Writing in the New Haven Register this week, Connecticut Fund for the Environment’s Curt Johnson says ConnDOT efforts to add transit elements to its massive plan to widen I-95 through New Haven still fall short.

Some local officials are trying to restore balance between ConnDOT’s huge highway proposal and the paltry transit components the agency is offering. In the spring, the agency agreed to improve a number of stations along the Shore Line East commuter rail line, and recently agreed to increase train frequency on the line. But the municipal officials say it’s not enough, and that other promising plans wait to be implemented. Now Conn-DOT has accused them of "playing politics" regarding the project.

ConnDOT’s highway project is an $800 million expansion of the decrepit I-95 Quinnipiac River Bridge from 6 to 10 lanes. The project was supposed to be an outgrowth of an extensive collaborative planning process. Transit was one of the collaborative’s foci. Johnson writes:

"During the planning process, certain things became obvious. Waiting times for buses and trains are too long. Night and weekend service are virtually nonexistent. Buses and trains don’t connect well with each other. Our regional transit as currently operated can hardly be called a ‘system.’"

Transit options the collaborative plan identified included an on-street express busway to speed bus service between New Haven, East Haven and Branford; a new express bus link allowing people to take the train to Union Station, then be whisked to Tweed-New Haven within 15 minutes; after-hours transit service to allow commuters to work late and still take the train or bus home; more local train connections to Amtrak’s high speed service, which promises to leapfrog from Union Station over chronically clogged I-95 to Manhattan in under an hour; new train stops and parking lots more convenient to the highway; lower transit fares.

But, Johnson states, where ConnDOT has chosen the most elaborate and expensive road expansion proposal available, it has given the shaft to all transit projects except modest Shore Line East improvements, and those only under concerted political pressure.

The highway project will take 12 years to build, and will only yield a projected 45 seconds in travel time savings when complete. On the other hand, ConnDOT transit projections, which have historically been low, say the measures proposed by the advisory group would shift another 2,300 commuters to transit.

The US EPA criticized ConnDOT’s stance on the road project and transit measures in a letter in August.

Connecticut Fund for the Environment urges New Haven area officials to remain steadfast in their efforts to change the plan. "A transit system that represents an alternative to 12 years of driving through highway construction has been carefully designed for success, fully evaluated and enjoys widespread support from institutions and local political leaders. It’s time to invest in it," says Johnson.