Talking Transportation 2025
Grand Central Terminal Main Concourse

Did You Know …

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Over the 20 years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve come across some “fun facts” about transportation. Try dazzling friends at your next BBQ with some of these gems.

HIGHWAYS:

• The average distance driven on Interstate 95 in Connecticut is 11 miles. Some 180,000 vehicles drive all or part of the 112 miles that I-95 runs through our state. But even factoring in true interstate drivers (think Florida to Maine), the average distance driven in Connecticut is tiny. Why?

Talking Transportation 2025
truck burning oil

A Lot of Transportation Is Hazardous to Our Health

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Our air stinks. In fact, Fairfield County ranks in the top 25 of most polluted areas in the U.S., mostly due to ozone levels. And while much of those noxious gases drift our way from New Jersey and New York City, a large part of our pollution is home-grown: it’s due to heavy volumes of traffic, especially diesel trucks, which emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—key ingredients in ozone formation. Yes: I-95 is hazardous to your health. And all of this gets worse in the summer due to the heat which increases ozone production, often trapping it over our heads due to temperature inversions.

Talking Transportation 2025
On the train on the phone cell service on Metro North

Fumbling Media Coverage of Transportation News

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Don’t believe everything you read or see in the media. Sage advice on any topic, but especially when it comes to coverage of transportation. A couple of recent stories illustrate my point. Improved Cell Service on Metro-North
The governor and CDOT’s commissioner held a media event recently in Stamford to promote the fact that AT&T has improved its cell coverage along the New Haven line. That telco spent $6 million installing 30 high-powered macro towers and small cell nodes, some of them on CDOT land, in a public-private partnership.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Obit flower

Barbara Fairclough, 76, Skipped Two School Grades, Microbiologist, Worked at Kelly Associates Real Estate

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Barbara Keller Fairclough died peacefully in the late hours of Wednesday, April 23, 2025, following a hard fought battle with breast cancer.  She was 76. She was born in Manhattan on May 8, 1948, and raised by her loving parents, Anna and Sol Sandler. She grew up in Bronxville, New York, where she thrived, growing up with many good friends and was quite the academic. Having skipped two grades, she graduated from high school and attended the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology. A microbiologist, she worked for many years at New York Hospital, before starting a family with her college sweetheart, Marek Keller.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Carolyn Burt Rusty Burt obit obituary

Carolyn ‘Rusty’ Burt, 91, Taught Swimming at Darien YMCA, Active Volunteer, Loved Sailing, Hiking, Tennis, Canoeing

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Carolyn Orchard Ruscoe Burt, aka “Rusty,” passed away on March 13, 2025. She was 91. Rusty was a born and bred native of Darien, born April 29, 1933 and educated in the Darien school system. Her childhood home was the Bell Mansion, overlooking Gorhams Pond. Rusty spent most summers of her youth at her favorite place in the world, the all-girls Camp Arcadia in Maine, playing tennis, swimming, enjoying campfires, and dreaming about the boys camp across the lake.

Talking Transportation 2025

Avelo Airlines: Neither Woke Nor Broke

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Connecticut’s favorite local airline, Avelo, is in trouble for making a strategic business decision: taking a long term contract with ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to fly deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security. Starting in May they’re dedicating three of their twenty 737 jets to fly from Mesa, Arizona, to destinations both in the U.S. and overseas (presumably flying over the “Gulf of America”), possibly even heading to El Salvador to deliver deportees to prisons there. The public reaction, while understandable, is misplaced. Avelo has enjoyed amazing success flying out of New Haven’s Tweed airport, growing from 50,000 passengers in 2019 to a current 600,000 happy flyers. They fly to 31 different destinations and have recently added flights from Bradley airport.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Sarah Rex Geary obit obituary

Sarah Rex Geary, 63, DHS Cheerleading Captain, Led a School PTA, Loved Tennis, Gardening, Wee Burn Beach Club Sunsets

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Sarah McCune Rex Geary departed unexpectedly on April 7. She was 63. She was born in New York City on May 9, 1961, to Robert McKay Rex and Jean Foley Rex. As the eldest of four sisters who grew up in Darien, Sarah took immense pleasure in her high school days and friends. She was the enthusiastic captain of the Darien High School varsity cheerleading squad.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Obit

Rolf Swensen, Librarian, Author, Professional Organist, Conversationalist, Walked 6 Miles a Day

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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.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Patricia Hamilton obit obituary

Patricia Hamilton, 94, Editor-in-Chief, Cared for Exotic Animals at Bronx Zoo Hospital, Sailed the Atlantic

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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.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Mark Suttile obit obituary

Mark Suttile Loved Fishing, Old Black-and-White Movies and Being Behind the Wheel on the Open Road

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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.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Carolyn Miller Obit Obituary

Carolyn Miller, 88, Former Darien Registrar, Tax Collector, Spearheaded Creation of DHS Varsity Boys Lacrosse

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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.

Darien Obituaries 2025
Keith Baity obit obituary

Keith Baity, 68, International Financial Consultant Who Lived in Multiple Countries, Accomplished Golfer, Loved to Play Squash

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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.