Stamford Advocate - Sen. Murphy Hears Stamford's Transportation Woes

News Article

By Nora Naughton

Mayor David Martin discussed some of the city's biggest transportation infrastructure projects this week with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

"You got $1 billion? We could use it," Martin told the senator, referring to the city's thinly-stretched capital budget and the growing list of aging streets, bridges and traffic signals in need of serious work.

Murphy came to Stamford Monday to hear about the city's plans to repair an aging bridge and reorient the intersection of Greenwich Avenue and Pulaski Street in Waterside, but Martin had more to share.

The mayor discussed the city's long-term plans for the Urban Transitway and identified some of the improvements needed along the West Main Street corridor, among other traffic infrastructure issues facing the city.

"Even though by many accounts we are doing very well in Stamford, our infrastructure is close to shambles," Martin said. "We are really struggling, and if there is need it's in capital."

Director of Economic Development Thomas Madden said traffic backup caused by the clunky intersection of Greenwich Avenue and Pulaski Street is impeding on business growth in the Waterside neighborhood.

"It's all about movement," Madden said. "Transportation infrastructure needs to catch up with the development in the city ... the stalling of the transportation bill at the federal level put a constraint on us because we were ready to go on a lot of things, thinking that money would be there."

Murphy wanted to discuss the city's traffic infrastructure needs, since he anticipates a future Donald Trump administration to prioritize investments for these types of projects.

"We want to check on these priority projects if infrastructure money comes in next year," Murphy told Martin at the meeting.

Murphy suggested the city to begin considering more creative ways to fund these projects, mentioning the use of tax-increment financing. This strategy, which diverts future property tax revenues from an assigned zone in the city toward the costs associated with redevelopment of that zone, was most recently implemented to aid the Harbor Point project in the South End.

"We've talked about (TIF zones) a lot here, and we may be forced to talk about them again," Murphy said. "We're past the point where we can sit around and wait for $1 trillion appropriation."

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