Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

Once the Gateway to New England, Connecticut has become a dead end. Our transportation infrastructure is stuck in the past. In 2010, we can't afford trains that take longer to go from New Haven to New York than they did a century ago. We can't afford big-rig trucks clogging our highways at rush hour. Our location between two of the world's biggest markets, New York and New England, is a major advantage, and we are squandering it.

We can't get Connecticut winning again until products, jobs, and opportunity can flow more easily-from New York and Providence to Danbury and New London, from Stamford and New Haven to Waterbury and Meriden. We can't bring back our cities until they are true hubs of our transportation network, with livable downtowns that draw young people and startup businesses.

Connecticut needs a bold, long-term plan for getting people and products moving again. Our businesses and families do not expect us to solve the gridlock overnight, but they deserve a strategy that shows them where Connecticut is headed and why they should stay here to grow with us. As governor:

I will reestablish frequent rail service from New Haven through Hartford to Springfield.

I will run Metro North trains into Penn Station so commuter rail from Stamford to Newark Airport doesn't entail lugging bags on four different trains.

I will equip train cars throughout the state with Wi-Fi, so travelers can stay connected and productive.

I will upgrade the Waterbury branch and increase the frequency of trains to Derby, Naugatuck, Waterbury, and elsewhere along the line, bringing opportunity and jobs.

I will add parking spaces to our stations and work with cities and towns to develop new homes and businesses within walking distance.

I will repair our bridges and highways, so we can travel safely and quickly across Connecticut. That means projects like fixing the I-84 Aetna Viaduct in Hartford, projects that support thousands of jobs as well.

I will institute a "smart card" that riders can use statewide for bus and rail, making buses an easy extension of our rail network.

I will work with my Lieutenant Governor, Mary Glassman, to make Connecticut a bike-friendly state, giving people a healthier, greener commuting option. You can read Mary's plan here.

I will pound the pavement and work with our major employers to bring international flights back to Bradley. With better marketing and a governor behind it, Bradley could offer flights around the world.

Ned's Plan to Get Connecticut Moving Again

Introduction

Once the Gateway to New England, Connecticut has become a dead end. Our transportation infrastructure is stuck in the past. In 2010, we can't afford trains that take longer to go from New Haven to New York than they did a century ago.1 We can't afford big-rig trucks clogging our highways at rush hour. Our location between two of the world's biggest markets, New York and New England, is a major advantage, and we are squandering it.

We can't get Connecticut winning again until products, jobs, and opportunity can flow more easily-from New York and Providence to Danbury and New London, from Stamford and New Haven to Waterbury and Meriden. We can't bring back our cities until they are true hubs of our transportation network, with livable downtowns that draw young people and startup businesses.

Connecticut needs a bold, long-term plan for getting people and products moving again. Our businesses and families do not expect us to solve the gridlock overnight, but they deserve a strategy that shows them where Connecticut is headed and why they should stay here to grow with us. I will join other governors to launch a massive regional effort, with Connecticut at its center, to revamp our infrastructure. Together, we can compete effectively for the federal funds that will cover much of our investments.

Throughout American history, state and federal governments led the way in building our infrastructure, and their efforts brought rapid growth. First it was the canals, thousands of miles moving freight to our great Eastern cities. Then it was the railroads, leading the charge westward and fueling the industrial revolution. Then it was the interstate highway system. With the best-trained and educated workforce to match our state-of-the-art infrastructure, we held a competitive edge.

That is how we compete. It is no secret. And that is how we bring jobs back to Connecticut. Ending the gridlock and moving people and products efficiently and safely is key to our economic future. Moreover, for every billion dollars we invest, we support nearly 30,000 jobs.2

My transportation plan charts a clear course for Connecticut's transportation future. Over the next four to eight years, I will put rail front and center, ensure our bridges are safe, clear our highways, put the "international" back in Bradley Airport, and cooperate closely with neighboring states.
Rail

I will make reopening the Gateway to New England the foremost infrastructure project in America, and rail will be at its heart. I will prioritize our investments, focusing first on the most heavily traveled routes and expanding from there. New York to New Haven and New Haven to Springfield will come first, followed by smaller routes like those to Waterbury and Danbury. Improving the main lines won't just help New Haven to New York; it will help Waterbury to New York too, as they share tracks much of the way.

* I will reestablish frequent service from New Haven through Hartford to Springfield.
* I will run Metro North trains into Penn Station so commuter rail from Stamford to Newark Airport doesn't entail lugging bags on four different trains.
* I will equip train cars throughout the state with Wi-Fi, so travelers can stay connected and productive.
* I will upgrade the Waterbury branch and increase the frequency of trains to Derby, Naugatuck, Waterbury, and elsewhere along the line, bringing opportunity and jobs.
* I will work with New York and New Jersey to build a freight tunnel across the Lower Hudson, taking 18-wheelers off I-95 and greening Connecticut in the process - a train can move a ton of freight over 400 miles on one gallon of fuel.3
* I will add parking spaces to our stations and work with cities and towns to develop new homes and businesses within walking distance.

Roads

My road initiatives will focus first on safety. For too long, Hartford has rolled the dice, pretending we can defer maintenance on our highways and bridges and suffer no consequences. We now face a multibillion-dollar price tag just to restore our roads to good repair; we can scarcely afford to focus on anything else. Nearly half of our major roads are rated poor or mediocre, and over a third of our bridges are functionally obsolete or structurally deficient.4

* I will repair our bridges and highways, so we can travel safely and quickly across Connecticut. That means projects like fixing the I-84 Aetna Viaduct in Hartford, projects that support thousands of jobs as well. As the recent Naugatuck bridge collapse underscores, we can't afford to put off vital repairs for years and years.
* I will create a capital plan for state investment that prioritizes projects by need, rather than by political favors. We can't keep rewarding influential groups while failing bridges put all of us at risk.

I will also work to get cars off the road. One of the surest ways is to put their drivers on buses and bikes, or to let them telecommute. In these lean times, we can accomplish both without breaking the bank.

* I will institute a "smart card" that riders can use statewide for bus and rail, making buses an easy extension of our rail network.
* I will increase the frequency and lengthen the hours of bus service to reach more people, lessen overcrowding, and reduce wait times. I will put special emphasis on helping seniors and people with disabilities get around more easily.
* I will work with my Lieutenant Governor, Mary Glassman, to make Connecticut a bike-friendly state, giving people a healthier, greener commuting option. You can read Mary's plan here.
* I will strengthen the marketing of car and vanpooling programs to boost the number of commuters who use them.
* I will aggressively promote telecommuting so more employees can work from home or a coffee shop, and I will ensure government leads by example in moving to a mobile 21st century workforce.

Ports and Airports

I will promote Connecticut's airports, starting with Bradley. With more space and less congestion, Bradley can be a true alternative to JFK, LaGuardia, and Logan, boosting its $4 billion contribution to the region.5

* To bring more flights to our airports, I will create an independent airport authority tasked with advertising and recruiting airlines to fly here.

Currently the Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) promotes our airports, but we need a marketing operation, not a construction outfit burdened by bureaucracy. Connecticut would still own our airports, but we would do a better job of promoting them.

* I will pound the pavement and work with our major employers to bring international flights back to Bradley. With better marketing and a governor behind it, Bradley could offer flights around the world.

Ports will also play a vital role in our 21st century transportation network. New Haven, Bridgeport, and New London are just a short barge trip from the Port of New York and New Jersey.

* I will partner with our port city mayors to promote barge service from New York to our ports, taking freight off 18-wheelers on the most congested stretch of I-95.

A Northeast Regional Approach

For too long, we've approached transportation as something that starts and ends within our borders. We've handled our network, while Massachusetts has handled theirs and Rhode Island theirs. This doesn't make sense. The Northeast is smaller than some states, states with a single transportation strategy-states like California that are winning billions of federal dollars and thousands of jobs while Connecticut gets nearly shut out.6

We can't address transportation in pieces. We have to look at the big picture: people and products move around the entire region, not just within our borders. Yes, Ms. Johnson works in New York, but how does she get to New Brunswick for those Friday morning meetings? Does she have to switch from Grand Central to Penn Station? Yes, those manufacturing parts rode on trains from Upstate New York, but didn't they come off ships in Newark? Why did they have to loop upstate and then down to Waterbury?

* I will work with other governors to create a Northeast Transportation Authority, stretching from Washington to Maine, with responsibility for road, rail, ports, and airports.

The Authority will improve existing routes, streamline transfers, and clear chokepoints. In the shorter term, it will help make our network seamless-why can't CT Transit, MTA, PATH, NJ Transit, and others share a single "smart card"? In the longer term, the Authority will be a magnet for federal funds and allow states to pool resources, so we can achieve great things-why can't the train go New York to New Haven in an hour?

To keep up with these bold plans, ConnDOT, long hampered by management turmoil and turnover, will have to continue improving.

* I will hire logistics experts from our top companies and put them to work as state executives, recruiting private talent for the public good.
* Those experts I can't attract as full-time employees-I will call on them as advisors, to lend us their years of knowhow.
* I will demand better, faster results from ConnDOT. China seems to build high-speed rail lines faster than ConnDOT fixes overpasses. I will choose strong executives and hold them accountable for improvement.

Funding

We cannot afford this transportation revolution all at once, but by setting a bold plan, cooperating closely with our neighbors, and squeezing every last state and federal dime, we can chart a clear course. We must: Connecticut's future depends on it.

* I will quit raiding the special transportation fund and put the petroleum gross receipts tax to its intended use: funding transportation.
* I will ensure Connecticut is prepared to compete for and win every dollar possible when the next round of federal funding comes down the pike. We won't be shut out like we were recently with TIGER grants.7
* I will head down to Washington and work with our congressional delegation to make sure Connecticut gets our fair share.
* I will encourage public/private partnerships to pay for transit investments. Station improvements, for instance, raise the value of surrounding real estate: in exchange for state and local investments, private developers can put up part of the funding, allowing us to afford more improvements right now.

Conclusion

Over time, these plans will make Connecticut a smaller place, where almost anywhere in state is just an hour or two away and the world's great markets are just a bit further. It will be a place where folks in Waterbury can get to jobs in Stamford and where New Haven becomes a home for New York commuters.

However, this transportation revolution can mean more than just safer, faster travel. As more people ride transit, our cities and towns-our commuter hubs-will become more attractive places to live and work, and I will capitalize on that.

* I will require that all state construction and investment follow a comprehensive plan for development near transit, revitalizing our cities and reducing traffic and sprawl.
* I will provide incentives for new zoning for higher density, more affordable housing near stations, so our kids can return home to livable, walkable, bikeable downtowns.

Ultimately, better transportation won't just make Connecticut more competitive in the global economy; it will bring the state closer together and renew our towns and cities.

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