Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/news/transportation)
Road, train and other news related to transportation
Why is transportation construction so expensive in our area? What kind of honor was it when New York City recently surpassed Zurich (one of the most expensive cities in the world) as No. 1 on the most-expensive-place-to-do-underground-construction dishonor roll? The highly respected Regional Plan Association has studied that question and offers some explanations and frightening examples. Focusing on three recent MTA mega-projects in New York City — the Second Avenue Subway, the No.
West Avenue near Edgerton Street will be closed to all traffic each evening and night from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. between this Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Oct. 21, Darien police announced Tuesday morning. During the same two-week period, expect delays if you use the eastbound traffic lane (toward Norwalk) along that stretch of West Avenue, police said. The westbound lane (toward Stamford) will remain open, with alternating traffic flow either way.
When you think of the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) you probably conjure up thoughts of senior discounts, health insurance and retirement, so it might surprise you to learn that they’re also actively engaged in driver safety and promoting access to mass transit. The statistics on these issues they shared with me are quite interesting. By 2025 a quarter of all drivers in the U.S. will be over age 65. And while they are involved in more accidents per capita than younger adults, they are far safer than teens. But over age 70, traffic fatalities increase with age; by age 85, drivers have probably outlived their ability to drive safely.
Metro-North is changing the hours that the North End Access for Grand Central Terminal North End Access will be open, starting Monday. — an announcement from Metro-North
North End Access will be available for customers on weekdays (excluding holidays) from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
Other Grand Central Terminal entrances and exits also will have earlier closing times. Signage indicating revised hours for select Grand Central Terminal entrances and exits will be posted. Customers can continue to use the entrance at 105 E. 42nd St. and Lexington Ave.
The intersection of Station Place and Washington Boulevard at the Stamford train station will be closed from 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. The intersection is here, at the western side of the train station. Anyone picking up or dropping off passengers from the southern side of the station during the closure will be affected, although Station Place can be accessed by vehicles from Atlantic Street for those using the parking garage. Washington Boulevard will also be closed at the intersection.
More parents and guardians are following Connecticut’s Child Passenger Safety (CPS) seat law for infants since the state strengthened the original mandate in 2017, says AAA Northeast. — an announcement from AAA Northeast
Currently, infants must ride rear facing until they turn 2 years old and weigh at least 30 pounds, an upgrade from the earlier requirement of 1 year and 20 pounds. To highlight National CPS Week (Sept. 20 – 26), AAA Northeast analyzed data from the UConn Crash Data Repository and found more children under age two have been riding rear facing in recent years. In fact, the percentage of children under 2 who are riding rear facing increased from 45% in 2015 — before the law was upgraded — to 61% last year.
The 47,000 miles of highways that comprise America’s interstate highway system are nothing short of an engineering marvel, perhaps surpassed only in mileage and design by what China has built in the last few years. We take them for granted, but when they were designed almost 60 years ago these superhighways presented both great opportunity and vast challenges. Mind you, the U.S. wasn’t the first with superhighways. Those bragging rights go to the Germans, whose Reichsautobahn saw cars zooming along at 100+ mph in the 1930s. Most credit President Dwight Eisenhower, whose troops rode the Autobahn in World War II, for seeing the military value of an American equivalent, though engineering such a complex across the U.S. was far more difficult.
Of course by 1940 the US already had the Pennsylvania Turnpike and by 1954 the New York State Thruway, but those private toll roads were just the beginning.
Following the executive order issued in New York state on Monday establishing fines for individuals who are not wearing face covering on all Metro-North property, the State of Connecticut issued a similar order on Tuesday, Sept. 15. — an announcement from Metro-North
And although many of our customers are protecting themselves and others by wearing masks, now those who are not may receive a fine of $100 while traveling in Connecticut. The new Connecticut State Executive order means if you aren’t wearing a mask, or if your face covering doesn’t properly cover both your nose and your mouth, you may be barred from entering or from remaining on Metro-North property, including being removed from trains and stations by MTA or Connecticut Police. You can also be subject to a $100 fine.
Starting this Monday, the town Public Works Department will be paving Hollow Tree Ridge Road from the intersections of Allwood Road to Crooked Mile Road at the northern end of town. The project, which covers about six tenths of a mile of roadway, is expected to be completed by Friday, Sept. 25, according to an announcement Thursday from the DPW. Here’s more from the announcement (see video at bottom for an explanation of what asphalt milling is):
Preparatory work on drainage catch basins, and milling of road surface, will precede paving. […]
Once milled, road surface will be rough until paved and will have raised structures exposed. Please avoid this portion of Hollow Tree Ridge Road if possible during these dates or use extra caution if you must travel on these roads.
Do you ever wonder why our stoplights designate red as stop and green as go? Me too! In fact, it was my daughter’s question on this very matter that inspired me to do some historic research. In the 1840s the British railroads adopted a flag, lamp and semaphore signal system where red meant danger, white meant safety and green indicated proceed with caution. They took their inspiration from early industrialization where factory machines used red to indicate the equipment was off and green when turned on.
What is the future for transportation in Connecticut post-COVID? Will ridership ever return to Metro-North? How will we pay for our highways with dwindling gasoline tax revenues? What will all of this mean to local property values and taxes? Transportation Guru Jim Cameron will address these questions and more in a virtual talk, “Off The Rails: The Future of Transportation in CT” for the Darien Library on Tuesday Sept 8 at 7 p.m.
Cameron is the author of the weekly newspaper commentary “Getting There” and has served as a commuter advocate for over 25 years.
There’s another part of our transportation network being seriously affected by COVID-19 beyond our roads and rails: parking lots. Parking is something we take for granted, giving us access to rail stations, shopping and offices. It’s hardly glamorous, but the parking industry represents an $11 billion business nationwide, one third of it privately owned. In Connecticut most rail station parking is owned by the Connecticut DOT but administered by the local towns, each of which sets its own rates and terms. The money collected from commuters is supposed to be spent on station upkeep and amenities while the state takes its share. Pre-COVID, the demand for rail station parking was so high that some Fairfield County towns had five-year waiting lists for annual permits.
Welcome to Connecticut, the home of third world infrastructure. Tropical storm Isaias has shown, once again, that we don’t want to invest in our state’s physical plant and we don’t learn from our mistakes. But we are all so ready to blame somebody else when stuff goes wrong. Every time a Metro-North train pulls down old catenary (overhead power lines), commuters scream, “Where are the replacement buses?” as if a fleet of buses is kept on permanent standby waiting for such strandings. If we did better maintenance on the trains and wires, such accidents might not happen.
Ridership on Metro-North is still down 85% from pre-pandemic levels, but in-state bus ridership is coming back — up to 70% of normal from a March low of 40%. Why the difference? Because bus riders and rail riders are very different. Surveys by CDOT and Metro-North showed the average income of a Metro-North rider was about $150,000, given that many were living in affluent Fairfield County towns and commuting to good paying jobs in New York City. Bus riders are predominantly working class, urban dwellers who make less money and, in many cases don’t own cars.
Every commuter on Metro-North owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to one man: Oz Griebel. He is the reason we can ride the new M8 rail cars. Much has been written since Oz’s passing (at age 71) recently from an auto accident while jogging, especially about his two unsuccessful runs for governor. I remember distinctly in the debates with Bob Stefanowski and Ned Lamont how Griebel would take off his suit jacket, roll up his sleeves and jump into the fray. His energy and passion were electrifying.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has been awarded a $6.7 million federal grant to modernize the CTtransit bus facility in Stamford. The modernizing project will provide accommodations for battery electric buses, which will soon be used on the system, which covers Stamford, Darien and some other towns. The state is buying a dozen electric buses for CTtransit in the Stamford and New Haven areas. The grant comes from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Buses and Bus Facilities Program. “Connecticut’s public transit system is long overdue for a modernization, and this grant will help in our transition to an electric bus fleet on the CTtransit system, which will provide both environmental and economic benefits to the region,” Gov. Ned Lamont said.