Working groups at the transportation summit discussed measures ranging from increased rail service and better rail station feeder bus and jitney service, rail freight development, road pricing on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, closing redundant I-95 entrances and exits, better traffic law enforcement and employer-based programs like flex-time and "cashing out" free parking.
However, the first state action proposed since Connecticut's new momentum for transportation improvements has developed is a plan by Governor Rowland and ConnDOT to develop the shoulder of I-95 from Westport to Stamford into a general traffic lane. Rowland announced the plan at a recent Stamford Chamber of Commerce meeting. CT Transportation Commissioner James Sullivan told the Advocate that the project would take about a year, and would involve widening sections of the shoulder and clearances under bridges.
 

Environmentalists and transit advocates, while optimistic about many of the summit recommendations, expressed concern last week that summit recommendations may not survive the translation from think-tank discussion to state leadership commitments. Environmental groups said Rowland's I-95 move looked like a throwback rather than a step toward the future. ConnDOT's attitude toward environmental review, safety issues and the legal mandate that it reduce vehicle miles of travel in southwestern CT regarding the plan to add the peak-hour lane to I-95 are unclear. Also last week, Rowland and CT House Speaker Moira Lyons announced formation of a "Transportation Strategy Board" consisting entirely of agency heads, legislators and business leaders. Their job will be to recommend new transportation policies to the Governor and Legislature by February. Some of the legislators, like State Senator William Aniskovich from the area east of New Haven, have solid pro-transit records (see MTR #66), but it remains to be seen how summit recommendations representing a sharp break with past practices will fare with the group.

Connecticut Transportation Priorities: Highway expansion dwarfs mass transit Entire mass transit capital budget Combined budgets for Q-Bridge and US Routes 6 and 7 road expansion projects Source: CT 2000 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program Continuing or accelerating ConnDOT's existing program will not break gridlock's worsening hold on Connecticut. Together, three ConnDOT roadway expansion projects will cost nearly double the state's entire 5-year transit capital budget.