Economists argue an investment in Fairfield County’s infrastructure and housing is the key to the state’s overall economic success.
In the University of Connecticut’s quarterly economic report, Orlando J. Rodriguez, a senior policy fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children, wrote  the county’s proximity to New York City — the largest regional economy in the country — is an opportunity to solve the state’s declining gross product and population.
“It is an opportunity Connecticut has failed to capitalize on fully,” Rodriguez said. “Investing in Fairfield County, like investing in education and health care, is a long-term investment that will yield benefits for decades to come for all state residents.”
About 48,000 Fairfield County residents work in either Westchester or New York counties, while 22,000 residents from the two counties work in Fairfield County, according to Rodriguez’s report. If the combined total worked, lived and spent their incomes in Connecticut, the state would stand to benefit through more jobs, income taxes and improved housing stock.
Yet, Rodriguez says residents are dissuaded from living and moving their businesses to Fairfield County because of its strained transportation infrastructure and lack of housing for middle-income households.
“The I-95 corridor between New Haven and NYC has a well-deserved reputation for the worst commuter traffic between Washington D.C. and Boston,” Rodriguez said. “The surest way to grow the state’s economy and integrate it more fully with the metro-NYC region is to expand the transportation infrastructure and foster the construction of more housing in southwester Connecticut.”
“Connecticut’s future depends on Fairfield County,” he added. “All state residents would benefit from infrastructure investments in Fairfield County.”
