Strong transportation support is very important at the Bond Commission meeting this Wednesday. The agenda is packed with transportation funding. Additionally, there will be opposition to the $10 million for the study to provide accurate information on tolling.
Bond Commission Meeting
Legislative Office Building 300 Capitol Ave., Hartford
(there is plenty of parking this time of year)
Room 1E
10am
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
When it comes to the tolling:
- A study and accurate information on tolling in Connecticut is important
- Several legislators complained that there was a lack of information during the last legislative session
- All funding options should be on the table until Connecticut’s transportation funding shortfall is addressed
- Connecticut needs a long-term user-based funding stream to support its transportation needs
- Connecticut should be planning now for the future
CLICK HERE FOR BOND COMMISSION AGENDA
Tolling only viable choice to pay for Connecticut’s transportation needs
Connecticut needs to implement some form of electronic tolling on its highways. That is not a popular point to make. After all, who wants to add the cost of tolls to their driving transportation expenses?
But the state must find a way to pay to widen its congested highways, repair its aging infrastructure and continue to improve rail and other mass transit opportunities.
“Without transforming the way we fund our highways, we will be unable to pay for the large-scale construction and rehabilitation projects that our state needs to ensure continued safe travel while attracting businesses and growing our economy,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy this week.
He’s right.
Because it has no tolls, Connecticut can design a 21st century electronic tolling system from scratch, rather than having to retrofit an existing system as is the case in surrounding states that have long collected tolls. A modern system would use overhead gantries to assess a toll on passing vehicles, either by way of transponders in the vehicles or a photo of the registration plates for those failing to use a transponder. Gone are the days of needing toll booths.
A modern electronic toll system could utilize congestion pricing, charging a higher fee at hours of peak traffic to encourage those who can drive at off-peak hours to do so and save money.
The state Department of Transportation has issued preliminary estimates that tolls could yield up to $800 million annually, providing a critical influx of funding to the State Transportation Fund.
Continued dependence solely on the fuel tax will not get the job done. In 1997 the General Assembly cut the tax from 39 cents per gallon to 25 cents, leaving it unchanged since. The use of more fuel efficient cars and fully electric cars will continue to diminish the revenue raised through the gas tax.
Tolls have the advantage of generating revenues from the millions of trucks and cars that travel through Connecticut but never stop for a fill-up and so contribute nothing toward maintaining those highways.
So critical is the need to repair and upgrade the state’s transportation system, the nonpartisan Connecticut Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth concluded the state should both impose electronic tolling and raise the gas tax.
Taxpayers have a right to be concerned that revenue generated through tolls could be diverted for other needs, given that the legislature has raided the State Transportation Fund in the past. But if voters approve a constitutional amendment in November, as they should, it would create a lockbox to assure revenues raised for transportation are dedicated to that purpose.
Yet even as they watch surrounding states improve their tolling systems to pay for their highways, Connecticut lawmakers have remained unwilling to explore implementing them here for fear of the political price they may pay. To be fair, many politicians say their anti-toll stance lines up with the public’s opinion. But none is offering viable alternatives to raise the necessary funds.
While welcoming most any step that advances the discussion about tolling, the announcement by Malloy of a $10 million toll study generates mixed feelings.
On one level the study makes much sense. It will prepare various tolling alternatives, placement options and potential charges. It will explore ways to provide discounts or tax credits for Connecticut residents while ensuring out-of-state drivers pay their fair share for using state highways.
It would afford the next governor and legislature with options and answers to many of the questions that have been asked.
But a case can be made that Malloy is overreaching with his executive authority, achieving in his last months in office an initiative he could not obtain through a vote of the legislature.
And it could prove money wasted. The five Republicans who will compete in the Aug. 14 primary to run for governor are lockstep in their opposition to tolling. If a Republican wins, he could find a study on his desk he doesn’t want or one he will discontinue if it is not finished.
Which would be foolish.
More likely, the state will eventually have to turn to some form of tolling. When it does, the Malloy-ordered study will provide guidance, irrespective of the fact he strong-armed it into existence.
The editorial board is composed of the publisher and four journalists of varied editing and reporting backgrounds. The board's discussions and information gained from its meetings with political, civic, and business leaders drive the institutional voice of The Day, as expressed in its editorials. The editorial department operates separately from the newsroom.
Bridgeport Harbor moves away from industrial past
As Bridgeport Harbor drifts further from its industrial roots and into a future defined more by entertainment and residential uses, development of a new boatyard on the former Derecktor Shipyard site is likely to play a key role.
Construction along the waterfront is ongoing, and the city is weeks away from seeing the site reopened under a new banner of Bridgeport Boatworks.“We’re moving forward and opening a new shipyard facility that will offer both retail and commercial services to the retail and boating markets in the area and the region,” said Harry Boardsen, general manager of Noank Shipyard, a Groton-based company that is preparing to reactivate the former boatyard as a recreational and commercial shipyard.
The family-owned and operated company runs two marinas in Connecticut, including Seaport Marine in Mystic.
The site was formerly owned by the Bridgeport Port Authority, but it became one of the most recent acquisitions of Bridgeport Landing Development and RCI Group, Boardsen said. The Miami-based developers are leading the way on transforming the Bridgeport’s harbor into a new entertainment and residential section of the city.They own and are developing the land across the water at Steelepointe Harbor and next to the boatyard that remains the site MGM Resorts International has stated it wants to build a casino, pending state approval.
“The idea is to really turn that area in Bridgeport into a destination harbor for retail clientele and also to step back into the commercial market that used to exist there a number of years ago,” Boardsen said.
Full speed ahead
Bridgeport Boatworks is in its final stages of cleanup as Boardsen and his company look to revive the site.
“We’re moving full speed ahead here so we’ve already had people reaching out to us for performance work forms, so we are getting the final pieces reorganized to get the boatyard opened,” he said.
The operation will offer boat repair and storage services. Noank has installed 75-ton and 200-ton boat travel lifts on the site along with a 45-ton self-propelled trailer, allowing it to handle a variety of vessels it is looking to attract to Bridgeport’s transitioning harbor.
The shipyard will provide upland winter storage, mechanical service work, paint and fiberglass work, and restoration.
As construction of Steelepointe Harbor continues, Boardsen said Bridgeport Boatworks would work in conjunction with the neighboring project, which is to feature a 110-slip marina along with hundreds of waterfront apartments and retail.“As a boatyard operator ourselves, we are excited for the opportunity to get back in and light that property back up because it is such a unique property on the Eastern Seaboard,” Boardsen said.
A new direction
Before it left town, Derecktor Shipyard for 12 years built and repaired large-scale boats and yachts, providing hope to those who believed the marine industry and a working harbor could still be a driving force for Bridgeport’s economy. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and the site had been dormant for years following different attempts by the Bridgeport Port Authority to find a tenant to revive the operation.
RCI purchased site this spring, adding to its holdings along the waterfront and investing tens of millions of dollars into the site. This is among the hundreds of millions proposed for the area, said Robert Christoph Jr. of RCI.
“We are taking point on transforming the harbor to make sure the service is first class,” he said. “We want to make sure that Bridgeport puts its best foot forward.”
Turbana, which imported bananas into Bridgeport Harbor on a site next to Derecktor, closed in 2008, ending another of the city’s water-dependent uses. That property is to be used for a new ferry terminal.
With projects like the Steelepointe and the proposed MGM Bridgeport casino, Christoph said he and his team are focused on making Bridgeport’s harbor the top recreational destination for Fairfield County on the waterfront, moving the city further away from the shipping and cargo vessels of the past. City officials say the evolution of the harbor is inevitable.
“That whole harbor has transformed,” said Tom Gill, director of planning and economic development. “The harbor hasn’t been dredged in years and the prospects of dredging that harbor in the future are not good. ... This will create jobs in the same line of industry — they just won’t be making new boats.”
Crumbling Stamford bridge may get $2M facelift
STAMFORD - The nation was in its Gilded Age when the West Main Street bridge was built in 1888.It was a time of rapid economic growth, and industrial cities, including Stamford, were thriving.
The city was adding population and factories, and the era of the gasoline-powered automobile was dawning. It meant the city had to do something about its crumbling roads and bridges.
Officials began the repairs downtown, where traffic was heaviest, and focused on the bridges. One of the first they rebuilt crossed Mill River at what is now West Main Street, then the Boston Post Road. At the time, the bridge, made of wood, was 200 years old.
It was replaced with a metal-truss design manufactured by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, then the state’s only major bridge manufacturer. Berlin Iron built about 100 bridges in Connecticut and another 500 in other states, according to information collected by historian Michael Raber and archived in the Connecticut Historic Preservation Collection.
Now the double-arched bridge of intricate metal work is 130 years old - one of only eight left in Connecticut.It is in much the same shape as its wooden predecessor when it was torn down long ago. The iron beams are rusted and rotting, and the stone-and-concrete support piers are falling into the river.It has been deteriorating for decades. In 2002, the city closed it to car traffic. In 2008, the Board of Representatives ruled it fit only for pedestrian traffic.
Soon, however, it may not even be good for that, said Michael Pollard, chief of staff to Mayor David Martin. The bridge likely has only months to live, Pollard recently told the Board of Finance.“It’s deteriorating at an accelerating rate,” he said.The West Main Street bridge has been on the Department of Transportation’s repair list since 2000, City Engineer Lou Casolo told the finance board, but the project has been hampered by the state budget crisis. The DOT has federal money to distribute, but work likely couldn’t begin until 2023.
There is a chance, however, that the project can begin next summer, Casolo and Pollard told the board. The Mill River Collaborative, a nonprofit public-private partnership that is remaking Mill River Park, wants to give the city $2 million to repair the 125-footlong bridge.It is integral to the park, which is at the heart of a planned greenway along the river from Stamford Harbor to Bridge Street, said Arthur Selkowitz, chairman of the collaborative.
“We were given a $2 million state grant in May … to be used for work on the greenway going south” toward the bridge, Selkowitz said. “The idea that it could be four to five more years before the state can get to the bridge is unacceptable to us.”So the collaborative asked Casolo if the city could take it on. Casolo consulted with Wengell, McDonnell & Costello, a contractor that has worked with the city for years to shore up the bridge, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
For $2 million, WMC will extend its life 25 years, Casolo said.
“We’re here to present the quickest, most economical way to rehabilitate the bridge,” Casolo told the finance board. “There is a vision for it. It will be beautified to enhance Mill River Park.”
This old bridge
The job won’t be easy, he said. The contractor must maintain the historic quality and work with engineering used when Grover Cleveland was president.It will be like restoring an antique car, Casolo said CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Eversource upgrading natural gas systems in Torrington;
The following is a press release from Eversource.
TORRINGTON — To ensure the continued safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to its customers, Eversource is investing $3.4 million to upgrade the gas distribution system in the central and northern areas of Torrington. The project includes replacing nearly 10,000 feet of existing cast iron and bare steel gas main with newer plastic pipe - which is safer, more durable and better able to handle fluctuations in underground temperatures. Eversource has replaced more than 145 miles of aging gas lines around the state since 2011.
“These investments allow us to further modernize the gas distribution system, minimizing repairs and any service interruptions,” said Eversource President of Gas Operations Bill Akley. “Proactively upgrading the system helps to ensure our customers in Connecticut have a better, stronger network for decades to come.”
The Torrington upgrade project is underway, with construction crews working between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Work will be done along Alice, Benham, Calhoun, Church, Kinney, Lorenzo, Main, Margerie, Mason, Pearl, Prospect and Winthrop streets; Brightwood, Edward and Pythian avenues, as well as Eastwood Road.
Eversource communicates with community leaders and customers where work is being done to minimize the impact to traffic and coordinate with other roadwork happening in the town. Drivers may experience delays due to alternating one-way traffic. Customers may experience a short disruption to their natural gas service when the new line is being activated and they will be notified in advance by letter, phone or an in-person visit. This gas line improvement work is expected to be complete by early December.
For information on Eversource’s natural gas expansion efforts, visit Eversource.com.
Portland breaks ground on 37-acre recreation complex to include splash pad, trails
PORTLAND — The Portland Route 17 Recreation Park Committee officially broke ground on the town’s 37-acre recreation area off Strickland Avenue Friday.
Sean Dwyer, director of the Parks & Recreation Department, was joined by town officials and administrators, members of the state Parks & Recreation Commission, park committee members, and several of Portland’s youngest citizens to mark the venture with a ceremonial “first dig,” according to a press release.
Portland’s Board of Selectmen awarded the construction contract to DeRita and Sons Construction in May. Essential tree removal was completed in June, according to the release.
Portland residents can expect to see an increase in construction activity over the next few weeks, according to the committee. The park will include soccer fields, baseball fields, playscapes for ages 6 months to 12 years, a splash pad, fitness circuit, walking path, concession stand and restrooms.
Committee members are Chairman Brian McCarthy, Vice Chairwoman Jessica Labbadia, Chris Donahue, Patrick Farley, Carla MacKay, Michael Susca, Anne Fischer, Joseph Aresco, Jennifer Oliva and James Tripp.
In April 2005, during a town meeting at the Brownstone Intermediate School, residents voted 113 to 18 to purchase the former 37-acre Goodrich property from Nelson Goodrich to use for active and passive recreation.
The town’s recreation department and youth leagues were starting to grow and needed more space. The 2006 Plan of Conservation and Economic Development identified the need for a Parks and Recreation master plan, according to the release.
In 2006, the Parks and Recreation Commission and Department began the process. The resulting master plan developed three conceptual designs for the property formerly owned by Nelson Goodrich.
Complete plans and details can be found on portlandct.org.
Gov. Malloy expected to attend ceremony in downtown Meriden Tuesday
MERIDEN — A ribbon cutting for Meriden Commons I and a groundbreaking for Meriden Commons II will take place on the Meriden Green on Tuesday.
The ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Green amphitheater. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state officials are expected to attend.
The two housing projects represent a $55 million investment in downtown Meriden in partnership with Pennrose LLC, The Cloud Company and the Meriden Housing Authority. Charlie Adams, Pennrose regional vice president, said about 40 of the 75 apartment units in Meriden Commons I have been rented.
Meriden Commons II, right next door, will add another 76 units as well as 15,000-square-feet of commercial space at the corner of State and Park streets. About 80 percent of the units are considered affordable or low income with the remainder to be rented at market rate.
Meriden Commons II will replace the Mills Memorial Apartments. Demolition of the Mills is expected to begin in the next few weeks, acting City Manager Ken Morgan. The plan is to take the low rise buildings down first, followed by the high rise buildings in September.
“What we do in Meriden is really a function of the vision and the courage that the city of Meriden and Housing Authority had to take down the Mills and create new transit-oriented development and we’re very excited to be apart of that vision and be an instrument to help move it forward,” Adams said.
City Planner Bob Seale was excited to see the next phase of the project begin.
“This is another step forward in the completion of continuing the transit-oriented development master plan,” Seale said. “Making the needed improvements to create a walkable destination within the center of the state, improvement of the housing stock and increasing the feet on the ground will ultimately increase the desirability of the downtown.”
Developers see opportunity with increasing demand for youth-sports facilities
Youth sports in the United States has blossomed into a $15.5 billion industry, with parents often treating out-of-state tournaments as a family vacation.
While industry insiders say Connecticut's youth sports market is competitive when it comes to attracting major competitions, they concede there are gaps to be filled, and developers are starting to take notice.
Several projects are being considered that could pump millions of dollars into the state economy and better position Connecticut to attract larger, more high-profile sporting events.
Plans were recently unveiled for a $200 million sports complex in Windsor Locks that aims to be a premier facility for top youth athletes from around the country, particularly for Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball.
Even though the project faces uncertainty — following revelations of an active lawsuit against the developer, Andrew Borgia, in New York — youth basketball organizers say that a multi-court facility with the right amenities could be a major draw.
Meanwhile, just over the border in Windsor, a longtime fastpitch softball coach and league official has, with little fanfare, won local approvals to build 11 fastpitch fields on a 20-plus-acre parcel on Day Hill Road, near Amazon's new distribution facility.
Fastpitch Nation Park would be the largest of its kind in New England and aim to attract additional tournaments to an already healthy portfolio, according to the developer David Rocha, who owns an indoor athletics facility in Bloomfield and who is fastpitch director for the U.S. Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
"The whole business of travel sports has exploded," Rocha said.
Another area sports facility, Hartford's Dillon Stadium, will draw more out-of-state activity after renovations are complete and United Soccer League's newly named Hartford Athletic begins play in 2019.
Connecticut already attracts sporting events at several facilities, including the Convention Center in Hartford, which has hosted major youth volleyball tournaments. A weeklong national girls' fastpitch softball tournament, directed by Rocha, is expected to bring more than $2.1 million to the Greater Hartford economy when competition kicks off July 23 in East Hartford and Southington.
While Connecticut doesn't have the massive sports complexes that are more common in other parts of the country, the state benefits from its geographic position and could build on that, said Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) President H. Scott Phelps, whose organization helps market dozens of venues around the state.
"Connecticut has 23.5 million people within a two-hour drive," Phelps said.
Building demand
Fastpitch Nation Park, which Rocha said represents a $3 million investment, could be considered the antithesis of "build it and they will come."
USSSA has grown into the largest fastpitch organization in New England, and demand for the sport and access to softball fields is there, he said.
The association is already running about 40 tournaments a year in Connecticut, which is sorely lacking in fastpitch-sized fields.
Assuming his project becomes a reality (he's still waiting on final word from his private lenders and there's no state money involved), Rocha anticipates many existing competitions, as well as new ones, moving to the Windsor facility, including the addition of a second national tournament.
On an average weekend, as many as 50 teams could be involved in a tournament. The matchups include teams from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and Rocha expects the geographic reach to grow. Hosting college teams is also a possibility.
"Absolutely, we're going to draw from much further away," he said.
Rocha said his project was born out of a dearth of fastpitch fields in the state. What does exist is often town-owned or requires fence modifications to accommodate the smaller fastpitch format, and Rocha has noticed that more towns in recent years have stopped renting to tournaments like his.
"You never know from year to year whether the fields you used last year are available to use this year," he said.
Once financing is in order, which Rocha hopes will happen by next month, construction on the outdoor fields would start immediately, with a projected opening date of spring 2019. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE