Connecticut Viewpoints By Gregory Stroud; Connecticut Mirror; February 19, 2019
With the collapse of yet another high-speed-rail megaproject, this time in California, and with pension and debt obligations in Connecticut stretching to the horizon, no one could blame the public or state legislators for doubting Gov. Ned Lamont’s announced goal, dubbed 30-30-30, of 30-minute travel times by rail between paired cities: Hartford and New Haven, New Haven and Stamford, Stamford and New York City.
But if we are to believe a concise new study by Alon Levy, a well-regarded transportation writer and analyst, the usual planning bugbears of insufficient budgets and so-called NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) won’t be to blame if implementation of the governor’s idea -– there isn’t yet enough available detail to call it a plan -– falls short this time. Levy’s work, sponsored by the preservation-minded nonprofit SECoast, is the second of two collaborations on issues of transportation in Connecticut.