More canopies and displays at the Stamford Transportation Center might be good news, but not the kind of news several dozen commuters attending an April 4 public meeting were hoping to learn more about.
Since the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) began discussions in early 2012 to replace the current commuter parking garage ”” possibly with a new garage farther from the station to make room for private development ”” very little information has emerged about the controversial plans.
The DOT has been evaluating proposals for a new garage, and an official previously told the Business Journal it was aiming to select a developer by the end of 2012.
“It”™s all secretive,” said Jim Cameron, chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council. “They have not sought public comment or shared any ideas. By the time they finally do, it”™s a little too late.”
The DOT first sought conceptual proposals for the replacement of the original 727-space garage with a new 1,000-space garage in February 2012 and issued a formal request for proposals (RFP) in July.
The state accepted proposals that called for a new garage to be built either on the same footprint as the current structure or within a quarter-mile walking distance of the train. Under the latter option, a developer could use the site of the existing garage to construct a mixed-use building, according to the RFP.
In January, the State Bond Commission approved $40 million for the Stamford Transportation Center project, which includes $35 million for the construction of a garage and $5 million for staff and consultant services.
DOT officials say the cost of repairing the garage, built in the 1980s and owned by the state, would be the same as replacing it.
A portion of the garage that was added in 2004 will remain, said Eugene J. Colonese, a DOT rail administrator.
Commuters, expecting to hear more about the garage at the meeting, continuously tried to express their frustration to the event”™s organizers.
The organizers, in turn, said they had nothing to do with the garage”™s development. Their focus was on $10.5 million in station upgrades to improve overall customer satisfaction.
Information signs with train arrival times will be installed, additional canopies and entrances onto the tracks will be built and a pedestrian overpass to the fifth track for New Haven to New Canaan connections will be constructed.
About $50 million authorized in January by the State Bond Commission will also be spent on a separate project to replace the pedestrian bridge over Atlantic Street, which was built in 1896.
One DOT official said the station itself could use $100 million in upgrades, but that the team was working with the funding they had. Some audience members expressed that attention to bikes and upgrades to the bus center would have also been appreciated.
Joshua Lecar, a commuter who is also a part of an organization to promote bike and “people-friendly” transportation, said it was great to have a public meeting about the station upgrades, but said he still wanted to know more about the parking garage.
The DOT has solicited public input by email, but commuters say they want more details about the actual project and the proposals.
David Martin, a member of the Stamford Board of Finance and a previous Democratic candidate for mayor, agreed.
While Laure Aubuchon, Stamford”™s director of economic development, is a member of the state-appointed advisory council for the project, each of the five members is bound by a confidentiality agreement, Martin said.
“We don”™t have any input,” he said. “We have a person who is there, but cannot share information anyway.”
