Urge speedy efforts to make the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter
rail project “shovel ready” to begin construction this year and get service
running by 2011.
HARTFORD - As Connecticut DOT begins holding long delayed
hearings on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail line, a coalition
of transportation, environment, civic and business groups held a press
conference in Hartford
Tuesday to urge the Rell administration and legislature to take steps to fast
track the project.
In 2005, DOT released an
implementation plan that called for construction to have begun by July of 2008.
However, initial phases of the project, including environmental assessments
have not yet gotten underway. Representative Christopher Donovan joined the
Tri-State Transportation Campaign, ConnPIRG, Environment Connecticut, Regional
Plan Association, Connecticut Fund for the Environment and the Connecticut
Business & Industry Association in urging the Governor to work with ConnDOT
and the legislature to move quickly to make the project “shovel ready” in the
near future and ensure that commuter trains begin rolling on the line within
two years.
Rep. Christopher G. Donovan
said, “This project makes sense on so many levels. This is the type of proposal that the Federal
government should fund. But more over,
it is about protecting the environment by getting cars off the roads, it is
about improving our transportation infrastructure by creating commuter service
on an existing rail corridor. During my
tenure as Speaker I look forward to working with the Governor and the
Department of Transportation to get these trains moving as quickly as possible.
Providing this transportation alternative to the residents of Connecticut will be one of my main
priorities.”
On Saturday President-elect
Obama, describing his economic stimulus and infrastructure plan said, “We’ll
set a simple rule – use it or lose it.”
According to the groups,
fast-tracking the project to get initial service running within two years will
help revitalize Connecticut’s struggling economy by providing short and long
term jobs, help reduce the number of cars on Connecticut’s roads and promote
transit oriented development and mixed-income housing in towns along the rail
corridor. The groups called for immediate
action to get initial service operating as a first step towards full-scale
commuter rail between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield
“The New Haven to Springfield
Commuter Rail line is integral to the economic development, environmental
protection and quality of life of all Nutmeggers,” said Kate Slevin, executive
director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC), a non-profit advocacy
and policy organization working toward a transit-friendly and equitable
transportation system in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Connecticut’s unemployment rate climbed to 6.5% in October and
the state is projected to lose as many as 80,000 jobs during the current
recession. The proposed commuter rail line would provide a much needed economic
stimulus for the communities along its path from New Haven
to Springfield.
"The Rell administration
needs to get serious about getting the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter
rail project up and running to get Connecticut
back to work and rebuild our economy," said Ilicia Balaban, ConnPIRG
Advocate. "This project will create as many as 775 jobs, and produce up to
$150 million in economic growth to help Connecticut's
economic recovery."
“This
rail investment provides the single greatest opportunity in the state to create
short term jobs while enabling low-carbon transportation alternatives,
increasing existing home values and affordable housing opportunities in central
CT, and linking Hartford and the I-91 corridor
to the New York and Fairfield county economies,” said David
Kooris, Connecticut Coordinator of the Regional Plan Association.
Connecticut’s efforts to encourage
building of mixed-income housing is drawing strong support from many
municipalities along the rail line. 16
towns and cities along the line are considering using the HOMEConnecticut program
to create clusters of transit-oriented, mixed-use development where residents
can walk to train stations. This can
ensure strong ridership – and farebox revenue – that can reduce the need for
public subsidy to make the system financially viable.
“Getting this commuter rail
project up and running in the next two years will help put Connecticut back to
work, boost the economy, and help the environment,” said Environment
Connecticut Program Director Christopher Phelps. “Creating commuter rail links
between central Connecticut’s
communities will enable commuters to get out of their cars, reduce miles
travelled on our roads, and cut the state’s global warming pollution.”
“The current time frame for
the Environmental Assessment needs to be dramatically streamlined to guarantee that
the full service is underway in no more than two years,” said Curt Johnson,
senior attorney and program manager for Connecticut Fund for the Environment. “We need this project, and we need it now!”
The coalition urged DOT to
“fast track” efforts to complete the commuter rail line so that it can be
“shovel ready” to qualify for federal economic stimulus support, and begin
operating within two years. They also called on Governor Rell to make the
project a priority of her administration’s efforts to rebuild Connecticut’s economy and put the state back
to work.
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