From 1974: Residents Suggest Buses, Bicycles, Boats for Middletown Area

This article is from 35 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on August 9, 1974. It was written by Daniel Morales.

Bicycles, boats and buses were among the suggestions offered in a public hearing here Tuesday night, to a state House subcommittee researching alternate modes of transportation.

Four members of the Select Committee on Energy and Transportation on their first trip outside the state capital met with 20 local citizens to get comments on a legislative package being prepared for next year's General Assembly.

Representative David Lavine, D-Durham, Thom Serrani, D-Stamford; Paul Gionfriddo, D-Middletown and August Palmer, R-Stratford, agreed that local Democratic Councilman Vincent Loffredo's suggestion to make use of the Connecticut River was the most unusual proposal they have heard.

"We have a natural highway in the Connecticut River and we wouldn't have to spend millions building and maintaining highways," Loffredo said.

The representatives also heard bicyclists and bus riders request measures to promote more use of those vehicles.

Frank Campbell, a representative of a group of Meriden commuters, told the committee that his group had received 142 positive responses in a support survey they took for a Meriden-Hartford bus service. The commuters now have to go to Cromwell to get a bus to Hartford.

"There's a recognized need but we don't anticipate the state Department of Transportation expanding its service because its budget calls for continuation of existing services. We expect them to tell us that we're going to have to wait a year to a year and a half," Campbell said.

Expanding train service would be a costly alternative, Campbell said, because it costs more to take the train than the bus and many people can't afford the difference.

Buses that go from Middletown to Hartford always are filled and sometimes hold 30 more people than they should, Middletown Transit Chairman Kenneth Bondurant said.

Five bicycle riders criticized the state for not providing bicycle paths on major highways and bridges, parking facilities for bikers and storage racks on buses and trains.

"Biking is also a form of transportation, which is safer and more convenient, yet we can't get from here to Hartford on bikes," said Lorraine Dibble, chairwoman of the state advisory committee for the state Department of Transportation and a member of the bikers' group.

The need for more commuter parking lots also was raised and Serrani said that the state intends to allocate more funds for that service. "The state is planning to expand its parking lot network, hopefully by March," he said.

Efforts to get local businesses to participate in ride-sharing hasn't been very successful, Paul Marcella, a representative of the Midstate Regional Planning Agency, said. Only two firms have responded to letters sent by the agency, he said.