, learn to proofread. “Through” not “threw”. Second, you know our excellent maintenance forces are working on special and better procedures for snow clearing and reviewing new and better fence designs. So drop the old argument about snow removal. Come up with something new.
posted by: ... | July 14, 2012 3:54pm
If you don’t live in Hartford or New Britain you’re not gonna like it simply because your chances of using it are slim to nil. For the tens of thousands in the area that will use it, they like it. But most people working in the city are are too busy trying to squeeze dollars and save time to place input on public transportation within an online news comment feed. Then again, if you’re someone 10 years down the road traveling through a heavily reconstructed Aetna viaduct, you’ll appreciate the lower volumes of gridlock as regular commuters choose CTFastTrack (to skip out on the stress and financial costs of going 10mph stop & go to Hartford).
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 15, 2012 7:02am
I for one would rather leave earlier and drive 10mph into Hartford over 84 or up Farmington Ave and park in a garage with a proven past history of no issues rather than to leave my car in some unknown area in New Britain! Oh, by the way? Where are the parking lots and garages that I am supposed to use in New Britain? There doesn’t seem to be enough to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who some of you claim will be using this every day!
More land must be taken away from the current owners to build them!
posted by: Lawrence | July 15, 2012 8:54pm
“Rapid transit systems are not designed to be drive-in facilities. They tend to be facilities in areas where there are many customers who can walk to and from stations, take short rides on connecting buses to the stations, ride bikes, get dropped off at the station, etc. This is also the case with CTfastrak. While many users will be coming from and going to the stations in the communities along the guideway, many other users of the system will be coming onto CTfastrak on express buses from surrounding communities such as Bristol, Plainville, Cheshire, Southington and Waterbury where the express or limited stop buses can pick up riders at existing park and ride facilities in those communities. Plus, since a bus can go “off-track”, BRT can offer a one-seat ride from origin to destination. CTfastrak circulator buses travel from stations into the community picking up and dropping riders, and CTfastrak shuttles operate from stations to major destinations, such as St. Francis and Hartford Hospitals and to the campus of Central CT State University.”
“Upset.Citizen,” please visit this link; maybe you won’t be so upset once you gain a little knowledge:
http://www.ctfastrak.com/index.php/en/program-details/frequently-asked-questions#question10
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 15, 2012 9:04pm
@Upset.Citizen:
You can find the answer to your parking comment and other questions on the project website:
http://www.ctfastrak.com/index.php/en/program-details/frequently-asked-questions
posted by: Bosco | July 16, 2012 10:06am
Folks-2 issues here:
1. Is the busway a good idea? I grew up in New Britain - right near Fairview cemetery. My first job out of college was in downtown Hartford during the mid 1980’s. I would take the commuter bus everyday for 10 years. Loved it. But-the bus was never more than 1/4 full. Today - very few use the commuter bus-people want their cars so than can run errands when they leave work-go to the grocery store, pick up the kids at daycare, get take-out food for dinner, etc. People are not going to use the busway. It is being done for political reasons only to help the Democrats. Why can’t people realize this?
2. Fairview cemetery-know it well. Rode my bike through there for years when growing up. The railroad being used/modified for the busway-where was the opposition during the planning stages? Now this is being used by the Republicans for political purposes. There is no way to stop the busway now. Family members of those buried near the busway route should have spoken out sooner.
posted by: buswayboondoggle | July 16, 2012 2:09pm
The busway does NOT make sense, contrary to Mr. Cameron’s remarks. I wonder if his signature indicates this is the official position of the CT “Rail” Commuter Council. Rail, which is what the eponymous council is supposed to represent. Rail is a more viable option, has been studied, and can be implemented faster without the opposition present today because IT IS ALREADY PRESENT. There are towns of engineering issues, not to mention cost issues, issues with Pan Am RR and Amtrak, and the fact that the busway will restrict growth of New Haven Hartford Springfield Rail. Read her for more background: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=126&t=69097 and http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=58211. At the least, the money should be used to upgrade existing rail, including catenary an bridges on the NH main line, and improving branch service.
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 16, 2012 5:28pm
@BB:
So little is factual with your discussion. But first, to the issue that started this discussion: Would there be less opposition at the Fairview Cemetery if Amtrak-style locomotives ran by there a dozen or more times a day in the same narrow right of way the busway will be using? Or even light rail going by every ten minutes? And rail would have whistles sounding twice before each grade crossing (three crossings where the busway will be crossing streets on the east side of New Britain plus likely at a new grade crossing at East and Allen Streets where the busway will be separated but rail wouldn’t be)?
The busway does not inhibit high speed rail in New Haven-Hartford-Springfield corridor. There is still a two track right of way available and FRA has approved the capacity of that two-track section for any high-speed and freight rail plans Amtrak can come up with. (If you want real high-speed rail you have to go to a totally different right of way anyway as Amtrak has presented in the 2050 Vision.)
There are no remaining issues with Amtrak. There is a minor issue with Pan Am about the plan to rebuild a crossing for pedestrians in place of what is now a pedestrian AND vehicle crossing in downtown New Britain. Certainly nothing that stops the project as Pan Am admits.
Your links are fun (and old), but any discussion of costs should compare apples and apples. None of the costs ever cited for rail since the original corridor study have ever been fully engineered. Rail typically costs double. Check out this link for a bus rapid transit versus rail cost estimate in an existing rail corridor: http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/05/11/mta-chooses-busway-for-possible-staten-island-north-shore-transit-line/
And rail also won’t be cheaper because, contrary to your statement, the rail is NOT already present. The New Britain section would have to be totally rebuilt. And you think Amtrak is going to let your railroad onto their already limited track capacity to Hartford without someone paying for the expansion?
Finally, there’s already a billion dollars of improvements underway on the New Haven Line mainline, branch lines and yards, and another billion worth of new railcars in process. I don’t think rail is being shortchanged here. You can only do so much work at any one time.
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 16, 2012 5:56pm
<b>@Larry<b>
This is BS. Just like the public hearings, the public is not being heard! Everyone spoke out against this thing and it is still going through! It’s was like attending dysfunctional group therapy sessions! The dysfunction is on the part of those who are supposed to be listening!
Ever hear of the Boston Tea Party? This will go down in history as The New Britian Bus Party! THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!
Total disrespect of the public and what this country was founded on by the people in power!! Just look at this American flag in the dirt in the photo at the top of this article! IT MAKES ME SICK! If I was ever for this I sure as hell am not now!!!
<b>UC<b>
posted by: Lawrence | July 16, 2012 6:37pm
“At the least, the money should be used to upgrade existing rail, including catenary an bridges on the NH main line, and improving branch service.”
Good God, do you have ANY idea what you are talking about? Do you KNOW that the federal grant can and CANNOT be used for? Are you aware of the stringent application process?
Or are you just mindlessly repeating misleading GOP lies?
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 16, 2012 10:58pm
No Transfer Needed, ummmmm….... Before telling someone to proof read, you may want to do it yourself sunshine!
Anyway, yes fencing is old news because it is summer time. Replacing fence does not usually happen until spring. I really did not think that I had to spell that out for you. Fences will get damaged due to snow throw. With your logic, you are probably working on the busway….YIKES!!!!!!!!
The thrust of the busway was to get traffic off of I84. When I do the math, it just does not add up with the station parking….. But then again I am just a bunny rabbit! What is your excuse?? FYI. The public is smart and we are tired of wasteful spending of our tax dollars. In my case….carrots…...
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 16, 2012 11:05pm
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 15, 2012 9:04pm
@Upset.Citizen:
You can find the answer to your parking comment and other questions on the project website:
http://www.ctfastrak.com/index.php/en/program-details/frequently-asked-questions
Bunny went there, it did not help! I seen the video clip about the cemetery? That was horrific. I hope no bunnies were hurt during that work. The families of the people buried there should be outraged!
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 16, 2012 11:48pm
Thank you Vote Yes and Upset Citizen. The more you talk, the more you sound like angry old men. Why do you keep grasping at the same old long-disproved threads of argument? Those who are allowed to seek out the facts can make their own decisions.
posted by: perturbed | July 17, 2012 12:18am
What’s the average daily traffic on I-84 in Hartford, something like 150,000 vehicles per day?
How many of those trips are projected to be eliminated from the expressway by people riding the bus? A few thousand at the optimistic (ridiculous?) extreme?
It seems busway supporters aren’t dwelling on little details like this when defending the project. Yet projected ridership is of central importance, and the media should report these numbers.
A highly supportive August 2011 fact sheet (sales pitch?) from the Capitol Region Council of Governments reports that 5,000 car trips will be eliminated by the busway. So even if this overly-optimistic projection comes to be true—and all of those trips are assumed to be removed from I-84—the busway will reduce traffic on I-84 by a little more than 3%? Wow, all for what, something approaching $600M? What a deal! It also reports that roughly half of the $575M total cost will be taken from the annual transportation funding in Connecticut that would otherwise be available for transportation improvements where they are actually needed. Ouch!
—perturbed
posted by: buswayboondoggle | July 17, 2012 10:07am
First, to No Transfer Required, thank you for a well thought out reply, although I’d disagree with your assertion that it’s not factual. I believe many facts are provided in the links I provided, and I don’t believe they are dated. I think they’re on point, salient, and will be proven to be true. Argue the opinion or conclusion, not the facts.
I also note I had some typo’s in my original post. Apologies.
Fact: the busway will run along Amtrak ROW. They will want this ROW back as ridership grows on NHHS.
Fact: West Hartford will sue to stop this abomination.
Fact: The ROW into Hartford, while it is land-banked, is still present. It would not have to be completely rebuilt
Fact: the rail was there before. It is far less intrusive than a BRT right-of-way. BRT is a new use. Rail is an accepted use. There would be less opposition.
Fact: The busway has many, many engineering issues regarding ramps and access. Rail would have no such issues.
Fact: there is an existing rail connection known as the New Britain Secondary which connects in Berlin Township. While this is not an ideal routing to connect to Hartford, it would provide a connection in the short term. And it would not be intrusive to West Hartford. It does provide an option to New Haven, Hartford, etc. It would provde thru-service from Devon to Waterbury to NHHS, and an inland route.
Fact: BRT is easily converted to general highway use. Rail is not. Watch this be converted to HOT within 10 years of opening.
Fact: Yes, CDOT has accelerated rail investment elsewhere because they have diverted other infrastructure funds. Two bridges along the NH main line will NOT be rehabbed on schedule to accelerate catenary.
Fact: You can only do so much at one time? Ridiculous. Those bridges could be rehabbed right now. They could have been rehabbed at the same time catenary was being done(Mianus R).
I am not opposed as a general rule to BRT where it makes sense. For example, it makes sense for the TZB/287 corridor, because for the most part (Piermont Br excepted) it has no rail. Use what’s there.
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 17, 2012 12:32pm
Fact: the busway will run along Amtrak ROW. They will want this ROW back as ridership grows on NHHS.
REALLY? The state has a permanent easement. Amtrak and FRA agreed that two tracks in that five mile overlapping section could support over 66 trains a day plus freight traffic. If that hadn’t been proven, the easement never would have been approved by FRA.
Fact: West Hartford will sue to stop this abomination.
REALLY? Maybe WH will claim there’s no great benefit for them, but the impact now is minimal except for some impacts during construction. They get a new grade-separated Flatbush Avenue removing a very dangerous rail grade crossing and a gigantic traffic bottleneck which would have only gotten worse once more trains start running on the rail line.
Fact: The ROW into Hartford, while it is land-banked, is still present. It would not have to be completely rebuilt
REALLY? Is this the easement the state now has? This is a one- or at best two-track railroad here. Any increase in rail traffic would require everything including signals and bridges to be rebuilt.
Fact: the rail was there before. It is far less intrusive than a BRT right-of-way. BRT is a new use. Rail is an accepted use. There would be less opposition.
REALLY? Maybe there would be less opposition to rail. But to say a rail line with grade crossings, whistle blowing and diesel locomotives would be less intrusive than BRT to most people is a matter of opinion.
Fact: there is an existing rail connection known as the New Britain Secondary which connects in Berlin Township. While this is not an ideal routing to connect to Hartford, it would provide a connection in the short term. And it would not be intrusive to West Hartford. It does provide an option to New Haven, Hartford, etc. It would provde thru-service from Devon to Waterbury to NHHS, and an inland route.
REALLY? Yes, it’s true, and rail service could start tomorrow if anyone thought it was a worthwhile investment or a good demonstration project. Rail didn’t pan out in the study, and other than Pan Am Railway getting an upgraded freight system, it would still cost significantly more to upgrade the tracks and signals to put in any meaningful level of passenger service traveling at any speed that offered travel time savings for customers. Even so, there is a study getting started to look at the potential for a Waterbury to Bristol rail service.
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 17, 2012 10:16pm
No Transfer Needed: Hey if you want to call us names, well that really shows me your lack of intelligence. We have every right to be upset as tax payers. Didn’t this project start up as costing a ridiculously low dollar figure and now the cost is out of control and growing higher….. People have lost their jobs and homes and we are putting in a .....what was it…..“1000 dollars an inch” project…. We should be calling you names. Justify that!
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 17, 2012 10:23pm
No Transfer Needed | July 14, 2012 1:01pm
Stan (I mean “Vote Yes”)-
First, learn to proofread. “Through” not “threw”. Second, you know our excellent maintenance forces are working on special and better procedures for snow clearing and reviewing new and better fence designs. So drop the old argument about snow removal. Come up with something new.
Wait, are you seriously saying that fences have been designed and put into the project and you are now “reviewing new and better fences”??? REALLY??? How much is this change adding to the cost of this project. BTW what type of fences were designed in the first place?? cheap and crappy fences???????? incredible….ATTN: Public…we have yet another cost incease in aisle 5!!!!!!!
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 18, 2012 6:22am
@No Transfer Needed
What’s my name? I am Upset!! Before our overlord Malloy got in and created a nightmare from one end of the state to the other I was just known as Citizen!
‘grasping at the same old long-disproved threads of argument’
...nice… You want to talk facts and same old argument, get out your history books… go ahead, I’ll wait! This is how every dictator starts to fall. Disregard for the people and what they want and need!
Don’t dismiss me! Pick apart what I say and disprove me. There is an American flag in the dirt in the photo and a BS statement about clearing sawdust off grave markers, isn’t there? How about those public hearings? They were videoed… I bet they are still online! Everyone said they didn’t want this and they were ignored. - The people at the hearings were allowed to speak last, while everyone from the state was actually packing up their things!! Those people didn’t even get responses!!
You can spew made up facts all day but you have no real proof! It is all conjecture on your part! Nothing at all to back them! This is a PR nightmare and you know it!
We the people do not want this and we do not need this!
Tell you what, go find citizens who will use this daily and who are for it. Bring one of them for each opposed, then go get one more! At that point I will stop as I would be out voted! That’s called Democracy!
Malloy needs to remember, when it comes to elections the only thing that matters is PR and YOU and he are blowing this!
UC
P.S. Go look up US flag code!
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 19, 2012 7:58pm
@Larry & @No Transfer Needed,
Where’d you go? Did you run away?
Come on… aren’t you going to tell me I’m wrong?
What’s the matter? Got no made up ‘facts’ or ‘stats’ that can argue with history and overcome popular opinion?
2014 - vote for the other guy!
UC
The final line of defense!
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 19, 2012 10:24pm
OK UC. I went back and read all your posts on this. I had to go all the way to your first comment where I found three statements, but no facts. So for what it’s worth, and as if explaining anything to you would matter anyway, but so other readers can learn what you don’t want to,....
1. Snow removal - Challenge? Yes. It will be tougher than the open road but the logistics are doable. Whatever you can design, our maintainers can clear. And the cost is in the budget.
2. How do you pass a broken down bus? How do you pass a broken down car? It’s a two-lane road. You drive around it.
3. Can’t drive a tow truck on it? The turns were designed for the largest firetrucks operated by any of the four towns. I think a tow truck with a bus will make it.
Read the response to busway boondoggle or go to the website if you want facts. If you want to spout off, accuse, and pontificate about your political agenda, go ahead but don’t expect another response.
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 20, 2012 10:34am
1- there are a couple of landers on Mars… Go get’em big guy! The maintainers do a great job, but they can only keep up with a limited number of inches of snowfall per hour on open roads. That number would be less than an inch an hour on this thing! In CT we see that regularly!
2- ok, so you are suggesting a couple of bus drivers play chicken when one of them crosses over the double yellow line… lets say you are right and people use this…. It doesn’t sound too safe!
3- the shoulders are too narrow. A regular tow truck is too small to pull a bus…you need one of those industrial tow trucks… Added to bus length it’ll be bigger than your firetruck! (LOL, what if one of those breaks down? We’d have to cut it up and take it out in pieces!)
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 20, 2012 2:41pm
No Transfer Needed: Upset is correct, crossing a double line is illegal. Doing it in a bus with children is reckless. Upset is also correct, the stuff on the moon is still there and has. It Has not been cleaned up yet. Neither has Mars.
posted by: No Transfer Needed | July 20, 2012 8:37pm
I hope you guys had the day off and that you weren’t writing from your state computers during the workday. One could get into trouble for that.
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 20, 2012 9:14pm
By the way ..... No Transfer…. Can you validate my parking pass??????
posted by: Upset.Citizen | July 21, 2012 7:34am
@No Transfer Needed That’s your response?
I rarely lower myself to this but you deserve it - Im better than you, na nana boo boo, stick your head in doodoo…
Try again buddy… that was a total fail on your part! You’re implying a veiled threat of an audit of 50,000 state computers in the hopes of catching a couple of people who were posting to a news site, who might not even work for the state, who might have had a day off from work… because you hope they used a state work computer to do it with so you can punish them!
Typical of the logic behind your spending patterns so far! STOP WASTING MY TAXES!!
UC
P.S. What if I was a state employee who used a state computer on state time to enlighten the public? That would have been the best expenditure of our taxes dollars on this disaster so far!
posted by: Vote Yes!!!!! | July 21, 2012 8:41am
No Transfer….... Please come up with good reasons for the bus job instead of calling citizens names and making accusations about them. Looking through your posts, you seem to know me as Stan, who spells badly and now works for the state or atleast uses state equipment. Hahaha…... Hey if that works for you!!!!! I feel like I am speaking with a child. If you back the bus job, then fine. Give reason that an adult can understand. An adult who pays taxes. An adult who drives 84 into work in hartford. An adult who is stuck in 84 traffic EVERY MORNING during rush hour. An adult who was told the busway would reduce traffic on 84. An adult who was told that this was one of the main reasons for the busway. An adult who was told that I can get off 84 and take the bus. Now I have to bring my spouse with me because there is barely any parking at the bus stations. An adult who has seen the bus job cost shoot up through the roof! Not childish accusations because YOU know that the bus job is the biggest waste of money durning such an Economic Crisis….... Hey wait a second… Do you own a bus company and are promising the Gov that you will bring jobs if he pays you millions and builds you a bus lane so you can be one of the first five Companies to get a sweet loan from CT’s taxpayers?
posted by: buswayboondoggle | July 21, 2012 1:20pm
I’ll try to keep this in context; I apologize for quoting the entire post.
Fact: the busway will run along Amtrak ROW. They will want this ROW back as ridership grows on NHHS.
REALLY? The state has a permanent easement. Amtrak and FRA agreed that two tracks in that five mile overlapping section could support over 66 trains a day plus freight traffic. If that hadn’t been proven, the easement never would have been approved by FRA.
RESPONSE: Have they agreed what they’re paying for the easement? I don’t think that’s been determined, and Amtrak, being cash-strapped, will extract a pretty penny. I have read elsewhere that Amtrak’s growth strategies indicate that THEY will need minimum two tracks along the corridor, notwithstanding the NHHS service. You’ve got potential other lines using it as well as Bradley service. The Busway will have to be moved to accommodate this.
Fact: West Hartford will sue to stop this abomination.
REALLY? Maybe WH will claim there’s no great benefit for them, but the impact now is minimal except for some impacts during construction. They get a new grade-separated Flatbush Avenue removing a very dangerous rail grade crossing and a gigantic traffic bottleneck which would have only gotten worse once more trains start running on the rail line.
RESPONSE: Then why not grade-separate the rail? Duh.
Fact: The ROW into Hartford, while it is land-banked, is still present. It would not have to be completely rebuilt
REALLY? Is this the easement the state now has? This is a one- or at best two-track railroad here. Any increase in rail traffic would require everything including signals and bridges to be rebuilt.
RESPONSE: Amtrak does not own this; it is land-banked. The state owns it outright. And the busway is also going to require signals it’s entire length where it intersects traffic. Duh.
Fact: the rail was there before. It is far less intrusive than a BRT right-of-way. BRT is a new use. Rail is an accepted use. There would be less opposition.
REALLY? Maybe there would be less opposition to rail. But to say a rail line with grade crossings, whistle blowing and diesel locomotives would be less intrusive than BRT to most people is a matter of opinion.
RESPONSE: If the public would rather have rail for their tax dollars, give it to them. And rail has the benefit of extending to Waterbury. The Central Connecticut Business Council has stated that the busway does not take advantage of this area. Although the study is dated, it shows the benefits of rail far outweighs bus, while requiring far fewer frequencies and attracting far more riders.
Fact: there is an existing rail connection known as the New Britain Secondary which connects in Berlin Township. While this is not an ideal routing to connect to Hartford, it would provide a connection in the short term. And it would not be intrusive to West Hartford. It does provide an option to New Haven, Hartford, etc. It would provde thru-service from Devon to Waterbury to NHHS, and an inland route.
REALLY? Yes, it’s true, and rail service could start tomorrow if anyone thought it was a worthwhile investment or a good demonstration project. Rail didn’t pan out in the study, and other than Pan Am Railway getting an upgraded freight system, it would still cost significantly more to upgrade the tracks and signals to put in any meaningful level of passenger service traveling at any speed that offered travel time savings for customers. Even so, there is a study getting started to look at the potential for a Waterbury to Bristol rail service.
RESPONSE: I seriously doubt rail would cost more than this boondoggle, and would have the benefit of running to Waterbury. Bristol is not nearly far enough. Instead of getting the dual benefit of passenger and rail, you’re going to build this monstrosity that constricts the proper use of the ROW. As to your argument about cost of signals, track, etc. what is the difference? You still need signals, and a brand new roadway.
Frankly, you’re just a pawn, a Kool-Aid drinking idiot, of this Governor who I once respected. You must have skin in the game to be pushing this. It’s clear this is a political decision pushed by the Feds, and someone is getting rich off it. Is it you?
posted by: petersanchez | July 29, 2012 7:20pm
Can’t anybody see that this NONISSUE is being promoted by Sen Markley who is going into a tough relection fight AND FELON john rowland? You know how many cemeteries are near roads or highways around the U.S.? Thousands! No matter, I called the cemetery and spoke with an official there. THERE IS NO PROBLEM THERE. CALL THEM FOR YOURSELF. WHY not call markley and his media assistant jodi latina who are now being investigated for abusing taxpayer dollars. they are paid by the state of connecticut and affiliating themselves with FELON john rowland. the new investigation is now seeing how much time and money they have spent and abused on fighting a positive public project—that has hired connecticut workers.
posted by: perturbed | July 29, 2012 10:46pm
Is the elimination of 5000 car trips/day—roughly 3% of the daily traffic on I-84—really worth $575M (estimated before construction started)?
Could somebody please explain how such marginal congestion mitigation could possibly be worth so much money?
—perturbed
posted by: buswayboondoggle | July 30, 2012 9:15am
Mr. Sanchez, please note, my opposition has not much if anything to do with a route through a cemetery. The railroad went through there too. I think a railroad would be less intrusive, but don’t concern myself w. the cemetery. As for Rowland et al, he was the one who started this mess. Are you saying he now opposes? Interesting; wonder who’s paying him to do so.