$3 million in federal transportation funds headed to CT

Federal funds from the Department of Transportation are headed to Connecticut to help maintain Connecticut’s roads and bridges, preserve historic landmarks and make communities more livable.  The announcement was made by the state’s Congressional delegation. Where is the money headed?

• $850,000 to the City of Stamford for the replacement of the West Main Street Bridge over the Mill River, which will enhance pedestrian access to Downtown Stamford.
• $500,000 to the City of Torrington for improvements and streetscape enhancements to Torrington’s Main Street and downtown.
• $325,000 to the Town of Mansfield to provide new transit access to Mansfield Hollow Lake
• $788,724 to the Connecticut Department of Transportation to improve the terminal facilities for the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry, the oldest continuously operating ferry in the nation.
• $400,000 to Connecticut Department of Transportation to use innovation bridge construction techniques to replace a bridge over the Saugatuck River in Weston
• $300,000 to Connecticut Department of Transportation to rehabilitate and preserve the Cornwall Covered Bridge through the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program.

Ryan Flew to Hartford En Route to Receiving Romney's VP Offer

Question:  If you are the soon-to-be Republican nominee for President of the United States and you’d like to have a private meeting with your prospective running mate, just outside of Boston, how do you secretly get him there?  Answer:  Have him fly into Hartford. NBC News is reporting that when Gov. Mitt Romney met with Rep. Paul Ryan on August 5 in Brookline, MA where he offered the VP slot on the GOP national ticket, Ryan had driven from his Wisconsin home to Chicago, and took a flight to Hartford.   Ryan was met at Bradley International Airport by the 19-year-old son of Beth Myers, who headed the Romney campaign’s  VP vetting operation, and he drove Ryan, undetected by the news media, to the Myers home in Brookline where Romney was waiting.

So, let history record that Connecticut's Bradley International Airport  - the second largest in New England, contributing $4 billion in economic activity in the region - was the Gateway to New England, Mitt Romney and the Vice Presidential nomination for a Congressman from Wisconsin in 2012.

Still revolutionary, as advertised.

Connecticut is #26 in Levels of Biking, Walking; #24 in Fatalities

There were 27 fatal bicycling accidents in Connecticut between 2005 and 2010, and the total number of biking-related crashes around the state during that five-year span was 4,276, the Hartford Advocate is reporting, citing official state data.  State officials also report that between 2005 and 2009, there were about 5,300 pedestrian-related traffic accidents in Connecticut The Tri-State Transportation Campaign recently issued an analysis of pedestrian accidents in Connecticut between 2008 and 2010 that showed there were 121 pedestrian deaths in that time frame.

The state’s Department of Transportation is beginning to respond.  The DOT announced recently that a 2.75-mile stretch of Burnside Avenue in East Hartford (part of Route 44), between Main and Mary Streets, will be redesigned to reduce the number of travel lanes for vehicles and to install bike lanes.  Much attention has been paid to the section of roadway following a series of fatal bicycle-car collisions that took the lives of three East Hartford cyclists during the past two years.  The Hartford Courant has reported that the DOT considers the plan the first of its kind in the state – a state road redesign aimed at improving bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

Earlier this year, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, produced by the Alliance for Biking & Walking, ranked all 50 states (and the 51 largest U.S. cities) on bicycling and walking levels, safety, funding, and other factors.  Connecticut ranked #26 among the states in levels of bicycling and walking.  In fatalities, the state ranked #24.  Among the reports noteworthy statistics:

• Seniors are the most vulnerable bicyclists and pedestrians. Adults over 65 make up 10% of walking trips, yet comprise 19% of pedestrian fatalities. This age group accounts for 6% of bicycling trips, yet 10% of bicyclist fatalities.
• Bicycling and walking projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million spent, compared to just 7 jobs created per $1 million spent on highway projects. Cost benefit analysis show that up to $11.80 in benefits can be gained for every $1 invested in bicycling and walking.
• While bicycling and walking fell 66% between 1960 and 2009, obesity levels increased 156%.
• On average, the largest 51 U.S. cities show a 29% increase in bicycle facilities since the 2010 report.

All of which underscores the need to improve bicycling safety, as biking becomes more popular across the country.

Gas Prices Drop; Fuel Efficiency Standards Would Drive Them Lower

July 4th marks one of the biggest travel holidays of the year, with Americans hitting the road to visit friends and family, go to the beach, or have a picnic and watch fireworks.  Those travels will likely continue this weekend.  All that driving has provided the Pew Environmental Group with an opportunity to highlight that if proposed fuel efficiency standards—which would require cars and light trucks to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025—were in place today, drivers would save at least $73.2 million this week. Pew reports that increasing fuel efficiency standards will not only save consumers money at the pump, but they also will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, decrease pollution, and promote investment in new clean transportation technologies.

Meanwhile, gas prices nationwide and in Connecticut have dropped of late, after steady climbs.  Average retail gasoline prices in Connecticut have fallen 2.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.61 per gallon for July 4. This compares with the national average that has fallen 6.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.37 per gallon, according to gasoline price website ConnecticutGasPrices.com.

Because of Connecticut's gas tax, state residents have become accustomed in recent years to paying more to fill their tanks than in neighboring states.

Bike to Work Day in Connecticut is May 18

With the theme “It’s Easier Than You Think!” Bike Walk CT is taking the lead to encourage bike commuting on National Bike to Work Day, May 18. Breakfasts for bike commuters will be held in Bethel, Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Stamford, Waterbury, West Hartford, and UConn Health Center (Farmington).  If you're thinking of giving biking to work a try, helpful hints and local cycling organizations are prepared to help. Earlier this spring, a dozen bike racks were installed along Main Street in Hartford, the first of about 287 racks planned to be placed throughout the city.  The current schedule is for completion about the end of July.  This project has been several years in the making and has include the contributions of many individuals and organizations.  New Haven and the Elm City Cyclists have a very well organized Bike to Work program.

Route 1, Route 5 Are Deadliest for Pedestrians in Connecticut

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign has gone through statistics of fatalities on Connecticut’s roads between 2008 and 2010 and rates U.S. Route 1 in Westport and Route 5 in East Hartford as the most dangerous in the state. One hundred twenty one deaths have been reported on Connecticut streets over the three-year-span. Of those, seven were on Route 1 , or Boston Post Road (including 3 in Westport), and four have been on Route 5 (including 3 in East Hartford).

There have been more deaths on the roadways in New Haven County than any other county, according to the report.  In 2010, there were 13 pedestrian deaths in both Hartford and New Haven counties.  The analysis does not include highways and other roads where pedestrians are prohibited.  The mission of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign is to reduce dependency on cars in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

More People, Less Parking; Fewer Cars, Longer Life

There has been an increasing focus in Connecticut and nationwide on walkable cities, transit oriented development, the imperative for more people and less parking, and the impact of redesigned streets on public safety. Among the initiatives are the iQuilt plan in Hartford, and the efforts of the New Haven Urban Design League.  The League hosted UConn's Norman Garrick, a leader in the field,  in a public session where he highlighted comparisons to Cambridge, where transit has been emphasized with good result - less so in Connecticut's major cities.  (For example, the proportion of Hartford’s land covered by parking jumped from 3.1 percent in 1960 to 8.4 percent in 2000.) Hartford's Real Art Ways brought in the recent documentary film Urbanized, which pointed out that 50 percent of the world's population now lives in cities, with that number expected to climb to 70 percent within a few decades.  (Note that Connecticut's major cities increased in population during the past decade.)

Dr. Richard J. Jackson of UCLA recently pointed out that "People who walk more weigh less and live longer."  As a result of the restructuring of cities within the past fifty years, placing the perceived needs of cars over pedestrians and cyclists, he said that without dramatic changes "people in the current generation (born since 1980)will be the first in America to live shorter lives than their parents do."

Ticket to Ride

The first automobile law was passed by the state of Connecticut in 1901. The speed limit was set at 12 miles per hour.  In 1937, Connecticut became the first state to issue permanent license plates for cars.  And in 1982, Connecticut made legislative history by approving the country’s first Lemon Law to aid owners of defective new automobiles.  (Oral history archived at Central Connecticut State University.) Connecticut was not first to prohibit the use of cell phones or mobile electronic devices while driving, but has joined a growing number of states that do so, while continuing to permit hands-free devices.  The National Transportation Safety Board is now urging the first-ever nationwide ban on driver use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle.

Walkway Over the Putnam

The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) reports that the Putnam Bridge, which carries Route 3 over the Connecticut River between Glastonbury and Wethersfield, has a pedestrian walkway in its future.  The six-foot wide walkway will be constructed at a cost of approximately $5 million, added on to a $26 million State Department of Transportation bridge rehabilitation project set to get underway this year and be completed in 2014.  CRCOG is working with local communities to seek funding for a feasibility study to develop multi-use pathways on either side of the bridge to connect with local roads.

Death by Driving

Connecticut had 223 vehicular deaths in 2009, the latest stats available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Most deadly state in the nation?  California, with 3,081.  Runner-up, Texas with 3,071.  The only other state with more than 2,000 vehicular fatalities:  Florida with 2,558.  At the safest end of the spectrum:  Alaska with 64 deaths, Vermont with 74, Rhode Island with 83.