Midstate Regional Planning Agency Asks Malloy To Support Rail Transport

Last Wednesday at the March meeting of the Midstate Regional Planning Agency, the agency members made a rare motion to voice their opinion on an issue Governor Malloy said he would decide upon at the end of the month: the New Britain to Hartford Busway. Agency members were asked by chair Richard Erickson if they had any view point at all. It was soon clear that Middletown representatives Lee Osborne and Catherine Johnson, Al Dias (Cromwell), and others all felt that CT should be focusing its efforts on strengthening the rail service for that corridor rather than bus, proven a significantly less popular mode.

A motion was made to send the letter to the governor at once.

There are 15 regional planning agencies in CT. With no state planning agency or no county government, these agencies function to distribute federal transportation (highway) funding and review any zoning applications within 500' of each town's boundary. The MRPA
is comprised of the upper Middlesex County towns of Cromwell, Portland, Middletown, Durham, Middlefield, Haddam and East Haddam. Each town gets 3 representatives and the mayor or selectman may attend. Typically, the agency approves roadwork including repaving, signage,reconstructing bridges, etc.

While commenting on the proposals from other state MPO's or planning agencies is rare, it is not unprecedented. Last night the agency was asked for public comment on the realignment of Rt 34 in downtown New Haven (which it was unable to do due to a lack of information). This may be what spurred Mr Erikson (Durham) to put the question of the busway to those gathered. A typically quiet,non-activist group, this topic sparked reaction before around the table at 100 DeKoven Drive. The discussion continued with the benefits of creating transit-centered-development, preparing the state for an aging public, and reinvesting in our cities. One agency member says she thought this was a truly golden moment and wished there would be more of them.