Winding down the road

In 2007, no one could accuse Gov. M. Jodi Rell of leaving commuters out in the cold.

In addition to a $3 billion plan to reduce property taxes, Rell continued to stake much of her political capital on easing Connecticut”™s congested roadways, with the intractable gridlock of Interstate 95 overshadowing many decisions.

Rell”™s moves included both a high-profile overhaul of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, led by two Fairfield County executives, and micro-managerial moves such as prodding Metro-North to abandon a plan to work on overhead wires by having local commuters board southbound trains on the northbound side of the tracks, where platforms lack adequate shelter from the elements.

Rell said she has asked the Connecticut Department of Transportation to better communicate issues that could affect service on the line, noting that the boarding plan she reversed was announced just days before the change was due to take effect.

 

Panel recommendations

The mild tongue lashing capped a rough year for DOT, which has been poked and prodded by a commission led by Michael Critelli, formerly chief executive of Stamford-based Pitney Bowes Inc., and Kevin Kelleher, CEO of Danbury-based Cartus Corp.

The commission is recommending steps to overhaul DOT, sparked in part by irksome delays and cost overruns on contracts to widen Interstate 94 between Waterbury and Cheshire.

Besides Critelli and Kelleher, other Fairfield County panel members include:

Ӣ Robert Genuario of Norwalk, secretary of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM);

Ӣ Anthony Milano of Bridgeport, former OPM secretary;

Ӣ Meredith Reuben of Stamford, CEO of Eastern Bag and Paper Group in Milford and chairwoman of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association; and

Ӣ William Sawch of Weston, general counsel of Norwalk-based Applera Corp.

In a report released last month on the “culture” of DOT, the panel learned that despite relatively strong pay and benefits, the organization”™s personnel do not feel they are rewarded for innovation. As a result they are leery of taking risks and do not trust the organization”™s strategic direction.

 

An early retirement program in 2003 stripped DOT of many experienced managers and then DOT subsequently filled those slots by promoting staff who were unprepared for the jobs.

One in three of DOT staff are eligible for retirement in five years, including DOT”™s most experienced engineers. While the state budget frees up funding for DOT to hire more than 200 new employees, the commission found that the organization lacks definition on its personnel needs, particularly for engineers.

 

Some breaks for commuters

While local motorists will have to wait another year for some of the county”™s most pressing problems, including sharp off-ramps on the Merritt Parkway that snarl traffic in Norwalk, commuters could take cheer from several positive developments.

After howls of protest, the state scrapped a plan to levy a $1 surcharge on commuter rail tickets, originally intended to help pay for a $1.3 billion transportation bond that is being used to purchase 340 new cars for the New Haven line.

Last month, the state began offering commuters 10 free bus tickets for those interested in trying out commuter bus lines in Fairfield County. The state expanded portions of services for CTTransit in Stamford, Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority and Housatonic Area Regional Transit.

Other transportation milestones included:

Ӣ a 5 percent increase of riders on Metro-North;

Ӣ additional peak-hour service and seats on Metro-North and Shore Line East;

Ӣ the state stating it would explore ways to initiate service to Penn Station in New York City;

Ӣ approval of a $35 million parking garage at the Stamford rail station;

Ӣ Connecticut pumping its 1 millionth gallon of biodiesel fuel for state vehicles;

Ӣ a Litchfield County station establishing the first retail biodiesel pump;

Ӣ Barry Pallanck stepping down as interim administrator of Bradley International Airport;

Ӣ a new Web site for vehicle owners to renew their registrations;

Ӣ increasing bridge inspections to every two years, from four years previously;

Ӣ initiated roving inspections of truck weights, in September pulling more than 200 trucks out of service;

Ӣ crews worked to widen Route 7 in Wilton to two lanes, and largely completed work on a stretch of the roadway south of Danbury; and

Ӣ a proposal to expand lanes on I-84 in Danbury.

 

 

Across the line

While the latter scenario might encourage drivers to avoid I-95, Connecticut is not getting much help on the New York side of the border; Westchester County proponents of a new Tappan Zee Bridge and rapid transit system on the I-287 corridor are unlikely to get a quick decision from the state on when or how such a project should proceed.

The state Department of Transportation, which was appointed in August by Gov. Eliot Spitzer to head the Tappan Zee replacement project, will continue to conduct public hearings and forums into the next year, said Skip Carrier, a communications director for DOT.

“We”™re still in the middle of that process and we will continue to pursue public input,” Carrier said. “At some point we will get to a final recommendation, but not in the immediate future.”

While most are in agreement that an effective public transportation system is needed for the Westchester-Rockland corridor, debate has raged over whether a bus rapid transit (BRT) model or a commuter rail would be the ideal solution.

”“ Bryan Yurcan contributed to this report