Please
remember that this webpage is only an unofficial source of information.
THE END IS
NIGH...
SWRPA
:
AFTER THE LONG SESSION OF 2013 IS
COMPLETED, SAY GOOD-BY TO SWRPA DIRECTOR, WHO IS LEAVING, AND PERHAPS
TO THE AGENCY ITSELF, SOON. THE LEGISLATURE IS ENGAGED IN TURNING
EVERY REGIONAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION (SHOWN ABOVE) INTO A C.O.G., AND
MERGING THE 14
AGENCIES IN EXISTANCE NOW DOWN TO 5. FAREWELL TO REGIONALISM AS
IT HAS BEEN
CONSTITUTED IN CT SINCE 1962, PERHAPS.
SWRPA
&
MPO
IMPLEMENTING
THE REGIONAL
PLAN (2006-2015); REGIONAL STRUCTURE UP FOR DISCUSSION YET AGAIN
IN 2011
WILL SWRPA
RE-ENTER THE HOUSING DISCUSSION ANY TIME
SOON? IN A WAY, YES!!!
Job available in CT
Transit planners hope Mayor Malloy shapes
Gov. Malloy
Mark Pazniokas, CT MIRROR
April 27, 2011
Transit planners and advocates admired Dannel P. Malloy as the mayor of
Stamford, and they are optimistic about him as governor, despite--or
perhaps because of--his inability to find the right transportation
commissioner nearly four months after taking office.
"I'm glad he's taking time. We've had so many commissioners over the
last half-dozen years, let's finally get the right one," said Floyd
Lapp, executive director of the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency.
Lapp was a panelist Tuesday at a forum in Hartford on the development
of affordable, energy-efficient homes near mass transit, such as the
high-speed rail Malloy is promoting through central Connecticut.
Malloy was not represented at the forum sponsored by the
Partnership for Strong Communities, but most or all of the
panelists had dealt with him as mayor, including the keynote speaker,
developer and planner Jonathan F.P. Rose.
The Jonathan Rose Companies was the developer of Metro Green
Apartments, an energy-efficient, transit-oriented development, or TOD
in the jargon of planners, near the Stamford train station. At a
ribbon cutting in September 2009, Malloy stood with Rose and Timothy
Bannon, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority executive who now
serves as his chief of staff. Lapp praised Stamford and Norwalk
as the two cities in his planning region that have embraced the wisdom
of linking transit to development. Rose said transit-oriented
development is good business.
"It's where the market wants to be," Rose said.
But the forum took place against a backdrop in Washington of
diminishing federal funds for high-speed rail and urban development
initiatives. A strong push from the governor will be needed to continue
to keep the rail projects moving, panelists said.
"Good old-fashioned leadership in my opinion can overcome scarcity in
resources and apathy in people," Lapp said.
One of Malloy's first major transportation decisions as governor was to
back the construction of the New Britain-to-Hartford busway, which
proponents hope will one day tie into a high-speed rail line from
Springfield to Hartford to New Haven to New York. The project has
skeptics who question the cost and potential ridership, but none were
evident Tuesday.
"Imagine New Britain 35 minutes from Manhattan through a combination of
train and bus," said Curt Johnson, the program director for the
Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
Connecticut's legislature approved $5 million in planning money for
transit-oriented development in 2006, but another panelist, Kate Slevin
of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said the money was not
released until Malloy became governor. In an interview later
Tuesday, Malloy said new investments in rail and other mass transit
make little sense without comprehensive planning and a link to
development.
"I'm certainly going to have a transit-oriented development approach to
make sure we maximize the rail investment we will be making in the next
few years," he said.
Malloy said he is looking for a national leader in transportation to be
the commissioner of transportation, but he feels no pressure to move
quickly with James Redeker as acting commissioner. Redeker has 30 years
experience in mass transit in New Jersey.
"I've had two good acting commissioners," Malloy said. "This is a
position where I don't want to take the wrong person."
Several panelists and audience members complained Tuesday that the DOT
still is not an advocate of transit-oriented development or the best
development partner. Malloy has said he wants a commissioner who can
complete a transition that began under his predecessor.
"He wants to be very careful about who it is, somebody that has a
national reputation because transportation shapes land development, and
land development shapes transportation," Lapp said. "And he recognizes
that we need somebody with a transit background."
Malloy said he had one candidate he was seriously interested in, but
"for a number of reasons, it didn't work out."
Study to look at new East Side rail station
Stamford ADVOCATE
Martin B. Cassidy, Staff Writer
Published 12:40 p.m., Sunday, April 17, 2011
NEW YORK -- In the next year, feasibility studies to study the possible
addition of rail stations in Bridgeport and Stamford will get under way
using part of a $3.5 million federal planning grant meant to foster
development around transit hubs, officials said Friday.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia and
Connecticut planning agency officials joined New York members of the
New York-Connecticut Sustainable Communities Initiative at the Regional
Plan Assembly to accept the funding from U.S. Housing and Urban
Development Regional Director Adolfo Carrion.
Carrion said the $100 million in grants for 45 different regions to
encourage higher density development in cities is linked to
environmental and resource concerns the projected population increases
in the coming decades that will concentrate 81 percent of the country's
population in cities.
"That growth is going to need to be vertical," Carrion said. "The city
we knew of the last century, the industrial city that was the urban
core is not the city we know now or in the future."
The study of a possible addition of a station at East Main Street in
Stamford would be one of four studies costing between $200,000 and
$300,000 to design or vet projects in Bridgeport, Norwalk, and New
Haven to enhance mass-transit use, said South Western Region
Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Floyd Lapp.
A station at East Main Street in Stamford could be an alternative if
downtown rail ridership outstrips capacity at the Stamford rail
station, Lapp said.
The potential facility would also generate higher density housing along
the Stamford Urban Transitway, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday.
"I think it is an important development," Malloy said. "It would be a
boon for development in the South End that's already started and you
should be able to put a station at that spot."
The Bridgeport station study would consider a station on the east side
of the city that would encourage commercial and residential
redevelopment on about 700 acres of land in the area, Finch said.
A more dynamic downtown will help attract more young professionals to
Bridgeport, according to Donald C. Eversley, director of Bridgeport's
Office of Planning and Economic Development, who said 25 to 38 year
olds were the fastest growing group within Bridgeport's population
because of the city's larger pool of cheaper housing than neighboring
towns.
"Fairfield has three train stations and Bridgeport has only one with
three times as many people," Finch said. "The bags of money come into
the city on the trains."
The two other studies funded would:
Consider ways to change policies to regulations to help advance the
Norwalk Redevelopment Agency's master plan to encourage redevelopment
of and investment in the area around the South Norwalk railroad station;
Design a plan to phase in new parking structures around Union Station
in New Haven to free up land closer to the facility for
transit-oriented development.
"To remain globally competitive and broaden prosperity, we need to
maintain and build around the region's transit network, our unique
competitive advantage," Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan
Association said. "From Babylon to Brooklyn, to Bridgeport, the goal of
this partnership is to leverage the billions in state, local, and
federal transit system investments by developing accessible jobs and
mixed income housing in cities, village centers, and communities the
system serves."
Regional economic development district
seeks state approval
Martin B. Cassidy, Staff Writer, Greenwich TIME
Published: 07:16 p.m., Sunday, August 8, 2010
Municipal leaders from Greenwich to Weston are hoping state officials
will recognize their coalition to seek federal money for public works,
transportation and other economic development projects designed to
promote responsible growth in the region.
Floyd Lapp, executive director for the Southwestern Regional
Metropolitan Planning Agency, said a proposed economic development
district including 14 Fairfield County cities and towns could be
considered too small to be recognized under a 2010 state law requiring
new economic districts to be composed of no fewer than 15
municipalities.
This year, the Connecticut Economic Resource Council completed a
comprehensive economic development strategy for the 14-town group --
the Coastal Fairfield County One Coast Report, which includes a
five-year plan that will need approval from state economic officials
before the group can seek state-administered funding from the U.S.
Economic Development Administration for regional projects, Lapp said.
"We've asked that they consider the 15-town limit as a guideline," Lapp
said. "We think common sense will prevail, and since economic
development doesn't have anything to do with the number of cities
involved, we hope they will dispense a size requirement altogether."
Jim Watson, a spokesman for the state Department of Economic and
Community Development, said the group's economic development strategy
is being reviewed by the state; the plan has already been approved by
the Economic Development Administration.
The state law, Public Act 168, calls for the state's 169 towns and
cities to be grouped in a maximum of eight economic development
districts.
"With the EDA-approved (plan) they are already eligible to apply for
federal EDA funding," Watson said.
New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker, chairman of the Southwestern
Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, which represents
municipalities including Stamford, Greenwich, Wilton, Norwalk and
Darien, said the effort is an expansion of attempts already underway to
consider combining emergency dispatch and other municipal services in
lower Fairfield County.
"There are a lot of shared interests we have like promoting affordable
housing and reducing traffic congestion that stymie the ability of
businesses to operate efficiently that we can work on together," Walker
said.
The economic strategy lays out a five-year list of broad goals for the
region to move towards a variety of goals including reductions in
automobile congestion, improved air quality, new residential and
commercial development, and increasing the use of alternative energy.
The plan includes the $28 million South Norwalk Railroad Station
Intermodal Project, to create a transit facility including an expanded
bus terminal and pedestrian safety improvements, and the 350-unit
Waypoint housing development on West Avenue in Norwalk as projects in
need of federal funding.
Two other related projects are included in the plan -- the Lake Success
Business Park in Bridgeport, which officials estimate would create more
than 4,000 new jobs, and the Seaview Avenue Corridor Access Project,
which would improve traffic flow between Interstate 95 and Route 1 in
Bridgeport.
Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia said he views the broader approach to
regional cooperation to compete for funds will be positive, with better
roads and utilities and corporate office space in Bridgeport, Stratford
and other towns also benefiting lower Fairfield County.
"If the state is saying it will look favorably on that regional type
approach I think it will be good," Moccia said. "People get leery about
it because they think you are giving up on opportunities for the local
economy."
Coalition
seeks recognition of new
regional district
Martin B. Cassidy, Staff Writer, Greenwich TIME (?)
Published: 09:56 p.m., Sunday, August 1, 2010
Municipal leaders from Greenwich to Weston are hoping state officials
will recognize their coalition to seek federal money for public works,
transportation and other economic development projects designed to
promote responsible growth in the region.
Floyd Lapp, executive director for the Southwestern Regional
Metropolitan Planning Agency, said a proposed economic development
district including the 14 cities and towns could possibly be considered
too small to be recognized under a 2010 state law that requires new
economic districts to be composed of no fewer than 15 municipalities.
This year, the Connecticut Economic Resource Council completed a
comprehensive economic development strategy for the 14-town group
called the Coastal Fairfield County One Coast Report, which includes a
five-year plan that will need approval from state economic officials
before the group can seek state-administered funding from the U.S.
Economic Development Administration for regional projects, Lapp said.
"We've asked that they consider the 15-town limit as a guideline," Lapp
said. "We think common sense will prevail, and since economic
development doesn't have anything to do with the number of cities
involved, we hope they will dispense with a size requirement
altogether."
Jim Watson, a spokesman for the Department of Economic and Community
Development, said that the group's economic development strategy is
being reviewed by the state, which is more likely given the plan has
already been approved by the Economic Development Administration.
The state law, Public Act 168, calls for the state's 169 towns and
cities to be grouped in a maximum of eight economic development
districts.
"With the EDA-approved (plan) they are already eligible to apply for
federal EDA funding," Watson said.
New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker, chairman of the Southwestern
Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, which represents towns
including Stamford, Greenwich, Wilton, Norwalk and Darien, said the
effort is an expansion of efforts already under way to consider
combining emergency dispatch and other municipal services already
taking place in lower Fairfield County.
"There are a lot of shared interests we have like promoting affordable
housing and reducing traffic congestion that stymie the ability of
businesses to operate efficiently that we can work on together," Walker
said.
The economic strategy lays out a five-year list of broad goals for the
region to move toward a variety of goals including reductions in
automobile congestion, improved air quality, new residential and
commercial development, and increasing the use of alternative energy.
The plan includes the $28 million South Norwalk Railroad Station
Intermodal Project, to create a transit facility including an expanded
bus terminal and pedestrian safety improvements, and the 350-unit
Waypoint housing development on West Avenue in Norwalk as projects in
need of federal funding.
Two other related projects that are included in the plan are two
related projects: the Lake Success Business Park in Bridgeport, which
officials estimate would create more than 4,000 new jobs, and the
Seaview Avenue Corridor Access Project, which would improve traffic
flow between Interstate 95 and Route 1 in Bridgeport.
Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia said he views the broader approach to
regional cooperation to compete for funds will be positive, with better
roads and utilities and corporate office space in Bridgeport, Stratford
and other towns also benefiting lower Fairfield County.
"If the state is saying it will look favorably on that regional type
approach, I think it will be good," Moccia said. "People get leery
about it because they think you are giving up on opportunities for the
local economy."
W A T E
R S H E D S T U D I E S A
T S W R P A - W A T C
H T H I S W O R K S H O
P O N L I N
E H E R E
SWRPA WATERSHED STUDIES OF NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION IN REGIONAL
RIVERS: Recommendations phase coming...
SAUGATUCK
(AND ITS WEST BRANCH), MIANUS AND FIVE-MILE; NORWALK RIVER IN A
SEPARATE STUDY - specific recommendations in problem areas of first
three rivers to be made after field work to obtain original data.
2nd
in Norwalk City Hall, near Concert Hall,
April 28, 2011.
Workshop number
two presentation/discussion was recorded (video available
online). Please remember
that the room was darkened.
What transpired was a review of where we had left off last
October. The consultant requested feedback and direction on the
Goals
and Strategies. Which he then received. One participant
from the Mianus suggested he
would like to be able to react to a written set of specific strategies
and goals. Which the workshop then proceeded to do in the last 45
minute, by watershed, at separate tables. About Town could not
stay for the wrap up, which followed after 9pm.
Another
participant from the Mianus asked about the model being used - is it
more than what we can all get off the CLEAR website...answer YES.
It is a medium detail (the most this phase of the study can pay for) -
and data collection from the specific problem areas in the field is
going to be done next for
those locations.
Presently, data being input for timeline
purposes is being
checked for consistancy (USGS unfortunately not good enough - need 10
years of
consistent reporting). More comments to come.
Workshop number one at
Rowayton Community
Center, Oct. 23, 2010.
INTRODUCTORY MEETING FOR ALL FOUR WATERSHEDS
1st meeting in New
Canaan...introduction to all rivers being studied, including Norwalk
River.
Consensus:
Norwalk River needs work
By KARA O'CONNOR, Hour Staff Writer
6-24-2010
WILTON
An update to the Norwalk River Watershed Action plan was presented at a
South Western Planning Agency meeting on Thursday afternoon.
According to Nicole Davis, SWRPA regional manager, the purpose of the
meeting was to implement the state Environment of Environmental
Protection's nine elements of watershed planning to the existing action
plan. The current watershed action plan was implemented in 1998 by the
Norwalk River Watershed Initiative and updated in 2004, said Davis.
"We already have a Norwalk River Watershed Action Plan, but it needs to
be updated again," said Davis. "The main point of this meeting is to
present the nine goals and try and get some feedback."
According to Davis, these nine elements include: identifying the cause
and source of pollution; estimating load reductions; creating a
description of management measures; technical and financial assistance;
public involvement and education; milestones during the project;
performance; monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of implementation
efforts; and creating a schedule.
Sri Rangarajan, a consultant working on the action plan from Hydroqual
inc., a privately owned environmental firm, said he expects the new
watershed management plan to be finished by January 2011.
"I think that this watershed action plan already has a lot of the
elements in the old plan," said Rangarajan. "I have to say that the
education and public involvement for the original plan is and has been
in place. The watershed plan also has goals in place to reduce
pollution and help the wildlife in the area."
Rangarajan said one problem he did notice was the water quality in the
Norwalk River was not up to the highest standard.
"Right now, the Norwalk River is at a B level, which means that it is
suitable for fish and wildlife," said Rangarajan. "We would like to be
at AA, which would be suitable for drinking water."
According to Mike Law, co-chairman of the Norwalk River Watershed
Association, one major problem the old action plan has not solved is
development around the Norwalk River.
"All of the towns involved in this watershed action plan are short on
revenue and are concerned with development," said Law. "But if we put
restrictions on development around the area, I think we can live with
that, if not it's going to impact the Norwalk River big time."
Norwalk resident and environmental activist Diane Lauricella, who
helped with the current Watershed Action Plan, said she thinks if the
towns gave developers the initiative to go green with planning, they
would.
"I think that developers in the area want to look good to the towns
they are working in," said Lauricella. "So if people put pressure on
these developers to go green, I think they would do it."
According to Davis, a lot more work needs to be done with the new
action plan.
"This meeting was an introduction to see the public's initial thoughts
and reactions," said Davis. "We all agree that the Norwalk River needs
work, and we are creating ways to do that."
According to Rangarajan, the next step will developing new goals and
recommendations on how to implement the nine elements and will be
discussed at the next SWRPA meeting in early September.
Plan to give first responders access to
highway cameras fades to black
Martin B. Cassidy, Stamford ADVOCATE Staff Writer
Published: 10:21 p.m., Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A long running, intermittent effort to give police and firefighters
direct access to images from a state highway camera system on
Interstate 95 is dormant again as state transportation officials say
they lack both permission and funding for a Web-based system for first
responders.
Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff said access is long overdue
and area leaders will urge the state Department of Transportation to
find a way to fund the work.
The lack of access leaves area public safety workers at a disadvantage
in planning how to deploy first responders to locations of car crashes
and other emergencies, Joseloff said.
"Here we are in 2010 and we are dealing with 1995 technology," Joseloff
said. "We should have long ago had access to the images to better
respond to accidents and other problems."
Elected leaders in the South Western Region Metropolitan Planning
Organization and other officials were surprised last month to learn the
DOT wouldn't start a $2.5 million project to provide a website giving
first responders access to the camera images.
The work is part of a $40 million package of work that would replace
the cameras completely and give first responders statewide direct
access to the images inside dispatch centers, DOT spokesman Kevin
Nursick said.
"Due to funding constraints it is hard to put any of these projects on
a timeline right now," Nursick said.
The DOT maintains a network of more than 100 traffic cameras along
I-95. The images can be viewed publicly on the agency's website, but
not in real time, and access to the images is sometimes blacked out by
state police during serious accidents.
The $2.5 million project has faced delays because of disputes of how to
fund it, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said, and currently the South
Central Council of Governments, one of the state's 15 regional planning
agencies, has refused to endorse the work.
"If funding were approved by all the regions today, it would take
roughly one year to have an operational system for all first
responders," Nursick said.
James Rode, transportation planner for the SCROG group, which
represents 15 towns and cities including Milford, Madison, and New
Haven said the group objected to a funding plan that included federal
money reserved for congestion reduction projects meant to improve air
quality.
Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy, a member of the state Department of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security's executive committee for
Region 1 including Fairfield County said he had expected the $2.5
million that police and firefighters need real-time access to the
images to assess the appropriate size of a required response, traffic
backups, and how many ambulances might be needed.
"It's important for the fire service because we can make better
decisions about the type of equipment we send and which direction we
send it," McCarthy said. "It's frustrating to learn that the interim
solution won't be available for funding reasons."
Despite strong support to establish the system, the South Western
Regional Planning Agency in 2008 voted not to endorse the work, asking
that the DOT allow first responders including police and fire chiefs
input on the design of the system.
South Western Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Floyd Lapp
said that the DOT could have gotten the work done this year or in prior
years if it had been more proactive in heeding concerns raised by
planning groups.
"This should have been done a long time ago and is another instance of
the DOT not moving quickly to address something that is a high
priority," Lapp said. "It's one of those sad situations where you won't
see something done until something terrible happens."
As a
result of "2010 partisan food fight"...
SWRPA LEGISLATIVE
MEETING 2011 USES NEW "HAND HELD" CAMERA METHOD; DIRECTION BY
M.P.O. STAFF...
Local lawmakers point partisan
fingers over
state spending
HERSAM-ACORN Press
Written by Maggie Caldwell
Thursday, 18 February 2010 00:00
A meeting that brought together local lawmakers to discuss regional
collaboration on transportation, housing and other projects, turned
into what U.S. Rep. Jim Himes called a “partisan food fight” over state
spending.
The Southwestern Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) and the Southwestern
Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (SWRMPO) held their annual
joint legislative breakfast at City Hall in Norwalk on Jan. 26. The
meeting was attended by the mayors and first selectmen from the eight
towns and cities that make up Connecticut’s panhandle and the region’s
state legislators along with Himes (D-4).
New Canaan first selectman and newly elected SWRMPO chairman Jeb Walker
began the meeting by listing some of the region’s critical
transportation issues. Maintaining a financial commitment to Metro
North Railroad’s New Haven Line, constructing and improving of sound
barriers along I-95, initiating measures to improve roadway safety and
getting the state Department of Transportation to develop a strategy
for state rail and busing services were among the priorities. Walker
called these measures “logical and economical.”
“Many projects were recently eliminated. Of particular concern are the
I-95, Route 7 and Route 15 interchange and the Route 7 widening
project. The southwest region is home of most of the state’s
congestion... And despite the economy and budget shortfalls, it is
imperative not to cut here,” Walker said.
Other priorities beyond transportation include avoiding cutting
municipal assistance programs such as Town Aid for Roads (TAR), and
Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), expanding affordable
housing and promoting smart growth, and improving government efficiency
through legislative action that would have minimal fiscal impact,
including providing immunity against personal liability to zoning
enforcement officers. Walker also stressed that one of the most
important actions the legislators could take in Hartford would be to do
away with unfunded mandates.
He noted that residents of SWRPA’s eight towns and cities make up 10%
of the state’s population, but pay a third of the state’s taxes and
receive far less back in state aid.
Debate over the deficit
After going through the priorities, the floor was opened for lawmakers
to comment and add their own priorities. The talk quickly turned to the
state’s financial woes after Norwalk Mayor Dick Moccia relayed some
crucial numbers to consider in light of the state’s projected half
billion dollar deficit.
“Over a six year period, we’ve had a 19.6% inflation rate in the state
of Connecticut. During that same time salaries in the state went up
44%t, debt service went up 41%, health care went up 101%, health care
active was up 73.6%, pensions are up 76%, Medicaid is up 39.3%.
Interestingly, the only increase that was close to inflation at 24.7%
was ECS (Education Cost-Sharing) funding,” Moccia said.
State Sen. Toni Boucher (R-26), who represents parts of New Canaan,
Weston and Wilton, noted that in addition to the rising costs in the
state, the population has remained flat.
“The largest line item, similar to municipalities, is salaries, wages
and benefits,” Boucher said. Unlike the towns and cities which have
borne the brunt of the economic downturn by making cuts and freezing
salaries to keep spending down, the state has not managed to balance
its budget, she added.
Peggy Reeves (D-143) who represents part of Wilton and Norwalk, said
she shared the concern with her fellows in the legislature that
unfunded liabilities such as pensions are a “ticking time bomb” but did
note that the state has instituted reduced benefits for new hires. She
also said things could have been far worse.
“It is frankly unheard of in difficult economic times to reduce taxes,
and we did,” Reeves said. “We reduced taxes for many people in our
areas. I think we need to focus on the fact that we only raised taxes
on a small percentage of people.”
Wilton First Selectman William Brennan challenged her statement, saying
that the state is heading to a precipice.
“I don’t know how it could have been a lot worse,” Brennan said. “The
problem we’ve got is we haven’t done enough. To compare with other
states, we are right at the top of the list. We’ve got to start working
together. We’ve got to start doing something different or we are in
serious trouble.”
He added that the deficit here is worse than in California and the
problems are fundamental.
“Our state is out of control,” he said. “When revenues are not coming
in, you’ve got to do something to expenditures.”
State Sen. Scott Frantz (R-36) who represents parts of Greenwich, New
Canaan and Stamford, pointed out that not only are population growth
and job growth at “net zero”, the state “has lost at least 350,000 very
solid tax payers that supported the increasing cost structure.”
“Even though the population is flat, that population has changed,”
Frantz said. “We’ve lost a lot of wealth.”
Likening the state to a ship heading towards an iceberg, Frantz argued
that only “one side of the aisle has tried everything in the book.”
Greenwich State Rep. Lile Gibbons (R-150) noted that so much of the
state’s budget goes to health and human services in some form or
another, and that while there are needy people in the state, Hartford
shouldn’t squash “the economic engine of Connecticut.”
“We need more transportation funding, more infrastructure,” she said.
“If you hurt what is the viable source of revenue for state, you hurt
the whole state.”
State Rep. John Hetherington (R-125) who represents part of New Canaan
and Wilton, said that with no natural resources in Connecticut, the
state’s citizens must rely on their own ingenuity and creativity to
create revenue. He argued that the legislature should eliminate an
environment that is “hostel to wealth creation,” which he said is the
factor driving people out of the state.
“Our tax structure is such that 10% of taxpayers pay about 80% of
taxes... No wonder we’re losing population,” he said.
“We’ve got to cut spending. We can’t tax way out nor borrow our way
out,” Walker said.
State Rep. Bruce Morris (D-140) said the issue is more complex than
just slashing funding to programs.
“Normally the rhetoric of these conversations is this side is raising
taxes, this side wants to make cuts... There are certain needs that the
government needs to step in and take care of... Yes, we need to make
cuts, but they need to be strategic. Don’t cut for sake of cutting,” he
said.
Mr. Morris used the example of Connecticut Commission on Children,
which the state was considering getting rid of, but the commission did
its own due diligence, finding federal funding to keep it operational,
raising $11 million this summer.
“It is an agency that is proactive,” Morris said. “I don’t think we
need to make this a Democrat or Republican issue. The Democrats when
this was proposed more than anything else, wanted to make sure
education wouldn’t be cut because it would affect property taxes. We
were not supporting cuts to towns. To go forward, we need to all come
together and get aid from Washington... We need to take a look at the
fact that people at the lower end of the spectrum, we need to make
certain we are protected.”
“I think it is right for people making $250,000 or more to be taxed,”
he said. “I’d rather do that than do a cut on someone who is getting
$20,000 or $30,000 a year.”
With the meeting winding down, Himes said that while he had learned a
lot about the “disfunctionality of Hartford,” he was leaving with
little idea as to what to pursue for the region in Washington. SWRPA
Chairman Paul Settelmeyer said he would prepare a concise memo for
Himes with the region’s priorities.
The meeting took place the day after President Barack Obama announced
plans to freeze the federal budget, an announcement that Himes said
will “radically change the fiscal mood in Congress.” He added, however,
that there “seems to be an understanding of the need to get
infrastructure funded.”
Himes scolds local leaders
By CHASE WRIGHT, Hour Staff Writer
January 26, 2010
The South Western Regional Planning Agency met Tuesday in Norwalk to
discuss future funding for public transportation, municipal aid and
housing during the worst economic downturn in recent history.
However, a political blame-game between state representatives from
around Fairfield County consumed the majority of the morning meeting at
Norwalk City Hall, and Congressman Jim Himes, D-4, was quick to chide
both sides for engaging in a "bipartisan food-fight."
"The meeting was to be adjourned a few minutes ago, and I've learned a
lot about what I guess I would characterize as the disfunction of
Hartford," Himes said as the meeting neared its 9 a.m. close.
"I'm about to walk out of this meeting, and I have no idea what I
should be advocating for in Washington with respect to transportation,
with respect to housing," he said. "I've seen a pretty good bipartisan
food-fight here, but that was probably not the objective of this
meeting."
Connecticut legislators clashed for months over how best to fill an $8
billion state budget gap, before Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell allowed a
Democratic-favored proposal to become law in September without her
signature.
That budget is already $500 million in deficit, and state
representatives plan to meet in Hartford in the coming weeks to make
more cuts.
Following Himes' food-fight comment, state Rep. Larry Cafero, R-142,
grabbed his belongings and stormed out of the community room.
Cafero, who addressed the audience immediately before Himes, pleaded
for bipartisan solutions, but also criticized Democrats in the General
Assembly for passing a budget that called for higher taxes and cuts to
municipalities.
"We're in deep trouble," Cafero said frankly. "There are five months
left in the fiscal year, and we're a half a billion dollars in deficit."
Along with state Rep. Terri Wood, R-141, Cafero, the House minority
leader, chastised House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-84, who last
week launched the Blue Ribbon Commission on Municipal Opportunities and
Regional Efficiencies. The 45-member commission seeks to identify
efficiencies and save money for municipalities. It has no Republicans
legislators among its ranks.
"If we're going to work in a bipartisan fashion, then damn it, let's do
it. Lets stop talking about it, and let's do it," Cafero said.
The purpose of Tuesday's meeting wasn't to rally support for a
bipartisan solution to the state's budget deficit. Rather, the meeting
-- organized by the regional planning agency SWRPA -- was intended to
address funding transportation initiatives that effect Southwestern
Connecticut.
SWRPA chairman and New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker said avoiding
cuts to municipal assistance programs, funding improvements to the New
Haven Rail Line, installing sound barriers along Interstate 95 and
implementing more stringent roadway safety guidelines were of vital
importance.
"Of particular concern are I-95, the Route 7 and (Route) 15 interchange
and the Route 7 widening project," he said. "While we are under very
tight fiscal constraints, the Southwestern region is home to most of
the state's congestion and desperately needs solutions."
Himes said there has been a "radically changed fiscal mood" in
Congress, and states may not see the same level of federal support
they've seen since the stimulus package was implemented.
"Fairfield County in particular is the economic engine of the state and
if you accept that as your premise, it seems to me that we do not get
our adequate share," Himes said.
"As much as we are going into a period of pretty intense fighting over
fiscal issues, the extent to which we speak as one voice, and point out
what we all know to be true, which is that this is where the money
comes from, we have a pretty compelling case to be made," he said.
Route 1 in Connecticut treacherous to
walkers, report says
By Martin B. Cassidy, Stamford ADVOCATE STAFF WRITER
Published: 08:01 p.m., Wednesday, January 6, 2010
More pedestrians died on U.S. Route 1 between Stamford and Guilford
than on any other Connecticut street in the past three years, a sign
that the state road need more improvements to reduce the dangers, a
transportation group has concluded in a new report.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a Manhattan-based nonprofit
group that lobbies for decreased automobile use, found that of 94
pedestrian deaths statewide between 2006 and 2008, eight were on the
70-mile stretch of Route 1 from Stamford to Guilford, said the report
released Wednesday.
The report analyzed statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
The second-most-dangerous state road was U.S. Route 5, which had six
deaths during that period, according to the report. The route begins in
New Haven and runs north, roughly parallel to Interstate 95.
"Even though progress is being made, the majority of these pedestrian
fatalities are occurring on arterial roads designed to move cars
through," Ryan Lynch, executive director of the group, said. "This
happens at the expense of pedestrian safety and livable areas, and
Route 1 has to be redesigned to accommodate pedestrians and other
users."
Locally, Bridgeport had the most total pedestrian fatalities with six,
followed by Norwalk with five and Stamford with 4, according to the
report. New Canaan and Greenwich had three each, and Darien two.
The report recommends amending the state's Complete Streets Act to
require the Connecticut Department of Transportation to spend more on
bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and use a larger share of federal
highway safety and congestion mitigation funds toward such improvements.
Pedestrian infrastructure improvements are considered for all road
project designs based on feasibility, and can include straightening
curves, widening or striping shoulders, building sidewalks and
improving crosswalks, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said.
However Nursick said many fatal accidents take place because of human
error.
From 2006 to 2008, there were 220 accidents involving pedestrians on
Route 1 between Greenwich and the Rhode Island border, of which law
enforcement found the pedestrian at fault 117 times, according to DOT
records. Of 10 fatal accidents on the Post Road in that time, eight
were caused by pedestrian error.
"The remaining accidents were caused by the driver," Nursick said. "...
Again, infrastructure improvements and enhancements are indeed
important, but on a fundamental level, regardless of improvements,
these accidents will continue to happen until pedestrians and motorists
alike obey very basic rules of the road."
The Complete Streets law, which went into effect in October, requires
Connecticut to use at least 1 percent of transportation funds on
pedestrian and bicycle improvements. The law also provides for an
11-member Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, which will analyze
potential pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements and advise
transportation officials on projects.
David Kooris, vice president of the Regional Plan Association, a
transportation advocacy group, said traffic calming along
state-administered roads would improve safety for pedestrians as well
as increase capacity of roads by easing stop-and-go traffic hold-ups.
"The interesting thing about Route 1 is that it is simultaneously
trying to play the role of regional connector and local main street,"
Kooris said. "Even if you were really aggressive about traffic calming
on Tresser Boulevard from where it meets Broad Street toward Greenwich,
the increased travel time for drivers is so insignificant compared to
the benefit for pedestrians."
Alex Karman, a senior transportation planner for the South Western
Regional Planning Agency, said that improved sidewalks and crosswalks
at accident-prone intersections in Stamford, including East Main Street
and Lafayette Street, and Tresser Boulevard and Washington Boulevard,
would make it easier for residents to reach train and bus stations.
The agency, which does transportation planning, is conducting two
federally funded traffic-congestion studies of the Route 1 corridor.
One will consider pedestrian hazards from Tresser Boulevard at
Greenwich Avenue west to Greenwich, and another will focus on Darien,
Karman said.
There is also a study of Route 7 from Norwalk to Danbury, Karman said.
Stamford Traffic Engineer Mani Poola said pedestrian safety has
improved citywide in recent years, especially on Washington Boulevard,
because of "countdown" crosswalk lights that display for pedestrians
the number of seconds until a traffic light turns green.
"I don't think we've had any recent fatalities on Route 1 in Stamford,"
Poola said, "though I do feel we need to do the studies to decide what
could possibly be done to make it safer."
Local
stimulus highway funds in limbo
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Martin B. Cassidy, STAFF WRITER
Posted: 06/12/2009 09:20:26 PM EDT
Updated: 06/13/2009 02:53:23 AM EDT
A stop-and-go effort of navigating through the federal process
controlling use of federal highway funds under President Barack Obama's
February stimulus package could likely prevent Fairfield County
municipalities from beginning $9.2 million in proposed paving projects
until next spring.
This week at a meeting held at the Norwalk Transit District
headquarters, New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker told state
Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Jeff Parker that he
could start paving roads using the $1 million in federal money set
aside for New Canaan in short order, if only administrators could get
through the process governing use of the money.
While resigned to following the detailed federal process administered
by the DOT, Walker lamented the process is keeping the money from
having an immediate economic effect.
"In New Canaan, we've been paving roads for 100 years," Walker said.
"We know how to pave a road. I have construction companies in New
Canaan that need work now, but at the rate we're going, we'll have
asphalt plants close and create no new jobs this year."
At the meeting, local leaders and public works chiefs from the six
affected towns questioned Parker about the lengthy procedure needed to
get final approval to begin the paving projects financed under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The money was approved in March, and officials said that as the summer
progresses, hopes are fading to get the relatively small projects
finished before construction season ends in November.
Most of the towns requested money for only paving projects because the
recovery act legislation required towns to present "shovel-ready"
projects, and the straightforward road improvements were the only work
they had planned that met the criteria, Norwalk Public Works Director
Hal Alvord said.
"It was my anticipation ever since this thing started the money would
be channeled through the state departments, and they would follow the
process of how it is always done," Alvord said. "But there is no
language in the recovery law that creates a way to get the money to
municipalities quickly."
Parker said the DOT has scheduled a round of meetings with affected
municipalities -- Stamford, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk
Westport, and Weston -- to expedite the process, which is required by
federal law.
The DOT's Bureau of Engineering and other administrators can try to
focus on the applications, Parker said, but they also are overseeing
$202 million in highway and other transportation projects funded by the
stimulus.
"Like it or not, this is the process," Parker said. "We can try to
streamline the process as we can, while still being compliant."
Typically, municipalities are able to expedite paving projects by
adding work to contracts already in place and using standard
specifications, Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia said. He also said the
process was bogging down his public works engineers who were refining
the proposals.
"The problem is I don't have an engineer sitting at his desk with his
thumb in his ears who can spend all his time just on this," Moccia
said. "Realistically, I can't see getting the bids out until
Thanksgiving."
Floyd Lapp, executive director for the South Western Regional Planning
Agency, said that he held out hope that with some diligent effort
between the DOT and municipalities, the projects could begin by the end
of the summer.
But Lapp said it was a difficult challenge to prepare and propose
projects for stimulus money in the month and a half provided earlier
this year. He said that if money for roadway projects had been funneled
directly to the cities and towns, the stimulus would have had more of
an economic effect sooner.
"A paving project is a very local project, but the towns feel they have
been saddled with a variety of bureaucratic requirements that take a
lot of time," Lapp said. "It's a shame because 'shovel-ready' shouldn't
mean going from the spring of 2009 to sometime next year."
State
debates the goal of tolls: Is aim to generate revenue or push mass
transit?
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Martin B. Cassidy, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/10/2009 06:48:13 PM EST
A southwestern Connecticut planning group is asking state officials to
consider tolls more as a way to get cars off the highways and less as a
source of revenue.
The state is doing a $1 million study of electronic tolling and
congestion pricing, and members of the South Western Regional Planning
Agency want it to focus on congestion pricing, which charges higher
toll fees during rush hour and aims to entice commuters to take mass
transit instead. But the state wants the study to show how tolls can
make money.
Most options in the study -- creating tolled lanes parallel to highways
that would allow drivers to travel faster, tolling cars at state
borders and charging drivers based on miles traveled -- may generate
revenue but don't reduce traffic, SWRPA said.
Weston First Selectman Woody Bliss and SWRPA Executive Director Floyd
Lapp sent a letter to the state Transportation Strategy Board, Gov. M.
Jodi Rell and Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie asking that the
study, now under way, be reworked. The strategy board hired Cambridge
Systematics of Massachusetts to conduct the study. Now, for
instance, the study includes an option to toll just trucks, but that
has limited value because many truckers travel before or after rush
hour to avoid backups, Bliss said.
"The point is not to generate money but to create incentives for people
not to travel on the road when it is busiest," he said. "Border tolling
has nothing to do with congestion pricing, and the same with truck-only
tolling."
Members of the Transportation Strategy Board are expected to discuss
the study at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Connecticut Legislative
Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave, Hartford. Once approved, the
board, appointed by the governor, could make recommendations to Rell
for action later this year. Members of the board did not respond
to calls Tuesday. Philip Smith, undersecretary for the state
Office of Policy & Management, said the study is meant to outline
how congestion pricing and electronic tolling can make money for the
state.
"We have said from the outset it would look at both congestion pricing
and looking at tolls as a source of revenue," Smith said.
Lapp and Bliss have asked for additional public hearings on the report
before the board votes on it and for a draft report to be distributed
to members of a technical advisory committee. Tolls were removed
from Interstate 95 in 1985, and from the Merritt Parkway in 1987 after
an accident at a toll interchange in Stratford in 1983 that killed
seven people. Rell has said it is unlikely she would support a
return to tolls.
Lapp said the study should incorporate more input from municipal
planners.
"If they took into account our local expertise and knowledge, they
would realize that the issue is congestion pricing," he said. "They've
thrown out many, many options that raise all sorts of other issues that
muddy what are the already muddy waters of a controversial topic."
DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said the agency will evaluate the options
when the study is complete.
"The department is looking forward to seeing the results of the study
as well as participating in dialogue on the issue," Nursick said.
"TOD"
- how
does it work in Southwestern CT?
Click here
for PDF of Executive
Director's article in "Stamford Business Outlook" (January 2008).
Please add "energy efficient usage" to the last sentence of this
article--these closing words the victim of over-zealous editing.
Development
rolls with transit links: Conference looks at trends
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Mark Ginocchio, Staff Writer
Published September 19 2007
STAMFORD - When New Jersey Transit officials in the early 1990s
approached suburban communities endorsing an increase in
transit-oriented development around train stations, there was so much
outrage that the agency's explanatory booklet was "banned" in Trenton,
the state capital.
But now that transit-oriented development has helped revitalize
communities such as South Orange, N.J., with a mix of housing and
retail near a major railroad station, NJ Transit's philosophies are no
longer blacklisted, and other states are looking at the Garden State
for inspiration.
"I guess we were a couple of years ahead of the curve," said Mark
Gordon, former real estate director for NJ Transit and current
president of Urbana Associates, a New Jersey real estate consulting
group.
Gordon was one of several speakers yesterday at the South Western
Regional Planning Agency's transit-oriented development conference at
the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus.
More than 150 planners, elected officials and business leaders attended
the conference and heard about development opportunities that are a
comfortable five- to 10-minute walk from train stations and bus depots.
Gordon and Nedd Codd, manager of plan development at Massachusetts'
Executive Office of Transportation, gave examples of transit-oriented
development in neighboring states, while Connecticut state officials
and developers from Stamford and Georgetown discussed progress
throughout the state.
"We have to utilize our land more efficiently," said Joan McDonald,
state commissioner of economic and community development and the
conference's keynote speaker. "We can reduce sprawl, preserve open
space and reduce traffic."
Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy talked about a number of projects planned
and proposed for the city's downtown and South End.
Antares Investment Partners' 80-acre development in Stamford's South
End will include a mix of housing, offices and retail, all within a
10-minute walk of the train station.
"You could probably go a whole week without having to get in your car,"
Ted Ferrarone, Antares vice president, said about the company's plan.
To improve access to the South End, the city has proposed raising the
clearance of railroad underpass at Atlantic Street and widening the
road underneath. The city also is also the Urban Transitway - a
mile-long link between the city's East Side and its railroad station.
Stamford could be more accessible if a train station were built on East
Main Street, between the downtown and Springdale stations, Malloy said.
"In essence it's the missing tooth," the mayor said of the station. "It
would open up the area."
Though transit-oriented development is not a new concept, there are not
a lot of finished examples for Connecticut to follow, said Floyd Lapp,
SWRPA's executive director.
"That's because it's presumably the wave of the future," Lapp said
after the conference.
The South Orange development was a major triumph that took years to
evolve, Gordon said. When first proposed, the plans were unacceptable
to state leaders in Trenton.
In 1996, 900 people used the South Orange station a day. But 10 years
later, with a new retail development in place, ridership jumped to
2,600 riders.
The revitalized station has hundreds of additional parking spots, a
neighboring performing arts center and busy retail shops, including a
new Starbucks, Gordon said.
"A few years ago, South Orange was considered too edgy for Starbucks,"
he said.
Massachusetts is focusing on improving transit-oriented development in
a suburban ring of communities around Boston, Codd said.
To do this, the state is looking to improve its regular bus service
with better connections to train stations, and it's looking to deploy
Bus Rapid Transit - express bus service that often makes inter-city
stops, similar to a commuter railroad.
"The widely spaced stations create something that looks like a transit
station, not just a bus stop," Codd said.
Planners of a new transit-oriented development near the Branchville
train station discovered their plans had significant challenges.
While proposing to rebuild the 55-acre Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill
site in Georgetown into a mixed-use commercial and residential
development near the train station, developer Steve Soler discovered a
major communications problem among state officials.
"We were going to meetings, and they were handing each other their
business cards," said Soler, president of Georgetown Land Development.
"That's not a good sign. That means they had not been talking to each
other."
Agency promotes transit
oriented development to planners, officials
Norwalk HOUR
Jerremy Soullierre
September 19, 2007
As plans are in the works for compact, mixed-use developments to be
built within walking distance of train stations in a few of the state's
communities, the region's planning agency Thursday looked to encourage
area planners and officials to think about doing the same in their
cities and towns.
The South Western Regional Planning Agency invited a panel of
developers and state officials familiar with the building concept,
called transit-oriented development, to speak on the topic at the
University of Connecticut: Stamford Campus. The aim of the conference
was to give the region's planners and officials an understanding of the
benefits of such developments, said Floyd Lapp, executive director of
SWRPA.
"We believe in transit-oriented development because there's not much
more accessible land available in the state," he said before the
conference. "We have to build more compact developments to save some
space and promote many modes of transportation (besides the car) — the
train, bikes, buses."
Transit-oriented development, which puts residences, stores and
restaurants within a five to seven minute walk to a train station,
works to reduce vehicular traffic in an area and dependence on fossil
fuels, said Joan McDonald, commissioner of the state's Department of
Economic and Community Development. It also helps revitalize
neighborhoods, reduce sprawl, and increase affordable housing and
business opportunities, said the conference's keynote speaker.
"Transit-oriented development is critical to this state," McDonald told
the roughly 100 area officials and residents in attendance. "It will
help us utilize land more effectively."
In order for such developments to succeed, however, she said, they need
a good working relationship of public and private partners, including
federal and state agencies, developers, municipalities, and chambers of
commerce.
Mark Gordon, a former real estate director for New Jersey Transit who
has helped establish transit-oriented developments in that state, said
the ridership at the train station in South Orange, N.J., more than
doubled after mixed-use development was established nearby in the
late-1990's. The South Orange development, which took what once were
empty storefronts in the downtown area near the station and created new
retail spaces for new tenants, also gave new life to the neglected
downtown, he said.
"Ten years ago South Orange was considered edgy for Starbucks — now it
has a Starbucks, and it's a symbol of revitalization," Gordon told the
crowd.
Also among the day's speakers was Ted Ferrarone, vice president of
Anteres Investment Partners, which is working to transform 80 acres
just south of the Stamford train station into a mixed-use development.
Once finished, the development will offer six million square feet of
residential space, Ferrarone said, including 4,000 housing units, a
number of stores and restaurants and a hotel.
"Our goal is to build a 24-hour live, work and play destination," he
told the conference attendees.
Some of the other transit-oriented developments in the early stages in
the state include three in Norwalk — Wall St., West Ave., and the
Reed-Putnam project in South Norwalk — and one on the former Gilbert
& Bennett wire mill site in Georgetown.
Both the state Senate and House of Representatives, scheduled to meet
this Thursday, will be voting on $267.5 million in transportation bond
items proposed for 2008, which is expected to include roughly $10
million for transit-oriented development projects statewide, said
Albert Martin, deputy commissioner of the state's Department of
Transportation.
"What's being developed (in the state) are living, working and leisure
time spaces within a walking radius of transportation hubs," he said
between speakers. "We see this as a way of continuing economic growth
and improving the quality of life."
Leigh Grant, a member of the Norwalk Planning Commission who attended
the conference, said that building mixed-use properties near train
stations is the planning "strategy of the future."
"We have to stop sprawl," she said during one of the conference's
breaks.
However, transit-oriented developments should not simply demolish
everything in their wake, Grant said. Planners need to ensure that
properties with historical value are still standing after such
developments are completed, she said.
"You can't just tear everything down," Grant said.
She also said municipalities and developers need financial incentives
from the state to undertake such projects.
Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, who also attended the
conference, said he agrees there are benefits to transit-oriented
development, but he also noted that the state doesn't have enough train
cars for the passengers who are currently using the railways.
"There's tradeoffs," he said. "Everything just takes time. We need to
take baby steps."
Facing Economic Turmoil,
Fairfield County Seeks Resilience
Westport NEWS
By Gary Jeanfaivre
Article Launched: 09/14/2007 10:17:56 AM EDT
STAMFORD -- Traffic poses a problem to Fairfield County, both for the
economy and general quality of life issues including the environment
and personal time spent with family or otherwise. The ill effects can
throw a whole day off.
As an example, The Fairfield County Economic Conference, held last
Friday at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus, was forced
to start nearly a half-hour late because a number of people were stuck
in traffic on the infamous stretch of Interstate 95.
Traffic has become so bad that, along with a reputation for beautiful
coastal communities and pristine wooded areas divided by stonewalls and
rivers, as well as a bubbly melting pot of social and cultural
offerings, Fairfield County is equally known as traffic alley.
"Congestion adds to the cost of doing business," said Joan McDonald,
commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community
Development (DECD). "It's something we have to grapple with."
Yet traffic is only one of many challenges facing the county, and in
turn, the state economy.
According to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association's Blum
Shapiro survey, released a day before the conference, Connecticut's
companies see the overall cost of conducting business in the state as
the greatest challenge before them. And for the fourth straight year,
the rising cost of healthcare benefits was ranked the top cost concern
among respondents to the survey.
Other significant cost concerns include payroll (26 percent), energy
(11 percent) and workers' compensation (9 percent).
It is no surprise, too, seeing as Connecticut is among the most taxed
states in the nation, that taxes are also a major concern for
businesses, with executives surveyed stating that they don't see enough
value in the money paid to the government.
The cover illustration of the Fall 2007 issue of The Connecticut
Economy, a University of Connecticut quarterly review, features a stack
of three hardback books floating on an all-white background with
bindings reading: Housing, Traffic, Immigration. Stated below the
books: "Hot Titles for Fall: Traffic Nightmares, Housing Pangs,
Immigration Angst."
National and international impacts -- from the U.S. Labor Department's
report of a loss of 4,000 jobs in the month of August to an all-time
high number of foreclosures, on to unrest in countries controlling key
markets and massive toy and food recalls -- are also felt in the county.
Delos R. Smith, a principal of Delos Smith & Associates, focused on
foreclosures and oil prices during his remarks, drawing laughter from
the 75 to 100 business people in attendance when he said the only
qualification mortgage lenders had when approving home loans was "their
ability to breathe."
Of particular importance, the panel of economists said, is that there
is still a massive amount of unannounced debt, accumulated by hedge
funds and other financial market risk-takers that bought the bundled
debt of foreclosures from mortgage companies as an investment. The
losses are likely to be felt in the county.
"We can have issues here even if the nation doesn't," said Rae Rosen,
senior economist and assistant vice president of the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York.
While there may be no shortage of challenges ahead, spirits are still
high and state and county businesses are poised for future
prosperity. Most Connecticut companies were profitable in 2006
and are optimistic about their prospects for 2007, the Blum Shapiro
survey found.
Aerospace, chemical and metal manufacturing sectors are "bright spots"
in the state and county economies, experts said, citing the importance
of fostering entrepreneurship to supply two of the state's key
companies, Pfizer and Sikorsky.
Companies are also reinvesting profits, hiring new employees and
actively seeking savings, with 75 percent of respondents to the Blum
Shapiro survey undertaking steps to reduce energy use -- through the
replacement of older light bulbs and HVAC systems with new,
energy-efficient ones -- up from 50 percent two years ago.
"It's possible to be pro-environment and pro-business," McDonald said.
On hand to discuss the critical role that energy plays in today's high
tech world was Raymond P. Necci, president and chief operating officer
of Connecticut Light & Power Co.
"Electricity powers this state's economy," Necci said. "Unreliable is
unacceptable."
And so the utility giant is investing heavily in upgrading the
distribution system in the county, funded in large part by rate
increases to customers, who can expect an additional $5 to $7 tacked on
to monthly bills. Necci cited the power upgrade from Bethel to Norwalk
as one example of a critical improvement.
And he said that surveys have shown that reliability is more important
to businesses than price, and that investment in distribution should
remove some federal congestion charges from customers' electricity
bills.
Necci said it's easy for folks to oppose a rate increase, yet he feels
the case for investment and rate increases is compelling. "There's
really no other alternative," he added.
A graph showing the energy investment's correlation to jobs and
economic growth revealed a somewhat negative impact initially followed
by long-term prosperity.
Charting the path forward, many economists view collaboration between
business and state universities and colleges as a key component to
creating a qualified workforce to replace the retiring baby boomer
generation. It was no coincidence, then, that the conference was held
below "edgelab," a unique graduate program where students work with
General Electric professionals and professors on real business projects.
Highlighting the successes of edgelab were Christopher Kalish, GE
director and chief technology officer of edgelab, and James R. Marsden,
head of the Department of Operations and Information Management at
UConn and the director of edgelab.
Traffic, Housing and
Immigration
"Traffic is a consequence of economic growth," said Steven P. Lanza,
executive editor of The Connecticut Economy.
Posing a question of whether the effects of traffic are such that it
places a "chokehold" on the economy, Lanza answered, "The evidence
doesn't seem to suggest that."
Nonetheless, one way to deal with traffic is to work from home, and
more and more businesses are offering employees the opportunity to do
so, thanks to technology and a potential cost savings that is beginning
to be documented.
The phenomenon is called telecommuting, and approximately 9 percent of
employees in the state are participating. In the last five years alone,
there has been an 86 percent increase in telecommuters in the state,
which is the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road, according
to telecommutect.com.
Yet people can't work from home in Fairfield County if they can't
afford one. Despite a fairly cold national real estate market, housing
prices remain high in the county. In terms of median housing costs,
Connecticut is ranked the eighth highest in the nation. That ranking
drops to 14, though, when related to income.
Rosen, gesturing to charts displayed on a large screen, said there has
been a net out-flow of approximately 51,000 domestic households within
the state. "It's that many of our children can't afford to live here,"
she said.
While many municipalities offer density bonuses to developers that
build affordable housing units, creating the much-needed stock is not
always easy. Houses may sell for less if property taxes were higher,
while property values would likely increase if property taxes are
reduced. "It's sort of a tricky business," Lanza said.
Immigration is also a complex business, with a great deal of
uncertainty floating about as reform is debated on the national level.
The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is estimated at 11
million, and given Connecticut's close proximity to New York City, the
state certainly has its share.
There has been a recent surge in immigrants to Connecticut, both
legally and otherwise. "We're seeing it at historic levels in
Connecticut and throughout the nation," Lanza said.
Instead of posing a problem, though, the state's immigrants could be
part of the solution to businesses' demand for employees. Lanza said
immigrants in Connecticut tend to be better educated than in other
parts of the country. "They're coming here to work," Rosen said.
Income inequality was another topic of discussion last Friday.
Connecticut currently stands in the middle ground when it comes to
income inequality, with a ranking of .48. Zero is perfect equality and
1 is perfect inequality.
Lanza said the inequality was not because the poor people are doing
worse, it's because "the rich are doing extremely well."
Looking to the future, Lanza said his best guess is that the economy
will slow down through next year, and then begin to pick back up again
thereafter.
"All's fair in love, war and economic development," McDonald said of
the highly competitive market. "We're never standing still. We can't.
If we stand still, we lose."
University of Connecticut is a
good background link for economic
aspect of planning: http://ctsdc.uconn.edu/
Connecticut Population Is Declining; 17,000 loss recorded in the
last two years
DAY
By Associated Press
Published on 2/5/2007
Hartford (AP) — Connecticut is once again losing residents to other
states, ending a brief period of more robust population growth.
The state lost almost 17,000 more people than moved in between 2005 and
2006, according to the latest Census estimate. An influx of about
14,300 residents from Puerto Rico and foreign countries helped keep
Connecticut from a net loss in population, as happened in the early
1990s.
The Census Bureau estimates that Connecticut's population of 3.5
million grew by 4,108 in the year that ended last June 30. State
officials, who say the federal estimate understates the birthrate,
pegged the increase at more than 9,000.
The two numbers represent a continuing decline from annual growth
estimates in the mid-20,000 range from 2000 to 2003.
“The 2006 number was a confirmation of a significant trend,” said
economist Ron Van Winkle of West Hartford. “We may not see significant
growth in jobs or population in the state of Connecticut for the
foreseeable future.”
The Census estimate does not track the source or destination of people
coming and going, but data compiled by the Internal Revenue Service
indicate that the largest share — about 40 percent — of those who leave
Connecticut head for the South. The next most common destination is
elsewhere in the Northeast, followed by the West and Midwest.
Two age groups appear to be most severely affected by the declining
population growth: those who are in their late 20s and 30s and those
who are in their late 60s and 70s. Both groups dropped in number during
between 2000-2005.
Fairfield University economics professor Edward Deak said that for
workers in their prime earnings years, 35 to 55 or 60, Connecticut's
high cost of living is offset by the availability of well-paying jobs,
particularly in the financial and scientific areas.
“At the other two ends, as people retire they tend to leave the state,
and as young people graduate from college they find more attractive
opportunities for entry-level positions elsewhere,” he said.
The decline in the younger group also is due in part to what Van Winkle
called “a demographic wave” resulting from a drop in the birthrate
nationwide through the 1970s. It produced similar reductions in the
number of 20-somethings during the first half of the 1990s and in teens
a decade before that.
That demographic trend was more pronounced in Connecticut than in the
rest of the United States, Van Winkle said.
Economist Stephen Coelen, co-author of a report released last year
examining New England's work force in 2020, says the total working-age
population will probably decline in coming years in Connecticut and
most of the rest of New England. In addition, fewer young people
entering the work force will have four-year college degrees, he said.
“The situation for Connecticut and the whole Northeast is fairly dire,”
Coelen said.
Boothless
tolls:
Agency ponders extra fee for peak
drivers
Greenwich TIME
By Mark Ginocchio, Staff Writer
Published January 13 2007
NORWALK -- Lower Fairfield County lawmakers yesterday said they were
open to studying electronic highway tolls, but were unsure of how much
they would cost to manage and how they could reduce traffic.
South Western Regional Planning Agency board members told lawmakers
that the method they want to study -- called "value pricing" because it
would charge motorists different rates based on peak and off-peak
travel times -- could help reduce traffic and increase state revenue.
"Other than getting cars off the road, it provides a new source of
money," said Floyd Lapp, SWRPA's executive director. "If we want to get
to (Interstate) 95 at 8 a.m. and take up space, we should have to pay a
price."
Value pricing would use "boothless technology" and allow drivers to
continue at highway speeds by depending on electronic sensors similar
to EZPass, Lapp said.
Similar systems are in operation in some U.S. cities and countries such
as Singapore, SWRPA members said.
SWRPA and the state Department of Transportation are pursuing federal
grants to study value pricing and are looking to get other regional
planning organizations involved to evaluate how the system could work
statewide, Lapp said.
The state Transportation Strategy Board has endorsed a value-pricing
study.
Legislators said they needed more information about electronic tolls
before they could support it.
"We know the technology exists, we know it can create revenue, but what
we don't know is the results," said state Rep. James Shapiro,
D-Stamford. "I can support any system that reduces traffic, but will
this reduce traffic?"
State Rep. Claudia "Dolly" Powers, R-Greenwich, said there are many
misconceptions in other parts of the state about electronic tolls.
One bill co-sponsored by several legislators upstate would build new
toll booths on the highways, which is not what SWRPA or DOT officials
are looking to study.
"What we're familiar with is EZPass," Powers said. "But there are
others that are talking about installing booths again. I don't think
the (lawmakers) who proposed this would know EZPass if (they) stepped
on it."
Toll booths were removed from I-95 and the Merritt Parkway more than 20
years ago after a runaway truck with a sleeping driver at the wheel
plowed into three cars lined up at the I-95 toll plaza in Stratford,
killing four women and three children.
Talk of bringing back toll booths would make the idea "dead on
arrival," Lapp said.
Another potential problem with value pricing is it could financially
hurt commuters who need to drive to work during peak hours, but might
not be able to pay a toll every day.
"We need to talk about the equity," said state Rep. William Tong,
D-Stamford. "Maybe our version of value pricing would focus less on
commuter traffic and more on trucks. Because we are the gateway to New
England, we do get a disproportionate number of trucks passing through
the state."
Commuters also will not be impressed with the alternatives to using
highways, said state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.
"What are we forcing them on to?" Duff said. "Onto trains that don't
have enough seats? Or to buses that don't run frequently enough? We
need to tackle fixing the alternatives first, because what we have
right now won't be able to handle more."
SWRPA members said they would provide legislators with more information
about their study and how value pricing is used elsewhere.
The legislative Transportation Committee might discuss tolls during
hearings later this month, though House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford,
said this week that toll talks were premature.
In addition to the toll discussion, SWRPA members presented their list
of legislative priorities to lawmakers. They include increasing funding
for the agency, more investment in Norwalk Transit bus service, and new
sound barriers along I-95 in Fairfield County.
Questions
surround restoring highway
tolls
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Mark Ginocchio, Staff Writer
Published January 13 2007
NORWALK - Lower Fairfield County lawmakers yesterday said they were
open to studying electronic highway tolls, but were unsure of how much
they would cost to manage and how they could reduce traffic.
South Western Regional Planning Agency board members told lawmakers
that the method they want to study - called "value pricing" because it
would charge motorists different rates based on peak and off-peak
travel times - could help reduce traffic and increase state revenue.
SWRPA had its annual legislative breakfast yesterday.
"Other than getting cars off the road, it provides a new source of
money," said Floyd Lapp, SWRPA's executive director. "If we want to get
to (Interstate) 95 at 8 a.m. and take up space, we should have to pay a
price."
Value pricing would utilize "boothless technology" and allow drivers to
continue at highway speeds by depending upon electronic sensors similar
to EZPass, Lapp said.
Similar systems are in operation in some U.S. cities and countries such
as Singapore, SWRPA members said.
SWRPA and the state Department of Transportation are pursuing federal
grants to study value pricing and are looking to get other regional
planning organizations involved to evaluate how the system could work
statewide, Lapp said.
The state Transportation Strategy Board has endorsed a value-pricing
study.
Legislators said they needed more information about electronic tolls
before they could support it.
"We know the technology exists, we know it can create revenue, but what
we don't know is the results," said state Rep. James Shapiro,
D-Stamford. "I can support any system that reduces traffic, but will
this reduce traffic?"
State Rep. Claudia "Dolly" Powers, R-Greenwich, said there are many
misconceptions in other parts of the state about electronic tolls.
One bill co-sponsored by several legislators upstate would build new
toll booths on the highways, which is not what SWRPA or DOT officials
are looking to study.
"What we're familiar with is EZPass," Powers said. "But there are
others that are talking about installing booths again. I don't think
the (lawmakers) who proposed this would know EZPass if (they) stepped
on it."
Toll booths were removed from highways more than 20 years ago after a
runaway truck with a sleeping driver at the wheel plowed into three
cars lined up at the Interstate 95 toll plaza in Stratford, killing
four women and three children.
Talk of bringing back toll booths would make the idea "dead on
arrival," Lapp said.
Another potential problem with value pricing is it could financially
hurt commuters who need to be to work during peak hours, but may not be
able to afford to pay a toll every day.
"We need to talk about the equity," said state Rep. William Tong,
D-Stamford. "Maybe our version of value pricing would focus less on
commuter traffic and more on trucks. Because we are the gateway to New
England, we do get a disproportionate number of trucks passing through
the state."
Commuters will also not be impressed with the alternatives to using
highways, said state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.
"What are we forcing them on to?" Duff said. "Onto trains that don't
have enough seats? Or to buses that don't run frequently enough? We
need to tackle fixing the alternatives first, because what we have
right now won't be able to handle more."
SWRPA members said they would provide legislators with more information
about their study and how value pricing is used elsewhere.
The legislative Transportation Committee may discuss tolls during
hearings later this month, though House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford,
said this week that toll talks were premature.
In addition to the toll discussion, SWRPA members presented their list
of legislative priorities to lawmakers. They include increasing funding
for the agency, more investment in Norwalk Transit bus service, and new
sound barriers along I-95 in Fairfield County.
Transit
ideas rule at SWRPA breakfast
By ROBERT KOCH, Hour Staff Writer
January 13, 2007
NORWALK — Making motorists pay to drive Interstate 95 during rush hour
wasn't on the menu of the South Western Regional Planning Agency's
Annual Legislative Breakfast at Norwalk City Hall Friday morning.
But the concept, which is known as congestion pricing and is aimed at
easing traffic congestion, generated plenty of discussion.
"If anyone gets on I-95 at eight o'clock in the morning ... they should
pay the price," said SWRPA Executive Director Floyd Lapp, explaining
the rationale behind congestion pricing, also known as value pricing.
"Not only can this be done. It has been done. It's boothless
technology."
In its 2004 report "Vision 2020," SWRPA recommended evaluating
congestion pricing for busy roadways and transit services. An
application was filed last year with the Federal Highway Administration
to allow congestion pricing on Interstates 95 and 84, as well as Routes
7, 8 and 15. While that application remains pending, an interregional
consortium is putting together a "coordinated application" to hedge its
bets, Lapp said.
Weston First Selectman Woody Bliss, South Western Region Metropolitan
Planning Organization chairman, was among several elected officials to
vouch for the technology — similar to the EZ Pass system. He said
congestion pricing has worked in Singapore for 20 years.
Others, however, questioned its operating costs and fairness.
One speaker said boosting the gasoline tax slightly would generate
revenue without incurring administrative costs. Another predicted
congestion pricing would hit less wealthy persons who, he said, are
less able to alter their work and commuting schedules.
State Rep. Jim Shapiro, D-144, said results must be the foremost issue.
"We know the technology exists. We know it would create revenues,"
Shapiro said. "The real question is, what results have the people who
introduced it received?"
State Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, said existing mass transit, including trains
and buses, must be improved before moving forward with congestion
pricing. "We really have to tackle the alternatives first before we
tell people to get out of their cars," Duff said.
Bliss said SWRPA members discussed studying congestion pricing further.
In another transportation matter, Norwalk Transit District
Administrator Louis Schulman updated lawmakers on a statewide bus
transit study slated for completion in February. He described bus
transit as the inadequately funded leg of the three-legged
transportation stool, which also includes roads and rails.
More than three-dozen people, including state House Minority Leader
Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-142, and other lawmakers, area first
selectmen and Norwalk Mayor Richard A. Moccia attended the legislative
breakfast.
Daniel A. Wilder, SWRPA board of directors chairman, outlined the
agency's legislative priorities for 2007: Boost funding for regional
planning organizations and local aid programs; push sustainable growth
initiatives, such as transit-oriented development; address eminent
domain; alter state law to protect zoning enforcement officers against
personal liability; and repeal measures for unfunded mandates.
Evonne Klein, Darien first selectwoman, outlined the South Western
Region Metropolitan Planning Organization's priorities: Maintain the
local real-estate conveyance tax and other local aid programs;
institute a sound barrier program; and provide the Norwalk Transit
District $12.5 million in capital funds and an annual $2.3 million
subsidy, as well as $703,500 over the next two fiscal years to maintain
services mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Moccia described that last request as a priority that doesn't carry a
big price tag.
"This is so important to so many people in our area," Moccia said.
SWRPA director
looks to relieve congestion
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Mark
Ginocchio, Staff Writer
Published September 10 2006
STAMFORD -- Less than a week into his new job, Floyd Lapp has already
experienced the traffic problems plaguing lower Fairfield County.
Lapp, who took over as executive director of the South Western Regional
Planning Agency on Tuesday, had a 5 p.m. meeting scheduled in
Bridgeport -- 20 miles away from Stamford on the map but potentially
hours in travel time depending on Interstate 95 traffic.
"I left here at a quarter to 4," Lapp said during an interview Friday.
"And God was over my shoulder. Traffic congestion seemed to break up
like the clouds giving way to the sun somewhere around Exit 21. I
arrived right on the dot at 5 o'clock."
Lapp, 64, who has worked in planning and development for more than 40
years, primarily in New York and New Jersey, knows he won't always be
so lucky during rush hour. That's why developing ways to improve
congestion on I-95 is one of his top priorities.
"The Garden State Parkway, which is the major spine of central New
Jersey, works," the Rockland County, N.Y., resident said. "We really
have to weigh in on what do we do with I-95. It's much more
sophisticated than increased capacity."
But Lapp will focus on more than just I-95. In his first few weeks at
the helm, Lapp wants to reach out to planning officials in all eight
SWRPA municipalities.
"I'm a hands-on person, and I'm big on outreach," Lapp said. "There's
nothing like a guided tour of planning and development and what the
issues are. Regional planning shouldn't only come from on high."
The 22-member SWRPA board is scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss a
housing and development study, Lapp said. They also need to work on
updating the region's long-range transportation plan, he added.
A big challenge for lower Fairfield County is the "introduction of
transit into a low-density area," Lapp said. Most municipalities in the
region don't have enough transit options to support the population, so
looking ahead, SWRPA must "invent transit in these places to get cars
off the road."
One possible method is "Bus Rapid Transit," which has been used
extensively outside the United States, Lapp said. Bus Rapid Transit
typically mirrors a commuter railroad, providing frequent express
service over long distances. However, service comes cheaper than the
rail and offers more flexible routes and schedules.
SWRPA also will continue to examine reinstating tolls, though it must
be done "in a sensible way," he said. Earlier this year, SWRPA applied
for a Federal Highway Administration grant to study a tolling method
known as "value pricing," in which motorists are charged fares based on
the time of day they travel.
Tolls were removed from I-95 and the Merritt Parkway more than 20 years
ago, and Lapp said some politicians may be reluctant to bring them
back. But with new tolling technology, it's something to consider, he
said, but "it must be done gradually."
In addition to installing tolls on bridges and tunnels, state
governments should look at using them in other high-density areas, such
as Midtown Manhattan, he said.
"It should cost you and I more to travel there at 5 o'clock than it
would be to travel in the South Bronx, northern Manhattan or Staten
Island," he said.
Lapp started his career working on land-use data with the Tri-State
Transportation Committee in 1963 and the Westchester County Department
of Planning in 1964.
He became the supervising planner for the New Jersey State and Regional
Planning Division in 1965, where he helped to create the Hackensack
Meadowlands Development Commission.
He worked for 10 years as director of New York City Planning's
Transportation Division and served as a representative of the New York
Metropolitan Transportation Council -- an agency that has coordinated
with SWRPA on many regional projects.
Since 2001, Lapp has taught planning and transportation courses at
Columbia University and Pratt Institute.
After four decades in the field, Lapp has watched many colleagues
retire, but he said he's happy to continue his career with SWRPA.
"I'm saddened that many of my colleagues packed it in years ago, and
they're actually playing shuffleboard somewhere in Florida now," he
said. "That's good, but not as life's work. This is a full-time job and
I enjoy the work, and I'm glad I'm able to do it and still get excited
about it."
2006
SOUTH WESTERN REGION LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES - Friday, February 3rd,
7:30-9am, Norwalk City Hall - planning underway for 2007!
The
South Western Regional Planning Agency and the First Selectmen, First
Selectwomen and Mayors of the Region’s eight member municipalities are
pleased to present our “2006 South Western Region Legislative
Priorities” for your consideration.
These
priorities were developed with full understanding of the ongoing fiscal
challenges faced by the Governor and the General Assembly. With
that in mind, we urge you to maintain your vigilance in ensuring that
the South Western Region retains its economic vitality and outstanding
quality of life.
Please
do not hesitate to call on the chief elected officials, SWRPA’s Board
members or the Agency’s staff whenever we can be of assistance to you.
The
following three legislative priorities were established by the
Legislative Committee of the South Western Region Metropolitan Planning
Organization:
•
Secure $210,000 in State funding to replace the loss of federal
operating assistance for services in Norwalk and Westport mandated by
the Americans with Disabilities Act.
•
Secure $130,000 in additional state operating assistance to compensate,
in the current fiscal year, for the increase in the cost of diesel fuel
for all Norwalk Transit District services.
•
Assess a $10-25 surcharge to all traffic tickets and remit the full
amount of that surcharge to the municipality in which the ticket was
issued.
The
following legislative priorities were established by the Board of the
South Western Regional Planning Agency:
Maintain
sustained State funding for critical local aid programs:
o
Secure annualized funding for regional planning organizations as a line
item in the Office of Policy and Management’s budget.
o
Maintain annual support to regional planning organizations to reflect
increased role in regional emergency management, evacuation and public
health planning.
o
Maintain funding for the Town Aid for Roads Program (TAR).
o
Maintain funding for the Local Capital Improvements Program (LoCIP).
o
Maintain funding for the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP).
o
Maintain funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) programs.
Provide
municipalities with additional support through the enhancement and/or
implementation of State municipal revenue sharing programs, including
sharing traffic enforcement fines with the municipalities in which such
fines were collected.
Develop
and promote incentive-based strategies to promote sustainable growth:
o
Require state infrastructure and development grants issued by
quasi-public agencies such as the Connecticut Development Authority and
the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to be consistent with the
Conservation and Development Policies Plan for Connecticut, 2005-2010
(the State plan).
o
Promote and provide project-based support for the following:
acquisition of conservation land and open space; affordable housing
that is consistent with local zoning and community character;
remediation and redevelopment of brownfield and grayfield sites;
adaptive reuse of older properties in urban neighborhoods; and
transit-oriented development.
o
Provide incentive and/or performance grants to local governments that
implement land-use policies that promote transit-oriented development;
encourage development of affordable housing that is consistent with
local zoning and community character; create local housing trust funds
to support construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing
options; and encourage persons to live and work in the same community.
SWRPA drops ball on the case for the new Route 7
Norwalk
HOUR editorial
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
The Southwestern Regional Planning Agency chose discretion over valor
when its committee took a neutral stance on the value of extending the
new Route 7 from its Norwalk terminus to Danbury. Its committee report
attempts to be all things to all people — it could be a good thing for
the region, but there's no money to build it and besides, we need
another study.
Unless we are mistaken, at one point SWRPA had endorsed the concept of
the limited access highway. We can understand where Wilton First
Selectman William Brennan and State Rep. Toni Boucher are coming from
in opposing any hint of extending the road. In Wilton, a new Route 7 is
the third rail of politics. If you want to be a candidate, you'd better
oppose it.
Rep. Boucher is quoted as saying that SWRPA bowed to political pressure
in taking the "neutral" stance it has. There may have been political
pressure, but in our view, it was coming from those opposed to the
highway and wanted SWRPA to back off from any approval.
SWRPA admittedly is a regional association and doesn't have a lot of
clout when dealing with matters that cross its members' borders. In the
past, however, it has supported the new Route 7 concept without
equivocation.
We don't accept that widening portions of the old Route 7 and improving
service on the Danbury branch of Metro-North's commuter line are the
answers to the Norwalk River valley's transportation problems. We have
contended that the widening might even contribute to the accident rate,
rather than lessening it. We certainly agree about expanding and
improving rail service on the branch railroad line, but that's only one
piece of the puzzle.
Although the political leaders in Wilton may not admit it, there are
residents of Wilton who actually favor construction of the highway.
Obviously, none of them will ever seek public office.
SWRPA takes the middle lane on Route 7 plan
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Mark Ginocchio, Staff Writer
Published January 28 2006
The controversial Super 7 expressway
will likely not be part of a regional development and conservation
plan, despite mounting pressure from supporters to include it.
Robert Wilson, executive director of
the South Western Regional Planning Agency, said Super 7 would be
referred to as an "unfunded need" for the state, and it would not be
actively endorsed or denounced when the agency votes on its Fourth Plan
of Conservation and Development next week.
The middle-ground stance is
consistent with the Metropolitan Planning Organization's long-range
transportation plan, Wilson said, which is drawn up by the region's
eight municipal leaders.
"I know the opponents of (Super 7)
will probably not be too happy, but the proponents won't be either,"
Wilson said of the agency's decision. SWRPA
reviewed the final draft of its plan last week and expects to vote on
it Friday*, Wilson added. The plan looks to control sprawl by focusing
development in areas with the infrastructure to handle it.
The decade-long fight about Super 7,
a proposed super-highway connecting Norwalk to Danbury and Interstate
84, came to a head again late last year when Norwalk officials
advocated inserting pro-Super 7 language in the SWRPA plan.
The proposal angered Wilton
officials, who have been the primary opponents of the highway since it
was conceptualized more than 50 years ago. The SWRPA board delayed its vote on the
plan to give elected officials more time to review the draft and make
suggestions.
During that time, some Norwalk
legislators continued to push for an outright Super 7 endorsement.
Wilton officials said the expressway plan should be taken off the table
because it lacks funding, has not received Gov. M. Jodi Rell's support
and will likely never be completed.
After learning of SWRPA's decision,
state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said he understood the agency's
compromise but was disappointed that there wasn't more of a push for
Super 7.
"It would have been a bigger
disappointment if Super 7 was taken off the table completely," Duff
said. "There needs to be more of a concerted effort to do what's right
for the region and not cave in to one or two communities."
Duff said transportation between
Norwalk and Danbury must improve to accommodate the increasing economic
development and population in the Route 7 corridor.
Wilton First Selectman Bill Brennan
said he and other opponents will continue to fight off the calls to
build Super 7.
"It's clear there wasn't a consensus
to put it in this plan," Brennan said. "It doesn't belong in the
conservation plan, and it doesn't even belong in the long-range plan."
As of last week, Brennan said he was
unsure whether Wilton's representatives to SWRPA would be advised to
support or reject the conservation plan.
NOTE:
*Monday, February 6, 2006 is the date of SWRPA vote.
Super 7 highway at
center of contention
Hour Staff Writers
By ANNA GUSTAFSON and PATRICK R.
LINSEY
Friday, January 6, 2006
REGION — An upcoming transportation
study is unlikely to please anyone in the debate over the so-called
Super 7 highway, the director of a regional planning agency predicted
Thursday.
The South Western Regional Planning
Association's updated transportation study will likely not even mention
the proposed highway, according to Robert Wilson, executive director of
the organization. SWRPA will likely defer to the views of a
long-term transportation plan, which cites an unfunded need for Super
7, in a "Fourth Plan of Conservation and Development 2005-2015."
"Essentially (it's) saying yes, we
need Super 7, but there's no money for it, and it's implicit that it's
unlikely that it will be built," Wilson said. "Nobody will be
completely happy with our decision. Wilton wants us to come flat out
and say we will never build Super 7, and Norwalk wants us to emphasize
in the plan that we need Super 7."
SWRPA, which is slated to make a
decision about the plan after its extended comment period ends Jan. 17,
has received numerous comments about Super 7, including from Wilton's
First Selectman William Brennan and state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25.
Brennan voiced his opposition to Super 7 in a letter to SWRPA that
cited negative environmental effects of construction and exorbitant
project costs.
The proposed highway would run from
Norwalk to Danbury and link Interstate 95 with Interstate 84. The state
acquired the land to build the highway, but the plan has been on hold.
While some Wilton town residents and
officials have been against the highway, other residents said they
applaud SWRPA for taking another look at Super 7.
State Sen. Judith Freedman, R-26,
deemed the Super 7 plan backward and said she disagrees with Duff's
promotion of Route 7. Duff recently wrote a letter to SWRPA as well,
stating that Super 7 would play a crucial role in the region's
development.
"I believe that the economic
viability of the region and the ease of access to southwestern
Connecticut towns depend on (Super 7's) completion," Duff wrote. "We
need to stop kidding ourselves that Route 7 can exist as something
other than a major thoroughfare through the region."
But Freedman said the Route 7
corridor is already being improved, without the construction of a
costly and unpopular highway.
"The fact that we're widening the
current Route 7 will address the current issues that people have. The
DOT has taken Super 7 off the drawing board. The future is other means
of transportation, such as trains," Freedman said. "Road-building is
passé. I'm really surprised that Mr. Duff would want to bring
this issue up again and go back in time. SWRPA already made a decision
a long time ago about their position on Super 7, and they should remain
with that position."
State Rep. Toni Boucher, R-143,
agreed with Freedman and said Super 7 is "untenable" and all efforts
should be focused on the New Haven Line's Danbury branch. The branch
has also recently come under heat from residents who have said it does
not provide enough trains for commuters traveling to New York City.
Opponents of the highway have
pointed to planned improvements of the Metro-North branch and the
widening of Route 7 already under way as more practical alternatives.
"This improvement of the
Norwalk/Danbury branch is a mutually beneficial issue," Brennan said.
"It's been neglected, and the service needs to be improved. I'd like to
work with Bob (Duff) on that," Brennan said. "Recently I read that
Virgin Atlantic is moving out of Norwalk, and one of the reasons they
gave for moving to Stamford is to give employees greater access to the
trains."
Unlike the rail improvements, Super
7 is unlikely to find state or federal funds, Brennan added.
"Super 7 is a pipe dream," Boucher
said in a recent interview. "There is absolutely no money for it
anywhere and DOT will tell you that. There's no way they could ever be
granted an environmental permit, and there's a massive amount of
opposition from Wilton, Ridgefield, Redding, Weston, Danbury, and parts
north. This [Super 7] is some politician's cause of the day without
being realistic."
But, having suffered hours in
traffic tie-ups, many residents in these towns do support Super 7, Duff
said in an interview Thursday.
"I believe there are people in
Wilton who were opposed to it who now favor it, because the current
Route 7 is now a bottleneck," Duff said. While he supported the
improvements on Metro-North's Danbury branch, Duff said modernizing the
region's transportation infrastructure should not be an either/or
proposition.
Those improvements do "nothing more
than try to just placate and put a Band-Aid on something that really
needs a much better approach," he said.
While Wilson labeled Super 7 "pretty
much a dead issue" politically, Duff said he is not discouraged.
"There is a feeling out there that
this will never get built, so there is a sense that 'Why even try?'"
Duff said. "I'm not going to be part of the defeatist attitude that
says that we should give up ... I think in order to build this you need
to have a partnership between the state and the federal government."
And as much as a limited access
highway is needed for convenience and economic growth, Duff said safety
is also a factor.
"There has been a number of
accidents on the old Route 7," Duff noted. "In my opinion, if you build
Super 7, it would decrease the kind of accidents you see now. You have
truckers and you have people who are going from Norwalk to Danbury. And
then you have everyone else — people who are using Route 7 as a local
road."
Indeed, some Wilton residents have
spoken out in favor of Super 7, including Barbara Quincy, chairman of
the Committee to Extend Route 7.
"I think it's an archaic view to say
everyone in Wilton wants to dismiss the highway," Quincy said. "I've
gotten letters from lots of commuters, and residents in general, who
say that the road would help them. Even if you doubled the ridership on
the railroad, you wouldn't make a dent in the traffic. SWRPA did a
courageous thing by putting it back on their list."
Quincy said renewed public support
has prompted her to consider holding new meetings of CER7.
"A lot of people have moved to
Wilton in the past five or 10 years and don't really have a concept of
the road and how close we were to having it," she said.
Meanwhile, support for the highway
from Norwalk officials is undiminished. Planning and Zoning Director
Michael Green said the highway would benefit Wilton and Norwalk.
"There wouldn't be as many traffic
jams on Route 7," Green said in a recent interview. "With growth in
jobs, people need houses, but there's a severe limit on affordable
housing in our region, so people will have to commute to work. Right
now there's I-95, but it's crowded, and the railway system to the north
has limitations."
By reserving judgment on the need
for Super 7, Wilson said SWRPA would be effectively passing the issue
to the South Western Connecticut Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The MPO consists of the chief elected officials from SWRPA's eight
municipalities and a representative from the region's three transit
agencies.
The MPO's long-range transportation
plan refers to Super 7 as an unfunded need, Wilson said. "There's a
consensus that Super 7 should be built, but there's no money committed
to it."
Wilson is resigned to the fact that
neither supporters nor opponents of Super 7 are likely to be pleased
with SWRPA's decision, but added perhaps that is for the best.
Said Wilson: "Maybe the fact that
both of them will not be completely satisfied means we struck the right
balance."
SHAYS AQUARIUM
By CHRIS BOSAK Hour Staff Writer
Saturday, July 9, 2005
NORWALK -- U.S. Rep. Chris Shays,
wearing a blue suit and yellow tie, waded knee deep into Long Island
Sound
at Calf Pasture Beach on Friday morning. His hair and clothes remained
completely dry, despite a steady light rain. In fact, Shays did not
have
to leave the cozy confines of the Olin Technology Lab in the Maritime
Aquarium
at Norwalk to experience the walk into the Sound. He did all this in
real
time vicariously through Joe Schnierlein, an educator at the Aquarium.
Schnierlein, an intern and a video cameraman, caught horseshoe crabs
and
small fish near the Coast Guard facility in Norwalk as a way of
demonstrating
the Aquarium's "distance learning" educational project.
Shays,
who would be instrumental
in procuring federal funds for the Aquarium, toured the attraction for
the first time in years and was amazed at the progress made since his
last
visit. "There's a great deal of energy here and I'm thrilled to see so
many people utilizing the facility," he said. "This just illustrates
the
energy of Norwalk."
Shays,
R-4, visited the Aquarium
briefly during the annual Red Apple Dinner in April and suggested to
new
Aquarium president Jennifer Herring that they get together for a tour.
"This was just the first step," Herring said about what she hopes are
continued
discussions with Shays about federal funding. On June 15, the board of
trustees of the Maritime Aquarium approved a new mission and vision
statement.
Part of that mission includes protecting the Long Island Sound through
education in the form of living exhibits, marine science and
environmental
education. Those exhibits will also be more sharply focused on the
Aquarium's
mission of helping people recognize the Sound as a valuable resource.
The
Aquarium is considered for entertainment
and educational funds, according to Shays. On Friday, the Aquarium used
the opportunity to show off its state-of-the-art educational tools. The
Aquarium is already using its "distance learning" tool at area schools.
Students may sit at their desks in school and watch an Aquarium
educator
perform live demonstrations from a remote area.
Norwalk
Mayor Alex Knopp stressed
during the presentation that the Aquarium and all Norwalk schools will
be linked by the upcoming fiber optic municipal area network, that will
also include the police and fire stations and City Hall. Knopp added
that
science will soon become part of the Connecticut
Mastery
Test and the Aquarium's distance learning may be an integral part of
the
science curriculum at Norwalk schools. On Thursday, Schnierlein
displayed
just-caught aquatic animals and gave descriptions and histories of them
as Shays, Knopp, Herring and about a dozen other people watched
television
screens on the third floor of the Aquarium.
The
connection was made possible
by a transmitter located on a stack at Manresa power plant. Jack
Schneider,
animal curator at the Aquarium, led the discussion at the Aquarium
while
Schnierlein answered questions at Calf Pasture Beach. Schneider said
the
program can have a lasting impact on school children as the Aquarium
"establishes
a rigorous scientific protocol so it has real meaning for kids."
Shays,
without needing to hold a
microphone or wear a headset, fired off a few questions to Schnierlein.
"Can we see Peach Island?" Shays said. Schnierlein obliged and directed
the cameraperson to pan over to show Shays a glimpse of the small
island
in Norwalk Harbor that was recently added to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife
Service's National Wildlife Refuge system. Herring led Shays on a tour
of the Aquarium following the distance learning demonstration. The
rainy
day and scheduled summer camp visits had the facility packed with
children.
Herring showed Shays the popular shark tank from above and then
directed
him to the rare albino alligator, which is a summer resident at the
Aquarium.
"There
are real financial needs and
good educational programs going on," Shays said. "We have to figure out
how the federal government can be more helpful. The education and
science-based
research adds to the credibility in the request for federal dollars."
"I
think he was impressed," Herring
said of Shays. "Half a million people visit here each year. The
people
experience the wildlife of Long Island Sound. We help people better
connect
with nature and hopefully get them interested in preserving the Sound
for
future generations." More federal funding will only help that cause.
Was the same meeting where
Westport did this...
Municipal leaders want a more
user-friendly DOT
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Martin B. Cassidy, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/28/2008 03:00:46 AM EDT
NORWALK - Leaders of Fairfield County towns and cities Monday said the
state Department of Transportation must be more open, cooperate more
and cut some of its bureaucracy.
Wilton First Selectman William Brennan summed it up.
"Why does everything have to take so long?" Brennan asked DOT officials
during a meeting of the South West Regional Metropolitan Planning
Organization held at the Norwalk Transit District.
Wilton wants the DOT to move on proposals to spruce up and reopen the
Metro-North Railroad station. But a vendor who hopes to maintain the
building and run a newsstand is delayed by contract procedures, Brennan
said.
"Why can't it be, 'Get this done and get the station reopened?' "
Brennan asked DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie. "We've got engineers who
would be able to do it, but it takes a long time to get through the
bureaucracy."
Marie said he was reorganizing the DOT to be more responsive and
efficient in dealing with towns and cities.
"While no relationship is perfect, we realize we haven't always met
expectations in the past," Marie said. "We've been making sure we have
the right people in the right places. I'm committed to long-lasting and
meaningful change at the DOT."
Municipal officials asked Marie about projects that may be at risk
because of the weak economy. Marie was not specific but said spiraling
construction costs and a projected shortfall of $1 billion in the
2009-10 state budget might stall some work.
"The further out from a project's start we are, the lower the
confidence about the eventual bottom-line cost will be. It would be
disingenuous of me to say that everything can get done," he said. "One
good thing about hard times is it forces everyone to think about doing
things better and faster."
Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia said DOT engineers sometimes fail to move
fast enough to seize money-saving opportunities when working with
towns.
Several years ago, Norwalk offered to repave the East Avenue overpass
during a larger road improvement project, but DOT engineers rejected
the idea, Moccia said.
"There seemed to be a lack of respect for local engineers when we offer
to help," he said. "Now we have two wonderfully paved sections of East
Avenue, and the bridge is still badly in need of repair."
Marie said the additions of Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Walker to
oversee the New Haven Railyard Project and Al Martin to handle transit
and rail station projects should improve relationships with municipal
officials.
The New Haven project remains a priority - despite spiraling cost
estimates - because a repair yard is needed, Marie said. The project
was estimated to cost $300 million when it was proposed in 2005, but
the amount has quadrupled to more than $1.2 billion.
"Not upgrading the rail yard would be a mistake and leave us unable to
deal with the growth that we see ahead," Marie said.
Weston First Selectman Woody Bliss, chairman of the planning
organization, asked Marie when the DOT might resume an effort to
replace the Merritt Parkway-Route 7 interchange in Norwalk.
Work on the long-awaited project to connect the parkway to Route 7 was
halted in 2005 after the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a preservation
group, won a verdict that the design violated federal preservation
laws.
Marie said the DOT continues to work with the conservancy to design a
project it finds acceptable.
Bliss, Moccia and others said communication from the DOT has improved
dramatically in the past year.
"I've met with him twice and found him to be a very knowledgeable guy,"
Bliss said of Marie. "He has some culture changes to make, and some of
that is to take some of the bureaucratic aspects of the department
away."
Floyd Lapp, executive director of the planning organization, said the
meeting offered municipal officials a chance to meet Marie and explain
the difficulties they have had working with the DOT.
"It was like the first day of school, which generally comes down to
good things," Lapp said. "There will be follow-up meetings in a few
months, where people will begin talking to him more specifically about
issues."
Future Council of Governments in
Southwestern Region?
WWHD new
Executive Director
The First Selectman of Southbury to take job in a month. Weston meeting on Emergency
Management here.
Westport Weston Health District Names New Director
WestportNow
The first selectman of Southbury, Mark A. R. Cooper, today was named
public health director for the Westport Weston Health District.
Mark A. R. Cooper: First Selectman of Southbury has health background.
The District’s board’s appointment of Cooper, effective next month, is
subject to approval by the state Department of Public Health.
Cooper succeeds Sue Jacozzi, who has served in the post since August
2005. (See WestportNow Aug. 29, 2005)
At today’s board of directors meeting, Westport First Selectman Gordon
F. Joseloff praised Jacozzi for her service to the District and said he
looked forward to working with Cooper.
“Sue has gone above and beyond on so many occasions,” he said. “We very
much appreciate her efforts and wish her well.
“I especially look forward to working with Mark Cooper because of his
experience as a fellow first selectman.”
Cooper, who has a background in public health, has been first selectman
of Southbury, a town of about 19,000 in western New Haven County, since
December 2001.
Prior to becoming first selectman, he served for 15 years in the
Newtown Health District, first as director of environmental health
(1986 to 1993) and then as director of health (1993-2001).
He holds B.S. and Master of Public Health degrees from the University
of Connecticut.
In Southbury, he has also served on the Southbury Water Pollution
Control Authority and the Inland Wetland Commission.
He is a former chairman of the Council of Governments of the Central
Naugatuck Valley and serves as a director of the Connecticut Resources
Recovery Authority.
Posted 10/09/2008 - our note
- at 05:01 PM
Unrelated,
older item...now more Aquarion towns (specifically Greenwich and
Darien).
Bridgeport Hydraulic towns
in Connecticut - from their own WEBsite (2/1/02)
.
