The Newtown Bee: "A Push For Public Transportation
It has united the Business Council of Fairfield County and the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. It has been a favorite topic for years for politicians interested in getting the attention of apathetic voters. And it is an issue that, if not addressed, has the potential to undermine the state's economy and erode Connecticut's vaunted quality of life. So it does not surprise us that yet another study has been released that calls for increased state support of public transportation - in this case, bus transportation.
A coalition of groups, from business leaders to environmental groups, calling itself the Transit for Connecticut Coalition, this week unveiled its study that showed increased bus transit in the state will enhance responsible growth of the state's communities and increase transit options for commuters by upgrading the bus-rail system. It will also reduce automobile emissions and help clear the air of toxic, global-warming emissions, and it will better link the state's workforce with employment opportunities while reducing traffic congestion. These are all great points, but by now advocates of public transportation are preaching to the choir. Most people are already convinced -especially people living in Fairfield County who back in 2003 spent about 50 hours sitting in traffic, according to a study released two years ago. It is a safe bet that today we are wasting even more time and burning even more gas going nowhere.
The state's $1.3 billion initiative approved by the legislature and signed by the governor in 2005 was supposed to be a bold first step in addressing Connecticut's chronic transportation woes, but as has been our tradition and history, highway repair, expansion, and construction seems to consume most of the money spent on transportation in this state.
Connecticut's own Transportation Strategy Board has spelled out a detailed plan for revitalizing the state's underfunded and overburdened public transportation network, including a bus-rail commuter system and freight rail lines. This plan, together with smart growth policies that provide incentives for more high-density commercial and residential development around public transit stations, may yet loosen the stranglehold traffic congestion has on the economy and the quality of life in southwestern Connecticut. But if that is to happen, the legislature and the governor have to follow through with the money and the political commitment to create and sustain a viable public transportation system in Connecticut."
