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IN PROGRESS: Hartford-New Britain Busway/ CTFastrak


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ok.....i jus looked at charlotte's forum to see the hype of their light rail system. and idk if im jus really jealousy of them...or jus pissed at hartford. this busway will be a joke. first off raising one of the busiest intersections? WONT HAPPEN. and even if they do infact try....good luck with that. Secondly, we can admit that Hartford is not the biggest city in the world (i can see the east side from the west end aka where i live) but it is pretty lengthy from North to South. If we were to ever get light rail, get the suburbs involved. i know for a fact that traffic is absolutely the worse due to our highways and congested streets. From Simbsbury to Hartford is an example. By doing the busway, they are making a big mistake....and what, it only to serve from Hartford to New Britain?? what about Hartford to Newington, Hartford to Glastonbury, Simsbury, Bloomfield, Windsor, South Windsor, etc. the list could go on in on. And me personally....i think there needs to be another stop downtown other than Union Station. Face it Union Station isnt that big. Somehow they should have put it near the center of the city, maybe with an elevate rail.Having it on the edge of downtown seems odd to me...if LRT was ever to get proposed...because no one would want to walk from Union to say....constitution and the last thing they would wanna do is hop in a bus to ride that 5 min distance, or maybe thats just me. THey only use the tracks for Amtrak anyways, and occasional frieght. they are tremendously underused in my opinion. i just needed to get that all out....pheeeeeeeew i feel better.

can someoen get on rell's ass please........the new-haven, hartford, springfield line is going to be great but how about we start inside the city then work our way outward

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ok.....i jus looked at charlotte's forum to see the hype of their light rail system. and idk if im jus really jealousy of them...or jus pissed at hartford. this busway will be a joke. first off raising one of the busiest intersections? WONT HAPPEN. and even if they do infact try....good luck with that. Secondly, we can admit that Hartford is not the biggest city in the world (i can see the east side from the west end aka where i live) but it is pretty lengthy from North to South. If we were to ever get light rail, get the suburbs involved. i know for a fact that traffic is absolutely the worse due to our highways and congested streets. From Simbsbury to Hartford is an example. By doing the busway, they are making a big mistake....and what, it only to serve from Hartford to New Britain?? what about Hartford to Newington, Hartford to Glastonbury, Simsbury, Bloomfield, Windsor, South Windsor, etc. the list could go on in on. And me personally....i think there needs to be another stop downtown other than Union Station. Face it Union Station isnt that big. Somehow they should have put it near the center of the city, maybe with an elevate rail.Having it on the edge of downtown seems odd to me...if LRT was ever to get proposed...because no one would want to walk from Union to say....constitution and the last thing they would wanna do is hop in a bus to ride that 5 min distance, or maybe thats just me. THey only use the tracks for Amtrak anyways, and occasional frieght. they are tremendously underused in my opinion. i just needed to get that all out....pheeeeeeeew i feel better.

can someoen get on rell's ass please........the new-haven, hartford, springfield line is going to be great but how about we start inside the city then work our way outward

I agree, however I think the we know Rell will definitely not be that ambitious with the transportation issues. One of the other candidates would more than likely be a lot better on that issue. Also, many Hartford burbs like Simsbury and Avon and such, probably would not want anything to do with improved connections to the city.

Edited by HartfordTycoon
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I agree, however I think the we know Rell will definitely not be that ambitious with the transportation issues. One of the other candidates would more than likely be a lot better on that issue. Also, many Hartford burbs like Simsbury and Avon and such, probably would not want anything to do with improved connections to the city.

Right. Sadly, these suburbs have not been built at anywhere near the densities to make mass transit work. Rail to west to West Hartford, east to Manchester, north to Windsor (on the NH/Springfield Line) and south to Newington/Wethersfield would be a start. Then if other suburbs wanted to get service they should have to agree to develop denser areas around where the stations would be.

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  • 1 month later...

Right. Sadly, these suburbs have not been built at anywhere near the densities to make mass transit work. Rail to west to West Hartford, east to Manchester, north to Windsor (on the NH/Springfield Line) and south to Newington/Wethersfield would be a start. Then if other suburbs wanted to get service they should have to agree to develop denser areas around where the stations would be.

Any word on this Busway foolishness? I'm still hoping the city and state realize what a stupid idea it is and opt for light rail instead. I don't understand it. Nearly every major light rail system built within the past 20 years has been a smashing success yet cities still think buses are the way to go? It makes me so mad. I live in Hartford but am originally from New Jersey which has just finished completing 3 fairly comprehensive light rail systems that have done WONDERS for the areas around them. The HBLR (Hudson-Bergan Light Rail) in particular is impressive and nearly everyone that has access to it, from the cities to the suburbs, gives it rave reviews. The biggest problem we have in CT are the NIMBY's! We have plenty of them in Jersey as well but the government just ignores them and builds things for the good of the vast majority of people in the state instead of entertaining selfish rich suburban snobs! This is what needs to be done in CT before we get anything done.

Edited by spatulashack
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The reason the busway idea is silly to me is that it's being built on a dedicated rail line... It's terminus is a rail station.... which both completely throws out any rational for making a busway, which usually runs along highways and city streets. It absolutely should be light rail. But in a state that is OBSESSED with paving and asphalt, I'm not surprised at this huge blunder. I wrote countless letters, to no avail, that we are once again making a huge mistake in Hartford...

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This is going to suck so hard in the coming years. Quite a few cities our size are either building or expanding upon their light rail systems, meanwhile we'll have a brand spanking new glorified bus route that no one is going to use. For a relatively progressive state, we've got it all wrong when it comes to transportation.

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My hope is that a second track is laid alongside the single track from New Haven to Springfield (after Amtrak ripped up the old second track track and sold it for scrap metal). It was recommended in the study to add a track in the corridor.

This way, there may not be enough room in the rail right-of-way for 2 paved busway roads, and the busway idea might have to be switched to light rail.

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This is going to suck so hard in the coming years. Quite a few cities our size are either building or expanding upon their light rail systems, meanwhile we'll have a brand spanking new glorified bus route that no one is going to use. For a relatively progressive state, we've got it all wrong when it comes to transportation.

Well CT always wants to do everything backwards all the time. Why? I don't know. :rolleyes:

Edited by drc72
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Saw this on a blog.... he put it VERY well:

"These are the same people that spend money "studying" a plan to tear up high-quality existing rail between New Britain and Hartford so they could give money to the road construction firms like Tomasso to build a "busway" - a dedicated highway. We could have run existing trains over the existing rails starting decades ago, but that would only help the commuters, not the politicians, so we didn't take that approach."

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archive...s_trains_pl.php

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  • 2 weeks later...

I never understanded the busway logic myself...

If you take PT in Hartford (I haven't used the bus in a while, but I do know most of the routes), you have to take the P bus. This bus takes almost 45 minutes to go 10 miles, a very slow and boring trip through Newington in the middle...while RAIL could take less than half if they used express trains (if they could), and could encourage people without cars to go to Downtown Hartford and to Downtown New Britain without taking inefficent busses...hell, a Park-and-Ride in New Britain would be nice too...

If CT was as ambitious as other states, Hartford could have had a commuter rail system easier than other cities...the rail is already there. If they used their logic that they are using with the Hartford-Springfield-New Haven commuter rail, this would make sense as well. Other rail routes that could be made are one to East Hartford/Manchester, and the Griffin Line to Bloomfield...

But this will never happen, at least for now...

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I never understanded the busway logic myself...

If you take PT in Hartford (I haven't used the bus in a while, but I do know most of the routes), you have to take the P bus. This bus takes almost 45 minutes to go 10 miles, a very slow and boring trip through Newington in the middle...while RAIL could take less than half if they used express trains (if they could), and could encourage people without cars to go to Downtown Hartford and to Downtown New Britain without taking inefficent busses...hell, a Park-and-Ride in New Britain would be nice too...

If CT was as ambitious as other states, Hartford could have had a commuter rail system easier than other cities...the rail is already there. If they used their logic that they are using with the Hartford-Springfield-New Haven commuter rail, this would make sense as well. Other rail routes that could be made are one to East Hartford/Manchester, and the Griffin Line to Bloomfield...

But this will never happen, at least for now...

I see someone rotten has wandered over from ssc

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  • 4 months later...

I would like to know your opinion about the proposed busway between New Britain and Hartford. Rapid bus transit has been succesful in other cities, Los Angeles for example but do you think it will be a success in CT?

Here is a link to an article published in the Waterbury Republican, it is about the possibility of commuter busses running from Waterbury into the busway and ultimatly to Hartford. The article also mentions how private bus companies want access to the busway.

www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=16784

The proposed stations in Hartford are: Union Station, Sigourney Street, Park Street, and New Park Avenue.

Do you think that this will spur development in these areas?

Edited by doz180
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Actually BRT iss quite limited in LA. The experiement in the Wilshire corridor continue but the final vertict isn't in. And to call it a succes in other cities would be a stretch. I have attended numerous APTA conferences and have heard almost no "success stories" about BRT. In fact, some early BRT attempts have been abandoned.

Please cite the successful BRT lines you speak of. Thanks.

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This is the forum about Hartford Connecticut so I'm not going to discuss BRT in other cities with you. If you have an agenda against BRT that is fine, I would be interested in knowing why and what would be the better alternative for Connecticut.

Every question I asked in my original post was related to the Hartford area. I would like to know everyones opinion. They are scheduled to start construction in 2008 yet hardly anyone is discussing it.

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My opinion is that a rail right-of-way should be used for rail transit. To pave that over with asphalt and run buses on it is a joke.

This whole project is a joke. All Connecticut DOT is capable of is getting more and more of the state paved with asphalt. Even when it's mass transit, they need asphalt. A JOKE.

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No one wants to ride the bus, we need more commuter rail service. This should be rail.

I'm not sure a busline will spur much of anything. Again, I think it would be different with rail, but I can't imagine too many peiople would be impressed because the busline is there....

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If something was done like the Silver line in Boston than I think it would be successfull. The Silver line is mostly electric the entire route, except when it goes onto Logan. I agree that rail should be done, however this is Connecticut we are talking about, nothing is ever done correctly.

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I would like to know your opinion about the proposed busway between New Britain and Hartford. Rapid bus transit has been succesful in other cities, Los Angeles for example but do you think it will be a success in CT?

Here is a link to an article published in the Waterbury Republican, it is about the possibility of commuter busses running from Waterbury into the busway and ultimatly to Hartford. The article also mentions how private bus companies want access to the busway.

www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=16784

The proposed stations in Hartford are: Union Station, Sigourney Street, Park Street, and New Park Avenue.

Do you think that this will spur development in these areas?

I know most people in this forum don't like the busway- for good reasons. Rail would be more reliable, more permanent, and more attractive to the upper-middle class. I agree with all those assessments. Still, I think the busway can be successful if it is done right. That means- permanent, large, heated and cooled, attractive stations, Clean buses- both physically and environmentally, and reliable service. That would eliminate most of the complaints people have about buses. With the right of way, the busway should compete with the automobile in terms of time- something buses have never been able to do. This will have to be marketed smartly. I'm not sure the DOT is capable of this- but even if the plans were for rail I would doubt the DOT's ability to market the project. Still, I think this could be a successful project, despite people's anger over it not being rail. The best thing we can do to show the DOT that we want more and better public transportation is to use what we have and demand more of it. I hope that, despite our misgivings, people on this board will use the busway when it opens...

A quick question. People have mentioned that fact that the busway would pave a portion of the rail right of way. But, I don't think that would mean actually paving over any track, would it? I know in Hartford, the busway would be beside the track...

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