Renaissance pushes trains for downtown

Bristol Rising, the social media force created by Renaissance Downtowns to help it plan the future of the downtown, is calling on residents to rally for rail when the governor comes to town Monday.
Supporters were asked recently to prove to Gov. Dannel Malloy “our enthusiasm for having the rail here in Bristol and in this region” by turning out for the governor’s 7 p.m. town hall meeting at Bristol Eastern High School.
The president of Renaissance, Don Monti, said Friday that “the Bristol Rising crowd” has thrown itself behind the commuter rail option pushed by the Bristol-based Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce and others.
His company, too, is eager to see rail service restored in Bristol because it is convinced the long-term economic competitiveness” of Central Connecticut depends in part on the growth that rail can provide. Click here for the full story.

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Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Pro-busway group releases new video

Here's a video released this week by the Regional Plan Association's Connecticut office touting the proposed busway between Hartford and New Britain:



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Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Commuter rail price tag? Perhaps $443 million

A new estimate from commuter rail backers pegs the cost of creating commuter rail between Waterbury and Hartford at $443 million.

The figure includes new stations, tracks and other necessary improvements, supporters said.

Peter Lynch, an Old Saybrook resident with decades of experience with the New Haven Railroad, said at the meeting, “Fixing up the railroad here is not a big deal.”

He said the line, which had trains running on double tracks every half hour back in the 1920s, can up upgraded again for about $1 million a mile.

The work, Lynch said, “is relatively simple” and not time-consuming.

“There’s nothing easier than upgrading existing railroad,” Lynch said.

He said that commuter rail running from Bristol through New Britain and Newington into Hartford would take 27 minutes. Taking a bus from Bristol would take 50 minutes when the busway is finished.

For Plainville, Lynch said, the difference is 20 minutes by train to Hartford or 40 minutes by bus.

As a freight line, the railroad is marginal these days, Lynch said. But with commuter rail, there would be money to keep the track in top condition, spurring more freight use as well.

Lynch said he has no vested interest in the outcome of the busway versus rail battle. He said it makes more sense to provide commuter rail for a third of the state for less than $500 million than it does to spend nearly $600 million on a busway that only a few towns would benefit from. 

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

Passenger rail study is likely

State lawmakers say they’ve managed to squirrel away $250,000 in a bonding measure that would pay for a study about the potential for commuter rail service for Bristol and New Britain.

“It’s moving forward,” said state Sen. Donald DeFronzo, a New Britain Democrat whose 6^th District includes Berlin and a portion of Farmington.

The money is included in the transportation bonding bill that is typically approved in the days leading up to final adoption of the state budget, several legislators said.

Bristol Mayor Art Ward said he’s “happy to realize that even in these economic times,” state legislators recognize the value of exploring the prospects for upgrading the railroad line between Waterbury and Berlin to allow for commuter train service in years to come.

“This is a good start,” Ward said. “I’m encouraged by the commitment of the state.”

State Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat whose 22^nd District includes portions of New Britain and Bristol, said she got the money included to make the study possible during the next fiscal year. As the chair of the transportation bonding subcommittee, she has a key perch to ensure the project isn’t overlooked.

A fan of mass transit, Boukus said that use of the rail line would help relieve pressure on congested highways.

“Hopefully, it will lead to something,” said state Rep. Chris Wright, a first-term Bristol Democrat. With luck, he said, the study “will get things started in the right direction.
DeFronzo said he’s encouraged that Waterbury lawmakers have begun to recognize that a rail spur bringing commuters into their city would help them with long-term plans to create a transportation hub.

The Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency has three transportation initiatives it is pushing for, including the commuter line, a busway from New Britain to Hartford and plans for passenger rail between New Haven and Springfield, Mass.

Officials currently estimate the cost of upgrading the 24 miles of track between Berlin and Waterbury – including fixing bridges and adding new depots – at $52 million.

It has been 17 years since the last study of the passenger rail option, officials said. At the time, the idea was dropped as too costly, but there is far more support for mass transit now than there was in the early 1990s. The earlier study also focused primarily on the prospects for tying in to MetroNorth’s track in Waterbury for use by New York City-bound travelers.

There are currently four freight trains a day running between Plainville and Berlin and one between Bristol and Waterbury. The average speed on the single track is about 20 miles an hour, with some sections requiring slower speeds but some sections allow faster travel.

The track in Bristol heads west into Plymouth before dropping south to Waterbury. To the east, it runs through Plainville and New Britain to the main Connecticut Valley line in Berlin.

Pan Am Railways, which owns the track, does have experience with rail lines servicing both freight and passenger needs. Along the Haverill, Mass., Pan Am has 38 MBTA commuter trains that share the tracks with 20 freight trains and 10 Amtrak trains.

Berlin to Waterbury rail line

24.5 miles

Single track

Owned by Mass.-based Pan Am Railways

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Fitzgerald, Wright talk traffic

Republican state House contender Jill Fitzgerald said she would investigate widening the eastern half of Farmington Avenue in a bid to relieve traffic congestion.
Fitzgerald and Democratic hopeful Chris Wright each said there is a need to seek ways to keep traffic moving more smoothly on the busy state road that runs through the heart of the 77th District they hope to represent.
Both candidates said that mass transit options need to be expanded, with Wright calling for more commuter bus service to Hartford and Fitzgerald eyeing the prospects for light rail.
The two candidates are vying on Nov. 4 for the northeastern Bristol House seat that Republican Ron Burns has held for the past two years. Burns, who defeated a longtime Democratic incumbent to win the seat in 2006, is stepping down.
Politicians from the district have long said that transportation woes are one of the most common gripes they hear from residents, particularly the delays on Farmington Avenue.
Wright, a hospital admissions clerk, said he hopes the opening of the Route 72 extension a year from now will relieve some of the traffic tie-ups along Farmington Avenue.
He said the would also like to see improvements at the busy juncture of Stafford and Farmington avenues, a traditional headache for motorists.
Wright said that enacting – and enforcing – a “no blocking the box” law at the intersection would help because it would keep drivers from entering the crossroads directly until there was enough space to pass through it.
One reason that traffic gets delayed can be that cars remain stuck in the intersection after a signal change, blocking others from passing through it, which only exacerbates the problem of getting by the area.
Fitzgerald, who owns a bookkeeping company, said that that the area from Brook to Camp streets on Farmington Avenue “is really the retail hub of Bristol.”
She said she would “investigate the possibilities of widening this stretch of Route 6” – the state’s designation for the road – and push for a new study of traffic light patterns to see if improvements in signaling could be made.
Fitzgerald said that she would focus on the city’s mass transportation needs.
“Our senior citizens need to have mass transit that is easy to access and convenient,” she said.
“Bristol is one of the larger cities in Connecticut and we should be able to connect our commuters to other towns via mass transit,” Fitzgerald.
“The reinstatement of bus service between Bristol and Hartford could also reduce traffic on Route 6, as well as save commuters money they would be spending on gas,” Wright said.
Fitzgerald said she would also explore the prospects for light rail in Bristol, an idea that city officials are also pushing, though its prospects remain iffy.
State lawmakers serve two-year terms and earn $28,000 for their part-time positions.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Busway could help Bristol?

In a note to the city's legislative delegation this morning, Mayor Art Ward had this to say:

Good morning - just heard about the potential for the creation of a new "Bus Path" being considered by the state to enhance mass transportation. It is proposed to run from the New Britain/Newington area to Hartford.The state is conducting a public hearing on the subject tonight at Union Station in HartfordNow that Bristol will have greater accessibility, with the completion of Route 72, this might be a superb opportunity for the state to consider the inclusion of Bristol in this project. I would appreciate any/all information on this idea and ask that the Bristol legislative delegation research the potential for Bristol becoming a part of this project.

For more information, see the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency's Busway West site here and the Connecticut Busway site here.

The Federal Transit Administration's bus transit site here.

Finally, here's a story I wrote in March 2004:

The number of Bristol commuters who use buses may double when the proposed busway between New Britain and Hartford opens in 2007.
The increased reliance on buses “will have a big impact” in Bristol, said Don Padlo, a longtime public works commissioner.
“It has the potential of alleviating a lot of traffic,” Padlo said, as drivers decide they can do without “this hassle on the highways.”
Officials are already planning more bus routes to bring from Bristol to and from the busway station in downtown New Britain. They’re also eyeing more commuter lots, bicycle paths and other improvements to make it easier to take advantage of the new transportation option.
Joe Barbeau, transportation coordinator for the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency, said a bus route that swings into Plymouth is also a possibility.
The 9.4-mile busway is a state Department of Transportation initiative to try to reduce the growing volume of cars and trucks clogging the interstate between Southington and Hartford. Plans call for it to run alongside the rail line from New Britain to Hartford, with as many as 12 stations along the way.
The new road would be accessible only to buses – though there’s some talk of a bicycle path as well – that could speed commuters through the congested corridor, making it an attractive option for at least some drivers who are tired of tackling the traffic.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Theodore Scheidel, Burlington’s first selectman and CCRPA board member. “It’s good for New Britain and Bristol.”
“It’s another sincere effort to get the cars off the highway,” he said.
Padlo said many people are tired of “the daily stress and traffic tie-ups” along Interstate 84.
Planners say that the number of commuters who take the bus from Bristol to reach jobs in Hartford may rise from 350 to more than 750 once the busway is operating.
“Obviously, it creates a great demand for parking,” Barbeau said.
The state is eliminating the Todd Street commuter parking lot because the $31 million Route 72 extension is going to plow right through it within a couple of years. A new lot is going to be built near Aldi grocery store.
But there’s not enough space for the expected number of commuters, Barbeau said.
He said planners are considering renting parking spaces from city churches to provide commuters with somewhere to park to take the buses from Bristol to the new busway.
Barbeau said there may be mini-transportation hubs created in downtown Bristol, at the commuter lot by Aldi and perhaps in Plainville. Bus routes could come together at the mini-hubs, he said.
He said officials need to consider whether there’s a need for benches, shelters, sidewalks or other amenities at the small hubs. The idea, Barbeau said, is to make sure people feel safe and secure at the sites.
“It’s really a broad focus that we have,” he said.
Planners are considering new bus routes in connection to the busway that might extend buses to Cyrpress Street, Stonecrest Drive, Jewel Street and other areas where they’ve identified a possible need.
Barbeau said there is “some interest” in having a bus line run to the Plymouth Industrial Park as well. But, he said, there are “no resources” for it now.
The state is looking into having four busways running in and out of Hartford, with the New Britain busway slated to come first. It is supposed to open early in 2007.
Other busways on the drawing table include one from Hartford to Manchester, one from the capital to Bradley Airport and one that runs south of the city.
For more information about the busway project, check out www.ctrapidtransit.com and www.ccrpa.org/transport.htm.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com