Danbury Branch Commuter Rail Corridor –
Successful Public Scoping Meetings held in June in New Milford,
Wilton and Ridgefield
June 30, 2008
The Connecticut Department of Transportation, (ConnDOT),
the Federal Transit Administration, the South Western Regional
Planning Agency and the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected
Officials sponsored a series of Public Scoping Meetings
regarding the Danbury Branch commuter rail line study and
Environmental Impact Statement.
The Public Scoping Meetings were held on Tuesday, June
17, 2008, at the New Milford Town Hall; Wednesday, June
18, 2008, at the Wilton Town Hall Annex Building and Thursday,
June 19, 2008 at the Ridgefield Town Hall. The meetings
were attended by the Chief Elected Official from each Town
and members of various Town Boards and Commissions. Also
present at the meeting were the area State Representatives.
Members of the general public, including residents of various
towns in the corridor, as well as current commuters on the
Branch line, also attended. Total attendance at the three
sessions was approximately 140 persons (New Milford: 75,
Wilton: 25, and Ridgefield: 40).
Each of the sessions ran from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. The presentation
to discuss the project’s purpose and need, and the
alternatives being evaluated to improve rail service on
the Danbury Branch was given twice at each session. The
alternatives under review include:
A. No Build Alternative;
B. Transportation System Management (TSM), including improvements
e.g. new outbound service and express service;
C. So. Norwalk to Danbury improvements including Electrification,
addition of passing sidings, and minor track alignment;
D. Extension of Diesel Passenger Service from Danbury to
New Milford with new stations and minor track alignment;
E. Partial electrification from South Norwalk to the vicinity
of the Merritt Parkway (Merritt 7 Station) with feeder bus/rail
service to complement the new service.
Representatives from the Connecticut Department of Transportation
and the Consultants Study team were present to discuss the
study and address questions from the public.
Questions and comments that were common to each session
were regarding;
- the study process and how it might be expedited to implement
improvements sooner;
- the poor quality of the existing service and the need
for improvements as soon as possible; and
- the proposed Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) signal
system project.
In addition to those mentioned above, questions and comments
from the specific sessions included:
New Milford - the future expansion of rail
service to New Milford, the economic impact of the future
service and the impact of having a terminus in New Milford.
(Photo: L. Stegina) - Ridgefield meeting
participants discuss the Danbury Branch EIS and possible
improvements to the Branch. Approximately 40 persons attended
the meeting.
Wilton - the use of electric and diesel trains, the need
for and potential physical impact of more stations and more
parking, and the economic impact of more service.
Ridgefield - the use of electric and diesel trains, the
need for and potential physical impact of more stations
and more parking, and the economic impact of both. The public
also noted that Alternatives B and C would be the most beneficial
to Ridgefield, while E would be the least beneficial to
Ridgefield.
Comments on the project scope, purpose and need and alternatives
considered for evaluation are being accepted through July
25, 2008 by email:
info@danburybranchstudy.com or by regular mail:
Danbury Branch EIS
c/o URS Corporation
500 Enterprise Drive, Suite 3B
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Comment forms are available on the project website at http://www.danburybranchstudy.com
|
