Cameron on Transportation
U.S. Customs agent

Intrusions into Travelers’ Privacy and the Search for Illegal Immigrants — Interesting Times at the Border

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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.

Talking Transportation 2025
Real ID Gold Star on License

You’ll Need a ‘Real ID’ on Your Driver’s License to Use It for Identification on Flights, Starting May 7

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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.

Talking Transportation 2025
Aerial view of a parking lot

There Is No Free Parking

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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.

Talking Transportation 2025
Catherine Rinaldi Metro North president departing

Departing Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi Refects on a Sometimes Smooth, Sometimes Bumpy Ride

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“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.

Talking Transportation 2025
Plow Trucks winter

What the Darien DPW Does to Keep Town Roads Safe

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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.

Beyond Darien

First Selectman Zagrodzky on a Scam That Has Many Elderly Victims and a Problem Affecting Many Young People

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Editor’s note: While First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky’s biweekly column in Friday’s the Town of Darien Newsetter (you can subscribe here) isn’t specifically about Darien, Darienites can experience these problems — and it’s interesting enough to republish. Here it is:
Two stories for you this week. […]
First story. I got a call Wednesday from an old friend. He reported that his mother-in-law received an email notification that her LifeLock subscription was up for renewal.

Cameron on Transportation
Metro-North railroad train car New Haven Line

Lots of Connecticut Transportation News: Here’s the Good, the Bad and the Impractical

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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.

Amtrak 2025
Avelia Liberty Train Amtrack

Should Amtrak Be Replaced by AmeriStarRail LLC? And Could It Happen?

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As President upends the way things are done in D.C., I thought I’d revisit an idea I wrote about two years ago that he might just consider. Trump is big on privatizing government services (like the post office), so why not Amtrak, too? Why does the U.S. have only one serious passenger railroad? And given its monopoly and high fares, wouldn’t a choice of rail carriers bring better service and lower prices? Sure, Amtrak competes against the air shuttles (which are faster, but even more expensive), buses (much cheaper and slower) and, of course, cars (also slower).

Talking Transportation 2025

Some Good News For Commuters: Faster NYC Traffic; More Trains on Time, Happier Riders

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There’s just too much news. Trying to keep up with everything that’s happening is like drinking out of a firehose. But I’m not going to write about the horrific plane crash last week in Washington, D.C. Unlike President Trump, I’ll wait to hear from the experts on what happened and why. Nor am I going to write about the president’s threats to cut funding for already-approved transportation projects in Connecticut, tying that money to immigration enforcement, marriage and birth rates, vaccination and mask rules. My colleagues at CTMirror have already covered that well.

Beyond Darien

The Los Angeles Fires: What We Can Learn, What We Can Do, How We Can Help

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First Selectman John Zagrodzky on Friday published an article about the Los Angeles fires with information about key, useful things for people here to know and do. Here’s his article, which appeared Friday in the Town of Darien Newsletter:

FROM THE FIRST SELECTMAN

I participated this week in a very informative call about the recent (and unfortunately ongoing) fires in Los Angeles. Some key learnings:

While there were political failures for sure (preparation, hazard mitigation and water availability), the city faced a “perfect storm” of conditions, including strong Santa Ana winds, extremely dry conditions, a microburst of dry, cold air over the area, and plenty of undergrowth for fuel. And they knew this was coming: over 170 fire alerts, which use satellite data to detect fires based on the heat they generate, had been detected in the area as of Jan. 13 – more than 100 times the average for the first three weeks of the year from 2012-2024.

Talking Transportation 2025
Joe Biden Amtrak

Our Transportation President Left Connecticut with $9.6 Billion for Upcoming Rail Projects

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With the changing of power in Washington this Monday, let’s say thanks to Joe Biden, the president who has done the most for transportation in our country in the almost 70 years since Dwight Eisenhower built our interstate highways. While his predecessor (and successor) Donald Trump talked a lot about investing in transportation, Biden (and the Connecticut delegation to Congress) actually got it done. Biden’s major initiative was …

… The Infrastructure & Investment Jobs Act — $110 billion for roads and bridges, $105 billion for public transit, and $7.5 billion for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. That means funding for more than 66,000 projects nationwide, encompassing road and bridge repairs, public transit enhancements, and airport modernizations.

Cameron on Transportation

Comments Worth Sharing in Reaction to Last Week’s Talking Transportation Column on Congestion Pricing

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Last week’s column about New York City’s congestion pricing experiment seems to have struck a nerve, generating a huge number of comments. Yes, friends, I do read all your emails and I try to reply, valuing your feedback — though not always agreeing with you. But I thought some of the comments posted below were worth sharing. David wrote: “ Some people maintain that tolls aren’t taxes, but really anytime government takes money out of citizens’ pockets, it’s a tax. Adding one more arrow to Hartford’s already full quiver of ways to shake money out of CT residents and those passing through is a bad idea.”

A train rider turned driver noted:

“For many years I rode the train five days per week.

Talking Transportation 2024
Manhattan night traffic cars street NYC

Three Cheers for Congestion Pricing — and Maybe in Connecticut

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Oh Happy Day! Congestion pricing is finally happening in New York City’s CBD (Central Business District), i.e. Midtown Manhattan. After decades of discussion, years of studies, dozens of court cases and numerous delays, motorists who chose to drive into midtown Manhattan (below 60th Street) will now be charged a toll based on the size of their vehicle and the time of day. Full details can be found here. Finally, someone is doing something to deal with too many cars/trucks and not enough space.

Talking Transportation 2024
Fairfield Avenue Bridge Interstate 95 highway

State Government and Money: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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When we are spending our own hard-earned money, we are usually pretty cautious, especially in these tough times. But when it comes to spending OPM (Other Peoples’ Money), who cares? A few examples from the news highlight government’s cavalier attitude in this regard:
The $16 Million Bridge
CDOT is justifiably proud that it could rebuild the Fairfield Avenue bridge on I-95 in Norwalk damaged in a fiery crash last May, finishing months earlier than predicted and under budget, at just $16 million (compared to the initial estimated $20 million). Kudos to the (no bid contract) construction company — and to the fact that 80% of the cost will be paid by the Feds. Yes, once again, it’s OPM to the rescue.