The $45 million allocated in President Obama’s new budget for the proposed busway between Hartford and New Britain won’t make much difference in whether the plan moves forward.
The key decision-maker remains Gov. Dannel Malloy, who said as recently as Monday that he hasn’t made up his mind.
With the state Department of Transportation preparing to put parts of the project out to bid next month and a full funding agreement between the state and federal highway officials due soon, the momentum for the busway project could carry the day unless the governor opts to hit the brakes.
Whether that will happen remains a giant question mark. Click here for the full story.
Source of funding
Federal New Starts Funds -- $275.3 million
Federal Urbanized Area Funds - $18.2 million
Federal Fixed Guideway Modernization Funds - $21.2 million
Federal Bus Discretionary Funds - $25.9 million
Federal Flexible Highway Funds - $112.7 million
National Highway Funds - $6 million
State Transportation Fund - $113.3 million
Busway hearings
The Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce will hold two and possibly more informational sessions about the busway.
The sessions are slated to begin at 6 p.m. on both Monday, Feb. 28 and Wenesday, March 2 at the chamber office at 200 Main St. in Bristol.
The sessions are free and open to the public. Since space is limited, those who wish to attend should pre-register by calling (860) 584-4718 or at CentralCTChambers.org.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
6 comments:
So, what kind of information will the Bristol Chamber distribute at their busway public informational meetings? How balanced will the information be? Will it be a bash the busway/promote the undefined, undesigned rail project meeting? Will they be passing off their partially-true interpretations of the busway and other projects nationwide yet again? Or will there be some semblance of balance?
Buses are dinosaurs. They pollute, are slow, clog our roadways and their ridership is atrocious. High speed rail is the future. It will cost lots of money but it is money well spent. It will service more towns, more people, and lessen congestion on our roadways.
This whole bus / rail discussion reminds me of the panacea that HOV lanes were to be for commuters and travelers through Hartford. They have done little if anything. Millions were spent for these extra lanes. HOV use is abominable as will the ridership be on these dinosaurs.
Governor Malloy, be less myopic than most politicians. Send the money back to Washington and keep Connecticut’s portion in the state for high speed rail use.
Isn't it about time our elected officials stopped wasting our hard earned money ??Hey Dano .... PLEASE realize we can NOT afford to throw away cash anymore .
Does anyone expect to get a fair and balanced presentation?
If high-speed rail is the panacea you're hoping for, better activate and talk to the republicans in Congress. They just froze some of CT's high-speed rail grants as part of their 2011 budget reductions.
All you advocates of spending other people's money I have a few questions for you. The only area served by rail in CT is Metro North which with the exception of Waterbury operates in a high density corridor between New Haven (yes, I am ignoring the Shoreliner) and NYC. It requires significant subsidies despite being packed during peak hours and operating in an environment that is not car friendly. Forgetting for the moment the capital costs, what will be the per ride subsidy and where will the money come from? What will the ridership likely be?
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