[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BHW2436

What’s wrong with it? When my car was in the shop I basically had to Uber or take the day off. That’s how I know it stinks.

The options required so many different transfers and would have taken 3x longer than a car, if it was even possible to actually be on time for work and then get home in a reasonable time.

You’re an amazing CT advocate, but transportation is not an area where you’ll convince most we are good.

All your reasons can be true (expensive, takes a long time, low demand) and what can also be true is it stinks. Can use it for a week to live your daily life and then get back to me with your thoughts on how quickly you want to get back in your car

That is not because Hartford’s system “stinks”. It’s because of where you live verses where you work. It could be the same or worse in any city you live, even New York City which has the most extensive mass transit system in the country.

Also note that there are thousands of Hartford area commuters that use the system every day without problem or complaints. It is No. 19 in the country for percent usage. That’s impressive and wouldn’t be that high if it did “stink”. Jay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...nsit_ridership

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Ok listen to me. There’s only four people in the world who love CT more than me- you, Stylo, CTArtist and Cambium. That’s it. I’m number 5.
With that said, I can recognize a fiasco when I see one. This old Gen Xer has been around the block. Forget Houston, we have a problem in CT.

I’m sorry but as a transportation professional I strongly disagree. It is not a fiasco by any stretch of the imagination. Projects that go way over schedule or cost a lot more than budgeted would be fiascos. Neither of these qualify.

I never said we didn’t have a transportation problem. I’ve repeatedly noted that funding is the primary problem. Rather than fix the problem with a long term sustainable solution like Governor Lamont wanted a few years ago, the Connecticut State Legislature has taken a lame bandaid approach and it shows.

You can’t do a major improvement program when you don’t know if you will have sufficient funds to build it. It’s too bad because the Feds have stepped up with a major infrastructure program. If the legislature was smart, they would have too so we could take full advantage of it. Jay

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I’m sorry but as a transportation professional I strongly disagree. It is not a fiasco by any stretch of the imagination. Projects that go way over schedule or cost a lot more than budgeted would be fiascos. Neither of these qualify.

I never said we didn’t have a transportation problem. I’ve repeatedly noted that funding is the primary problem. Rather than fix the problem with a long term sustainable solution like Governor Lamont wanted a few years ago, the Connecticut State Legislature has taken a lame bandaid approach and it shows.

You can’t do a major improvement program when you don’t know if you will have sufficient funds to build it. It’s too bad because the Feds have stepped up with a major infrastructure program. If the legislature was smart, they would have too so we could take full advantage of it. Jay

The Norwalk/NC resurface and bridge project would be wrapped in 4-6 weeks down south. I live there half the year now and witness it first hand. Miami is building a new expressway from MIA to downtown/Brickell (no exits in equivalent time). Give me a break.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I never said we didn’t have a transportation problem. I’ve repeatedly noted that funding is the primary problem. Rather than fix the problem with a long term sustainable solution like Governor Lamont wanted a few years ago, the Connecticut State Legislature has taken a lame bandaid approach and it shows.

Granted some of the Federal reimbursements would have disappeared with the tolling scheme, it was a terribly bad idea to let the naysayers veto the plan without a feasible alternative.

Even with tolling, if the roads are properly funded it'll save an insane amount on wear and tear with a healthy chunk of the tolls being collected by trucks and out-of-state drivers.

[Beeker2211]

Speaking of the Merritt:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzDreswVQAs

Did a pretty good job I would say.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by BHW2436

What’s wrong with it? When my car was in the shop I basically had to Uber or take the day off. That’s how I know it stinks.

The options required so many different transfers and would have taken 3x longer than a car, if it was even possible to actually be on time for work and then get home in a reasonable time.

You’re an amazing CT advocate, but transportation is not an area where you’ll convince most we are good.

All your reasons can be true (expensive, takes a long time, low demand) and what can also be true is it stinks. Can use it for a week to live your daily life and then get back to me with your thoughts on how quickly you want to get back in your car

Welcome to Ct public transit.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Beeker2211

Weirdly enough and almost paradoxically as a state we excel beyond almost any other (among the highest % of population near existing transit structures/routes) but on the regional level we have a lot of work to do. We should prioritize transit in CT as a valuable amenity, and in a perfect world allow the systems to have a much more diverse funding stream options to reduce the total cost of the system such as targeted investments in key properties for the systems which at last look is illegal for the systems in CT.

beyond a symbolic, empty gesture Lamont press conference?

We should be allocating some of the surplus to this invaluable investment. Actually, have a 21st century public transit system.

We might get past the 2,100 daily ridership count that wiki shows in 2023. It was just a tad over 4,200 in 2019. In a metro our size, that quantity is a rounding error.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_Rai...ntire%20length.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

The Norwalk/NC resurface and bridge project would be wrapped in 4-6 weeks down south. I live there half the year now and witness it first hand. Miami is building a new expressway from MIA to downtown/Brickell (no exits in equivalent time). Give me a break.

I’m sorry but that is wrong. I’ve been involved in similar projects and down south it would have taken at least a full year to 18 months. The advantage they have is there is no winter shutdown like you must have here. That allows contractors to work nonstop but it still takes the same time.

And as I noted that highway project you are touting in Miami has been under construction since 2019, has already had two delays and is not scheduled for completion until 2027, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting. That’s not anything to boast about.

I’ll again point out that the Q Bridge project in New Haven which is similar, was completed on time and under budget. That’s something to boast about. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Beeker2211

Granted some of the Federal reimbursements would have disappeared with the tolling scheme, it was a terribly bad idea to let the naysayers veto the plan without a feasible alternative.

Even with tolling, if the roads are properly funded it'll save an insane amount on wear and tear with a healthy chunk of the tolls being collected by trucks and out-of-state drivers.

That’s the thing about Lamont’s plan for tolls in Connecticut. It fell under a Federal Highway Administration Pilot Program so the loss of federal money would have been minimal, if not none at all. Every state is facing the same problem with funding as autos move away from gas as a fuel source. Connecticut would have been a model for the nation. Jay

[1000fc]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

The Norwalk/NC resurface and bridge project would be wrapped in 4-6 weeks down south. I live there half the year now and witness it first hand. Miami is building a new expressway from MIA to downtown/Brickell (no exits in equivalent time). Give me a break.

Florida also had a pedestrian bridge collapse... when was the last time a bridge collapsed in CT? Maybe FL isn't the example you want to use.