A new report that provides an overview of transportation institutions, policy and funding in Connecticut shows, among other findings, that the Connecticut DOT is overwhelmingly emphasizes highway travel and investment, even though it has the institutional and funding flexibility to pursue a more balanced course. Transportation news in Connecticut for the past year has been dominated by the problem of failing mass transit infrastructure, which has been starved for investment.

The report, "A User’s Guide to Transportation Policy in Connecticut," was prepared by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign for All Aboard!, a Hartford-based mass transit advocacy organization. The report serves as a primer to educate state residents about how transportation policy and funding decisions are made, what key documents and procedures citizen advocates need to follow in order to meaningfully participate in transportation decision-making, and identifies means to better fund transportation other than highways, such as directing more federal flexible funding away from big road projects and toward mass transit capital needs.

Findings of the report include:

• Analysis of budget documents shows that the great majority (78%) of the capital funds in Connecticut’s transportation program go to highway projects.

• At 25 cents a gallon, Connecticut’s gas tax is currently the lowest it has been in the past two and a half decades (adjusting for inflation).

• Connecticut currently uses only 8% of its flexible federal dollars for transit and bicycle/pedestrian projects.

To view the full report, see www.allaboard.org. 

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