Should Connecticut Complete Route 11?

CONNECTIONS: Linking Transportation and the Environment in Connecticut: May 31, 2011 Edition

With a bill pending approval by the House and Senate to install tolls to pay for the completion of Route 11 in Southeastern Connecticut and the recent announcement by Governor Malloy, US Representative Joe Courtney and ConnDOT on funding a $5 million feasibility study for Route 11, the CTLCV Education Fund has asked both sides of the issue to weigh in. 

This project has been studied for decades and the environmental and economic impacts are huge. 

To read both sides of the debate click here:  Route 11 Debate.

For questions, contact Kirsten Griebel at kirsten.griebel@ctlcv.org or 860.236.5442.

CONNECTIONS: Linking Transportation and the Environment in Connecticut: May 9, 2011 Edition

– By Kirsten Griebel

At the LOB

• Last week the Senate referred Bill 720, the Vulnerable User bill, to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.  They now have to act on it within seven days (by May 12th) in order to keep it alive.   CTLCV, along with a number of other organizations, has been supporting this bill as it improves safety and encourages pedestrian/bike friendly streets, a tenet of smart growth.  It is currently on the CTLCV legislation watchlist. 
  
  This bill successfully cleared both the Transportation and Judiciary Committees with the Judiciary Committee voting 41 to 4 in favor.  As a positive for this bill, the fiscal analysis states a potential $75,000 in revenue gain (from new fines), so this is a win – win; a win for the economy and the environment.   Representative Pat Widlitz, a CTLCV environmental champion, is Co-Chair of the Finance Committee and it is our hope she will throw her support behind this bill this week.
  
• Governor Malloy and the Bond Commission released $89 million to fund the New Britain-Hartford Busway on April 29th.  This completes the state’s  20% matching funding commitment to the project.  Despite the potential for some very drastic federal transportation budget cuts, the New Starts funding for the NB-H Busway is still intact.  CTLCV joined a broad and diverse group of supporters to thank the Governor for his vision and leadership on this investment in the first new major public transportation project in CT in decades.

Around the State

• Connecticut’s Complete Streets policy was recently recognized by the National Complete Streets Coalition as one of the top fifteen best Complete Streets policies in the country.  The bill, Public Act 09-154, was authored and championed in the state legislature by former State Representative Tom Kehoe.  Complete Streets and the new Vulnerable User bill make for more liveable cities and towns by making our roads safer for people who are walking or on bikes or other non-motorized transportation.  Safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists is critical to changing Nutmeggers’ mindset of auto dependency and to get out of their cars and try walking or biking as alternatives.  A big part of this is a campaign to educate people about sharing the road and understanding that roads are for all users not just for cars.
• It looks like the current state budget will put an end to the state subsidy of Dial-A-Ride leaving it up to the municipalities to fund the program.  The budget also decreases municipal matching grants for transit by about $1 million or about 25% of forecasted expenditures.  Otherwise the bus operations budget for the state maintains its current level of funding. Karen Burnaska, Transit for Connecticut, considers this pretty good news given the major budget deficit facing the state.  Maintaining the state’s investment in public transportation is critical for the health of Connecticut’s environment.

Around the Nation

• Congratulations to the Michigan League of Conservation Voters on their recent success in getting out the vote to approve a bus system expansion in the Grand Rapids region that also includes the first Bus Rapid Transit system in Michigan. The ballot referendum to approve a property tax increase for expanding the region’s bus service passed by only 136 votes out of 34,432 cast! 
  
  Similar to the New Britain – Hartford Busway, the Michigan Bus Rapid Transit will have a dedicated bus-only lane for about eight miles and may cut travel times in half.  It is part of a larger comprehensive transit strategy that reinforces the need for regions to plan and build multi-modal transportation systems.
  
  As Ryan Werder, Political Director for Michigan LCV, said “It was an effort that tied us closely with business leaders, non-traditional allies, the mayors of every community involved. With the margin as close as it was, it was the ground game and GOTV work that made the win possible. We are now using this as an opportunity to highlight both the importance of politics in the process of advancing Michigan's environment as well as promoting the common agenda process that identified public transit as a priority.”

$30 Million > 0

It’s all over the Connecticut news, but in case you missed it, the federal government reallocated Florida’s spurned $2.4 Billion (yes, with a B) in high-speed rail funding yesterday.

The good news is that Connecticut got a $30 million piece of it, especially since Congress’ recent budget agreements suggested that the Florida money might not be reallocated at all.  But the less good news is that our award was significantly less than what we had strenuously advocated for ($100 million).

According to the Connecticut Mirror,

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced his agency had received almost 100 applications for various rail projects around the country, totaling $10 billion.  From those, DOT chose 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger projects. The investment in the Northeast corridor to speed up trains is "unprecedented," DOT said in a news release, and includes a $450 million award to Amtrak to expand capacity and reliability in the region. In all, the Northeast corridor is slated to get $795 million for a range of projects.

And as the New York Times editorial puts it, Florida voters will get some time to think about their governor’s decision to spurn the rail money “as they sit in traffic jams, burning up $4-a-gallon gasoline. In fact, some of them clearly have thought about it because Mr. Scott now has some of the worst approval ratings of a Florida official in the last decade.”

Take your pick of a few of the articles covering the rest of the story:

• CT Mirror
• Hartford Business Journal
• Hartford Courant
• CT News Junkie
• CBS News
• NY Times Editorial

Congrats to Tri-State Transportation Campaign on EPA Award

CTLCV congratulates the Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) on winning a 2011 Environmental Quality Award from the EPA! Read more at Tri-State Accepts 2011 EPA Environmental Quality Award | Mobilizing the Region.

CTLCV began collaborating with TSTC a few years ago on the complete streets legislation for which Connecticut was recently recognized. (See "New Report Names CT "Complete Streets" Law Among Best in Nation.")

CTLCV Director Jessie Stratton Makes DEEP Move

Jessie Stratton, a Director of CTLCV, has been recruited by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Read more at The Connecticut Mirror: Environmental advocate named to help with creation of DEEP | The Connecticut Mirror

Broad Coalition Thanks Malloy for Bus Rapid Transit Bonding

CTLCV joined with a broad coalition of 27 signatories from entities representing everything from CCSU to developers, chambers of commerce, the League of Women Voters, labor and environmental groups, who took note of the Bond Commission’s recent decision to release funding to get the Hartford-New Britain bus rapid transit project.  The coalition’s thank you letter to Governor Malloy appears below.

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May 2, 2011

The Honorable Dannel P. Malloy
Governor, State of Connecticut
State Capitol
Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Governor Malloy,

Please accept our thanks and appreciation for your steadfast support and leadership of the New Britain/Hartford Busway project.

We believe that the New Britain/Hartford Busway project represents the future for both Connecticut’s economy and transportation infrastructure.  The benefits of investing in the Busway are multifold for the state.  The construction of the Busway will generate thousands of construction and associated jobs; millions of dollars to be invested in transit-oriented development projects surrounding the Busway will create new jobs and business opportunities; the Busway will offer congestion-free travel to transit riders and help decrease traffic on the most congested part of I-84; and harmful carbon emissions will be decreased.

We commend you for your leadership and support and thank the Bond Commission for releasing the funds needed for the Busway to proceed. If you have any questions please contact Karen Burnaska, Transit for Connecticut or Lyle Wray, Capitol Region Council of Governments. We look forward to working with you as the Busway becomes a reality.

Sincerely,

Tim O’Brien, State Representative, New Britain and Newington
Pedro E. Segarra, Mayor, City of Hartford
Timothy T. Stewart, Mayor, City of New Britain
Scott McBride, Deputy Mayor, Town of Newington
Lyle Wray, Executive Director, Capitol Region Council of Governments
Gerry Amodio, Executive Director, New Britain Downtown District
Lori Brown, Executive Director, CT League of Conservation Voters
Karen Burnaska, Coordinator, Transit for Connecticut
Tom Colligan, Interim Executive Director, CT Coalition for Environmental Justice
Cheryl Dunson, President, League of Women Voters of CT
Oz Griebel, President, MetroHartford Alliance
David Kooris, Vice President, Regional Plan Association
Avner Krohn, President, Jasko Development
Charles LeChonce, Business Manager, CT Laborers District Council
Ryan Lynch, Connecticut Coordinator, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Jeffrey Merrow, Business Manager, Laborers Local 611
Jack Miller, President, Central Connecticut State University
William F. Millerick, President, New Britain Chamber of Commerce
Don Strait, Executive Director, CT Fund for the Environment
Mary Tomolonius, Executive Director, CT Assoc for Community Transportation
City of Hartford Neighborhood Revitalization Zones:
   Bernadine Silvers and Jackie McKinney, Co-Chairs, Board of Directors, Hartford 2000, Inc.
   David Corrigan, Chair, Frog Hollow NRZ
   Donna Thompson Daniels, President, Blue Hills NRZ
   Lynn Ferrari, President, Hartford’s CSS/CON NRZ
   Brandon McGee, Vice President, Northeast NRZ
   David Morin, Secretary, Parkville Revitalization Association
   Tomas Nenortas, Chair, South Downtown NRZ