PERSPECTIVE: Why Now is the Time to Invest in CT’s Downtowns

by John Simone Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous acknowledgement of the importance and appeal of downtown.  Numerous studies have quantified this issue in myriad ways:

• showing the common demand among millennials and baby boomers for walkable town centers – whether they be in urban, suburban or rural communities;
• noting that money spent downtown stays downtown (in stark contrast to big-box retailers);
• showing that each new unit of downtown housing translates into thousands of dollars’ worth of business for the downtown; and
• finding that by even modest estimates vacant storefronts cost communities hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost tax revenue and rents each year.

At this point, it’s also widely agreed that development in these typically compact areas is amongst the most sustainable, environmentally friendly and economically robust thanks to ready infrastructure and a diverse mix of uses, businesses, and housing.

Connecticut especially is becoming hyper-sensitive to the importance of energetic and robust town centers as it finds itself in the midst of many opportunities and challenges.

First and foremost, our downtowns can provide the authentic, walkable communities needed to attract and retain the talented workforce Connecticut needs to compete locally, nationally and internationally. This is of particular importance because Connecticut is currently facing the dual burdens of a ballooning aging population coupled with a declining population of 18-34 year olds – both of whom increasingly want to be in walkable, more active and transit-accessible downtowns.  At the same time, an increasing demand for downtown living is paralleled with a general lack of diverse and affordable housing choices. Upper story space in existing older buildings is vacant and available, but expensive to renovate.

Connecticut’s downtowns also represent the greatest chance to restore social and economic balance to a state known to have both the richest and poorest neighborhoods, a divide that needs to be healed if true prosperity is to be gained.  Creating robust downtowns will also ensure success of the State’s $1.5 billion investment in transit (notably CTfastrak and railway upgrades) which is already creating demand for development around these transit stations.

Given these tremendous opportunities and obstacles, it’s little wonder the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) is being increasingly called on to further demonstrate the economic return of attractive, engaging and well-managed downtowns.

To meet this growing need, CMSC recently adopted a new strategic plan to guide us as we take on more of a lead role in calling for greater investment in our town and city centers. Not only will we proactively advocate for increased financing for mixed-use and transit oriented development, but also for policies and regulations that support and enhance our main streets, as well as identifying  more and better models of downtown management, including training, education, and communication for downtown professionals.  Championing sustainable financing for these downtown organizations will also be a priority.

Connecticut’s downtowns deserve to be recognized as the drivers of the state’s economy and epicenters of social equity and entrepreneurial ingenuity.  By investing in the components of a healthy downtown, from walkable streets to inviting housing and interesting amenities, we’ll reach the goals set in our plan, making Connecticut’s rich mix of quaint village centers and bustling urban centers an irresistible draw for innovators of all ages to live, work and prosper.

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John Simone is President and CEO of Connecticut Main Street Center. 

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

 Also of interest: Progress Made on Regional Cooperation

Editorial Cartoon by Bob Englehart

PERSPECTIVE: Cycling and Pedestrian Safety - A Progressive Movement

by Sean Alexander The majority of population within the United States utilizes automobiles for transportation.  Connecticut has the smallest percentage of people walking to work among states in the Northeast, and is one of two states with the smallest percentage of people who bicycle to work.  Although bicyclists account for less than 1% of all commuters, biking to work has increased by 60% in the last decade.

In 2014, the Vulnerable User Bill took effect in CT and new legislation in 2016 seeks to increase fines for failure to yield.  These are stepping stones that are bringing the cyclists and pedestrians of Connecticut our deserved safety on the streets.

Although laws and bills like these are passed everyday, it is up to the authorities to enforce them.  Most importantly, it is the motorists and cyclist’s responsibility to see these rules are not just safety guidelines to follow when we see fit, but to proactively live by these rules.  When someone makes a mistake by causing a collision by speeding, forgetting to yield the right of way or disregarding a stop sign, this is no accident.  I’ve learned not to characterize such mistakes as accidents.

In 2011, my wife nearly lost her life due to the carelessness and irresponsibility of a negligent driver who failed to obey the stop sign and also failed to avoid colliding with a cyclist.  My wife’s journey to this date has been exceedingly long and tortuously painful.  She has endured nearly 30 arduous surgeries and has been left with a body and mind crippled with pain and post traumatic stress.

Gaylord Rehabilitation Center is where Colleen began to rebuild her new life with her new scar stricken body.  Everyone has ups and downs during life’s journey, whether it bestows its appearance as emotionally or physically painful.  Colleen has said and will continue to say, “Everything is relative”, when someone complains of having a bad day and then realizing everything Colleen has endured.

Let me tell you, my wife has suffered an unfathomable amount of pain during this recovery process.

Jody Williams is a Nobel peace laureate and Vermont native whom Colleen and I have become friends with.  During an extreme low point in Colleen’s recovery at Gaylord’s, she recalled a quote of Jody’s, “Emotion without action is irrelevant”.  Colleen then used those enabling words and became a tool to build change starting at Gaylord’s Rehabilitation Center to organize a bike tour to raise money for their program.  Nearly 10 months later, the bike tour raised $12,000, which went toward purchasing four recumbent bicycles.

During the last several years, we have become cycling and safety advocates within our community.  Most recently, we joined the Board of Directors of Bike Walk CT and have become State Coordinators for the Ride of Silence.  Being tapped into these gateways of advocating for safety, our hearts and souls can feel some relief knowing we are providing ourselves as catalysts for change.

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Sean Alexander is a devoted husband, avid triathlete, shares the importance of laughter and works to make a positive impact in the world.   A graduate of Stetson University where he studied Marketing, he has seen first-hand what happens when drivers are careless on roadways, and has made it his passion to educate cyclists and motorists alike about mutual respect and safety.  Sean speaks about the role of care giving which encompasses nutrition, health and exercise and the importance to take care of oneself in order to care for others.

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

LAST WEEK: Highway Winter Maintenance Pay off?  Safety!

Editorial Cartoon by Bob Englehart

PERSPECTIVE: Highway Winter Maintenance Pay off? Safety!

by Eric Jackson, PhD and Donald Larsen, PE In Connecticut, as in many other snow belt states, the state Department of Transportation (CTDOT) as well as local Public Works Departments (DPWs) can suddenly be thrust into the spotlight (or the hot seat) when winter storms hit, particularly when driving conditions deteriorate.  Our daily exposure to lightning fast activities and information, which allow us to assess situations and form opinions rapidly have altered our expectations.

Interestingly, as little as ten years ago, when a winter storm would make travel hazardous and place our busy lives on hold, we seemed able to adapt, maybe wait a day, adjust and move on.  Today’s society has little patience for travel delays and the “privilege” to travel is now seen as more of a right.

Fortunately, the CTDOT does not view this challenge as insurmountable and has used foresight and innovation to keep winter travel as safe as possible.  Since the winter season of 2006/2007 CTDOT has changed the way winter maintenance is performed.  They have discontinued the use of abrasives (such as sand) and phased in methods known as ‘anti-icing’ strategies [1].  These strategies have been honed and polished continually over the past ten years.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) prepared a report for the Connecticut General Assembly in 2015 that evaluated winter maintenance strategies employed at CTDOT.  This study reviewed CTDOT’s anti-icing effects on safety, the environment, and corrosion of vehicles and highway infrastructure.  The entire report can be found at http://www.ctcase.org/reports/  [2].  The safety implications of these changes were analyzed using the Connecticut Crash Data Repository (CTCDR), a motor vehicle crash database housed at the University of Connecticut.

An analysis of vehicle crashes over thirteen winter seasons, 1999 to 2013, was conducted to try and evaluate the impact of anti-icing on safety (see chart).  A comparison of crashes, specifically for state-maintained roads during winter seasons, indicates that injuries declined by 19.2%, on average, since anti-icing strategies were implemented.  When crashes on snow/slush or ice surface conditions were examined the average reduction in crashes with nonfatal injuries was an even more dramatic, 33.5%. 

CHART: Motor vehicle crashes involving nonfatal injuries with pavement surface condition equal to snow/slush or ice on Connecticut state-maintained roadways.

The reduction in the number of motor vehicle crashes with nonfatal injuries is a significant finding because according to a study by Qiu et al at the University of Iowa the rate of crashes on snow can be 84% higher than on dry pavement [3].  With an estimated cost in 2010 (from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) of $276,000 per non-incapacitating injury, [4] society- including everyone that travels - benefits from this significant reduction in injurious crashes.

Between 2006 and 2013, there was a reduction of 2,449 crashes with nonfatal injuries on Connecticut state-maintained roadways during snow/slush or ice conditions.  This calculates out to a cost savings of approximately $676 million.^*

Other ongoing research throughout the world shows that plowing is still the most cost effective way to clear the roadways of snow and ice.  Abrasives such as sand, grit or stone dust do not remove the snow or ice, and only delay the inevitable need for removal or melting.

However, the anti-icing techniques – the scientific application of deicing chemicals such as salt and other materials - provide a very important aid to snow/ice removal operations, preventing ice and snow from bonding to paved surfaces.  With anti-icing, the time period with snow covered roads – which are those critical times when crashes are most likely to occur - is also reduced.

From the estimated savings shown, it is important that CTDOT and the local municipal DPWs continue to improve winter maintenance by employing state-of-the-art equipment for chemical applications, timely snow and ice removal, and using weather monitoring stations as well as advanced weather prediction services and models. It appears that from the safety benefits alone, the continued expenditures made on winter maintenance have paid off.  Reducing the negative economic impact that results when people and goods don’t move is another benefit.

The CTCDR is available to anyone wishing to view motor vehicle crash statistics in Connecticut, for any type of crash, under any road conditions.  Connecticut is one of the few states that maintains a publicly accessible crash database.  It is highly recommended that if you have an interest in crash data, visit http://ctcrash.uconn.edu/ [5].

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Dr. Eric Jackson is an Associate Research Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut and is Director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center.  Donald Larsen PE, is a Temporary University Specialist at the Connecticut Transportation Institute at UConn and former Supervising Engineer with the Connecticut Department of Transportation

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

LAST WEEK: Do Community College Students Go Begging?

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[1]   CTDOT Staff, An Overview of Snow and Ice Control Operations on State Highways in Con­necticut, Office of Maintenance, Bureau of Highway Operations, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington, CT, June 2015.

[2]   Mahoney, J., D. Larsen, E. Jackson, K. Wille, T. Vadas, and S. Zinke, Winter Highway Maintenance Operations: Connecticut, Publication CT-2289-F-15-1, CTDOT, Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, July 2015. http://www.ctcase.org/reports/WinterHighway2015/winter-highway-2015.pdf

[3]   Qiu, L., and W. Nixon, Effects of Adverse Weather on Traffic Crashes, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2055, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2008, pp. 139-146.

[4]  Blincoe, L. J., Miller, T. R., Zaloshnja, E., & Lawrence, B. A., The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, USDOT, Washington, DC, Report No. DOT HS 812 013, May 2014, (rev. 2015, May).

[5]   Connecticut Crash Data Repository, Connecticut Transportation Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Website. http://ctcrash.uconn.edu/ (Accessed May 5, 2016).

*   For purposes of this calculation, each crash was arbitrarily assigned one non-incapacitating injury.

This article is based on a study conducted by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.  Eric Jackson and Donald Larsen served as members of the Research Team from the Connecticut Transportation Institute at the University of Connecticut.  Access the full study report, an executive summary, and briefing at http://www.ctcase.org/reports/index.html

Editorial Cartoon by Bob Englehart

PERSPECTIVE: Do Community College Students Go Begging?

by Endia DeCordova A professor at Manchester Community College noticed that a student – typically a regular class attendee – had stopped coming. Efforts to contact the student ultimately revealed that she had given up on many of her goals, including her education, because of depression. Having her electricity turned off because she couldn’t afford the bill was the last straw.

A staff member at the college was approached by a student who asked to borrow a dollar for the vending machine. He had to remain on campus all day -- through an evening course -- and couldn’t afford to buy anything from the cafeteria.

One more anecdote involves a student who dropped out because of an inability to scrape up bus fare. That student relied on public transportation to get everywhere, including to class.

These are true stories. The names are omitted and details smoothed over for obvious reasons. But they really happened this spring at MCC.  The image of the college student – not a care in the world – partying and protesting, cramming just in time to pass an exam, and simply marking time until graduation has never really been accurate. It is certainly far from the truth today. College students face major financial and emotional stress just to get to the point where they can even settle into their studies, much less complete their degrees.

In fact, the story of the borrowed candy-bar dollar is especially heartbreaking as it makes clear how much of a hurdle food-insecurity is for an increasing number of college students. A February 2016 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Students Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Books and Food,” highlights the disturbing data on hunger among college students. According to a 2015 study by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, 20 percent of community-college students were going hungry. Another, by City University of New York, found that 39 percent of its students were similarly at risk.

This underscores a major issue for college students nationally. How is it that higher ed creates poverty among people who are clearly working to improve their lives?

Rising costs of tuition, fees and books are easy to point to. At MCC, people are struggling to pay for higher education and after they enroll, often can’t follow through. For the spring 2016 term, nearly 900 students who applied to MCC paid their application fee but did not enroll. Another nearly 500 students enrolled but couldn’t complete their payments and were forced to drop out for lack of financial resources. Of those, many struggled to buy books or other class materials.

But the real issue is running just below the surface. Common sense tells us all that if you can’t afford to pay for something that is essentially a luxury – or a privilege, as many still view a college degree – you don’t buy it.

For many MCC students, not going to college is not an option. Their education is key to transformation – in many cases, moving them from zero hope to a promising future and a life of contributing to their families and their communities.

Yet as they forge ahead, they go begging for the basics. As the students above tragically did, they too often give up short of their goals. At the same time, public funds in Connecticut for higher ed are dropping.

This is why MCC is working through its foundation to develop a retention and completion grant program. Like many community colleges nationwide, we are determined to support students who have delayed starting college or “stopped out” of college because of short-term financial distress.

We ask students to assume some of the risk connected with the funding so they remain vested in their futures, but these grants (not loans) are designed to help them pay for the books -- or the bus pass, the electricity, the food they need -- to keep going and to graduate or transfer.

A college education today is a necessity. No one should have to beg.

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Endia DeCordova is Dean of Institutional Advancement and Community Engagement for Manchester Community College.

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

LAST WEEK: Face Your Fears - and the Editorial Board

Editorial Cartoon by Bob Englehart

PERSPECTIVE: Face Your Fears – and the Editorial Board

by Paul Steinmetz Even those of us who love our jobs dread some tasks that we can’t avoid. For many politicians, it’s the interview with the local newspaper’s editorial board. I imagine a lot of candidates will relive the scene many times: You sit across a conference room table from a handful of people, some of whom you have grown to loathe, and others you may not know. The editorial board is usually made up of the editorial page editor, the editor, maybe the publisher, and a reporter or two.

If you are an incumbent, the editorial page editor likely has written something biting and cruel about you in the past several months. You only talk to the editor when you call to complain about the editorial page editor. You may see the reporter frequently; he or she has repeatedly told you that the reporters have nothing to do with the editorials, and don’t know their content until they’re published. You aren’t positive that’s the truth. Nevertheless, you have convinced yourself this is a duty you must take on. If the newspaper endorses you, it might persuade some voters in your favor.

As the editor of a daily community paper, I sat on the editorial board for many election cycles. Unbeknownst to those running for office, I never prepared as well as I promised myself I would. And often they were stilted interviews because in the interest of fairness, we asked each candidate running for the same office the exact same questions, when it would have been much more interesting to get them talking on a personal level.

For example, one year a third-party candidate ran for mayor. He also hosted a local cable talk show and a couple of years earlier, in a rant against the newspaper and me, he had urged viewers to dump their household garbage at the foot of my driveway. No one did, and I decided finally not to torture him.

And torture is what it seemed to be for most of the politicians who came to see us. The most experienced wore a weary air or were angry and combative. John Rowland, when he was Connecticut’s governor, hated our editorials and our editorial page editor and he usually complained throughout the interview. (We usually endorsed him.)

One gentleman running for a seat as a state representative had no political experience and seemed terrified. He stammered, started to answer one way and then changed direction, and practically squeaked by the end of the session. I don’t recall any particularly tough questions; he had built it up in his mind that we were going to rip him apart, or ask him something he didn’t know. Admittedly, the editorial page editor was a little scary. She always did her homework and knew the issues. Her editorials routinely skewered politicians.

For the most part, journalists understand that they must see many sides of an issue, and their personal feelings are not to enter the equation. I know that sounds naïve to those outside the newsroom, but in my experience it was true. And the politicians who did best understood what we were trying to do and what, for the most part, they could expect.

After I left the paper a friend of mine who was running for re-election asked me to help him prepare for his upcoming editorial board interview. I suggested some of the issues the editors might bring up and some of the positions he had taken in the past couple of years that he would be criticized for. Then I pointed out he was not going to get the endorsement. He was a Republican and fairly conservative. The editor was unabashedly liberal. My friend’s opponent was a minority – and gay. “He’s their dream candidate,” I said. “They can’t pass this up.”

He laughed, sat back and acknowledged I was right. Later he said it was the most fun he had ever had at an editorial board interview.

When you admit that some parts of the job just aren’t as fun as others – but they still must be tackled – it is easier to address them with courage and even a sense of humor.

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Paul Steinmetz is director of Public Affairs & Community Relations at Western Connecticut State University. As the founder of Writing Associates, he consults on writing and media issues for businesses and individuals.

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

LAST WEEK: Successful Succession Planning for Nonprofits

Editorial Cartoon by Bob Englehart