State Not Focusing Transportation Funds Where It’s Needed

Connecticut is investing hundreds of millions of dollars on the New Britain-Hartford Busway. 

According to the Governor, this is going to reduce traffic on I‑84 and make our lives better. Call me a skeptic, but as a commuter from the Naugatuck Valley I don’t see any real benefit unless you happen to live in New Britain.

I’m certainly not going to drive to New Britain, park my car, and then board a bus into the city to avoid the extra 10 minutes of traffic that I normally experience. In fact, I haven’t heard of anyone who wants to use this. Interest in this Busway is nearly nonexistent outside of New Britain. 

Here in the Valley we have much smaller ideas in what our tax dollars should be invested in. 

Maybe I’m guilty of being a little parochial, but I’m more interested in seeing my tax dollars used for upgrades in our local state roads and bridges. These may not be as grandiose as the Busway, but our roads and bridges need serious attention. 

Dangerous roadways like Route 34 need to be scrutinized by engineers to find new ways to reduce the alarming number of fatalities that occur. Busy roads like Route 67 should be widened to eliminate bottlenecks. 

Bus stops are covered with graffiti, potholes blow out tires on Route 8, traffic lights need to be installed at the bottom of Route 188, yet the state claims that there isn’t funding available for these projects. 

Recently Seymour requested that the DOT repair a fence along Route 8. The basic wire fence was installed when Route 8 was built decades ago. It’s so old that large sections have seemingly given up the battle with time and collapsed to the ground in rusty heaps. 

Some sections have literally been integrated into the trunks of trees that have grown up there. 

It is supposed to serve as a barrier between residential areas and the cars traveling 80 mph. 

You don’t need too much of an imagination to realize what will happen if a 3 year old runs out to chase after a dog that escaped onto the highway through the fence. 

Apparently safety isn’t as high on the priority list as the DOT claims. because the bare minimum has been done for years to patch it. 

Projects that impact public safety should take precedence over the grand ideas coming out of the Governor’s mansion. 

Our state leaders should press for this as well, but so far I have heard very little from most of them. 

If you combined all of these projects here in the Valley the grand total would be a heck of a lot less than the bill for the Hartford-New Britain Busway, but we’ll get a heck of a lot more in return. 

Sometimes it’s good to focus on the small issues before you jump into the big ideas.

The writer, a Republican member of the Seymour Board of Selectmen, is running for state representative.

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