Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/news/transportation/page/3)
Road, train and other news related to transportation
Jane O’Hara Larkin, returned to her Heavenly Father on April 4, at age 92. Born in Bronx, New York on Aug. 17, 1932, she grew up in nearby Pelham, New York. She was married to Robert Leon Larkin for 68 years. She was the daughter to Thomas Leo O’Hara Sr., born in St.
Flashback 200 years. You have to travel from Hartford to New York City. How do you get there? Not by train (it didn’t exist yet) and certainly not by road (two to three days by stage coach on dirt roads). No, the best option was by boat.
Rolf H. Swensen passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 22, in Darien. Rolf was a man of wide-ranging interests and deep intellect. He enjoyed hiking, camping, swimming, reading, gardening, and playing both the piano and the organ. A marvelous storyteller and conversationalist, he brought insight and warmth to every conversation. He swam three times a week and walked six miles a day, delighting in the outdoors and forming close bonds with neighbors — especially their dogs, whose names he knew and to whom he generously offered treats.
Patricia Ann Wardley Hamilton, 94, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Grandview-on-Hudson, New York, passed away on March 11, 2025. She was predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Lloyd A. Hamilton Jr.
She was the former editor-in-chief of D&B Reports, a keen sailor and longtime volunteer at the Bronx Zoo. Patricia was born in 1930 in Chicago to Charles and Anna Wardley. Charles was an advertising salesman and Anna, a housewife. Due to her father’s job, the family moved frequently, including stints in Pittsburg, Chicago and Darien.
Mark Suttile, son of Patricia Frye and the late Joseph Suttile, passed away on March 12, 2025. Known for his quick wit and bold sense of humor, he had a warm heart and liked making others laugh. If he called you “kiddo” or “sweetie,” you knew you were part of his circle. Mark loved the simple joys in life — fishing, watching old black-and-white movies, and most of all, being behind the wheel of something big. The open road was his happy place, where he felt the freest.
Carolyn Chase Dale Miller, 88, of Darien died on Sunday, March 30. Surrounded by family, she passed away peacefully from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Born in New York City on Aug. 31, 1936, Carolyn grew up in Peekskill, New York, and graduated from Peekskill High School with honors. She attended Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, where she was an avid equestrian and member of the university’s field hockey and fencing teams.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1958, Carolyn moved to New York and began her career in research at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
Keith Flake Baity passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Bedford, New Hampshire, at the age of 68. Keith was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Oct. 26, 1956, and was the identical twin of John Cooley Baity Jr.. He grew up in Larchmont and Rye, New York, and attended Deerfield Academy from 1970 to 1974. He graduated from Princeton University in 1978 and went on to earn his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1982.
Last week’s column on the “Real ID” deadline to allow drivers licenses to be used to clear TSA at the airport struck a nerve. Among the many comments received, was this from Jan van Eck, who wrote:
“It is not, and never was, the purpose of TSA inspectors to go check identification papers a la East Germany: “papers, please.” Their function is to check for weapons being brought aboard an aircraft. That’s it. When (your column) counsels the citizenry to go get a Real-ID driver’s permit (and fork out an extra $30 for it), you are subtly encouraging the erosion of personal liberties, including the liberty to travel freely without some government bureaucrat questioning you.”
Oh, but that fun is just beginning, Jan, as you’ll find the next time you return to the US from overseas.
The Darien Department of Public Works has announced it began sidewalk replacement on West Avenue between Herman Avenue (at the Rings End store) and Leroy Avenue (near Darien Railroad Station) on about Monday, March 24, 2025. — an announcement from the Darien Department of Public Works
Preliminary layout work and saw cutting will begin before that. Work is expected to take about five months. Work will begin at Leroy Avenue and progress towards Herman Avenue. The sidewalk will be constructed of concrete and will include handicap ramps at intersections.
Quick. Look at your Connecticut driver’s license! If you don’t see a gold star in the upper right corner, you’ll soon be unable to use that as ID to fly. By May 7, 2025, the familiar dance at airport security will change for Connecticut residents. That’s when the long-delayed Real ID requirement takes effect, and if you’re still flashing a standard driver’s license (without the gold star), you may find yourself grounded — literally.
As the housing debate rages statewide, one of the issues seldom addressed is that of “free parking.”
It’s one thing to increase housing density to hopefully bring us more affordable domiciles, but we have to remember that parking must be part of the equation, properly managed and priced. Critics argue that each parking space in a new development takes up about 325 square feet. That means two or three spaces could require as much land as a studio apartment or small store. And the cost of parking just adds to construction costs: as much as $10,000 per space on a surface lot, $50,000 on a parking structure and $100,000 in an underground lot. Consider Bridgeport, where as many as 200 homeless are living on the streets.
“It’s been the job of a lifetime,” says Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North’s first female president, who is set to retire at the end of the month. “It’s been just such an honor and a privilege to be able to lead this amazing organization… these heroes who performed the daily miracle [of running 700 trains] every day.”
Miracle? Hardly. But with such an aging infrastructure and so many moving parts, I’ve got to give Metro-North (and Ms. Rinaldi) credit for a job well done. Rinaldi came to the railroad in 2003 as a lawyer and helped run Metro-North (and the Long Island Rail Road for a while) through the dark days of COVID, when more than 100 MTA workers died, as the railroads kept service going — even as 90% of riders hunkered down in quarantine.
How you pay the town online for services and what you have to do for daily and permit parking should both become easier, First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said in his most recent town newsletter column:
This week, I would like to highlight two initiatives we have undertaken to enhance efficiency at Town Hall. Firstly, we have engaged Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) to assist us in improving our payment systems. The objective is to expand the available payment options to include all forms of electronic and app-based technologies. My hope is that this will facilitate easier payment for services, whether you are paying in person, online, or through an app. CLA commenced their study last month. During their initial payment system analysis, they uncovered related processes that will need improvement as well.
So, how have you been enjoying this winter so far? We’ve already had eight inches of snow in Hartford, compounded by heavy winds, downed power lines and wind-chills in the single digits. February is the cruelest of months. But thanks to local and state road crews, our highways get cleared and we can, though bundled up, get on with our business. Before a storm hits local TV stations do the inevitable lame stories showing salt being loaded into trucks and road crews honing their plows.
There’s so much news to cover this week on the transportation front! The Good
Kudos to Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget team for promising to prioritize long-planned transportation construction in their proposed $55.2 billion, two-year budget. Despite President Trump’s promise to tie federal funding to states’ compliance with policies on masks, vaccines, tolls and immigration enforcement, the Connecticut Department of Transportation says their work will continue. Congrats also to CDOT for their planned $32 million rebuild of the Derby-Shelton train and bus station on the Waterbury branch. Ridership on that line is up significantly since more trains were added (a 47% increase) and there are several TOD (transit oriented development) projects underway in those two towns.