July 29, 2010

Busway has "no value" for Bristol, downtown chief says

The proposed busway between Hartford and New Britain would block the development of commuter rail in Bristol and create “absolutely no value” for the Mum City’s revitalization efforts downtown, according to the head of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp.
Frank Johnson, Bristol’s downtown chief, said he would like to see a transportation center that includes commuter rail as part of the plan to remake the former mall site.
Though state transportation officials insist that it’s too late to stop the busway, a number of Bristol officials are still pushing to kill the $573 million scheme to build a new 9-mile roadway for the exclusive use of buses.
“I don’t want to let this railway go,” said Mary Alford, a member of the city’s Transportation Commission. “I don’t want to throw in the towel.”
Construction on the busway is slated to begin as early as next year with the federal government picking up 80 percent of its cost.
I'll post a link to the rest of the story when it's available.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there ANY documentation as to which will help Bristiol, and which will cost Bristol the least?

Or is it another bottomless pit of government(taxpayer money) spending?

Anonymous said...

Is this a new title or assignment: Downtown Chief"?

Anonymous said...

Who cares what Mary thinks? What makes her an expert on transportation? Oh that's right! Artie made her an expert! lol. Artie, say hello to your next Mary-or! lol. And Mary, a lot of poor people ride the bus! Do you know there are poor people in Bristol Mary? Do you care?

Anonymous said...

9:34

Mary who???