The Middletown Redevelopment Agency met on Tuesday at Middletown Transit Authority headquarters on Main Street to discuss plans for making progress on bringing a street car to Main Street. The city will pursue state and federal money to fund the streetcar, which will be a short spur, running from the North End of Main Street to the South End.
The plans hit a stumbling block Tuesday when it was revealed that the Middletown Transit Authority board voted against the plan to use $10 million in federal and state transit funds which are targeted for the city.
Undeterred, the Redevelopment Agency plans to work with the mayor to move the plan along, and to work to convince the MTA board that the streetcar is a viable plan for Main Street.
Proponents see the short streetcar line as the first step in a light rail plan that could connect Middletown to the Meriden train station, and North-South rail lines. In many cities where such rail lines are installed, ridership grows rapidly, and economic development for businesses along the route is strong.
It is too bad that the $10 Million figure was tossed out at the meeting. The City received an earmark that consists of 3 different appropriations:
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2. $8 MM to upgrade traffic issues in downtown Middletown
3. $9 MM for Mass Transit
All these earmarks require a 20% match from another source which is guaranteed to be the taxpayers of Middletown for #2 & #3.
So far, the current plan is to re-program $2 MM from #3 to #2 to build a $12.5 MM parking lot behind the Main Street Police Station by demolishing the current Parking Arcade ($10 MM of earmark & $2.5 MM of City funds, not yet approved). The project is currently in a design phase at a cost over $600,000.
The remainder of the Mass Transit earmark is $7 MM and would require $1.75 MM in matching City funds. This money can only be used for capital investments. If I were on the MAT Board, I would be very worried where the money to operate a Trolley system will come from.
I believe that Middletown is at the point that we need to develop a business plan for the Trolley System if we expect to see one in Middletown.