Part One: Frog Hollow to Firefly Hollow
A friend had suggested a Sunday morning meet-up at the downtown New Britain CTFastrak terminal for a leisurely bike ride to Bristol’s Firefly Hollow Brewing Company. I rode my bike to the Sigourney Street Fastrak station in Asylum Hill to catch a free ride to Hard Hittin’ New Britain. A woman in a bright vest offered a decal and advice about the best entrance to use when loading a bike on the bus. (Tip: there’s a bike pictogram by the rearmost door—go in that way) As I waited, a man who is most often cited by me and others as the most abrasive person in the entire Department of Transportation (henceforth “MAPDOT”) arrived on the platform. I have some history with the DOT regarding the implementation of the busway, and it was an ugly process made uglier by some.
We did not speak, which suited me fine.
The bus arrived. I rolled my bike on and placed it in the on-board bike rack. Space was a bit tight and I found it tricky to fit the bike into the allotted space without bumping the woman sitting in the adjoining seat. (Tip: back your bike onto the bus and fit your rear wheel into the rack. It’s less awkward, fits better, and allows for easy egress upon arrival) The bus doors closed and it pulled away from the platform onto the busway. MAPDOT stood by the nearby door.
MAPDOT spoke: “Do you mind if I take your picture, Chris?”
Me: “Yes.”
MAPDOT: “You DO mind?”
Me: “Correct.”
Having gotten pleasantries out of the way, I rode along, standing in the swiveling bellows of the articulating bus, which I found oddly entertaining, like clinging to the insides of a sweet, mournful accordion. My friends Justin and Kate got on at the Elmwood station and added their bikes to the rack. We grabbed the subway-esque overhead straps and chatted as we rolled along. The ride was smooth and uneventful. MAPDOT got off a couple of stops later. We exited the bus in downtown New Britain and found our friend Brendan waiting. Tony joined us soon after and we waited for Erik and Roxy, who had sent apologies that they were running late due to difficulties encountered on the snow and debris-covered multi-use path (henceforth MUP) that they had chosen to ride to our meeting spot.
Our party of seven had a nice, meandering bike ride to the brewery and a few pints and pretzels upon arrival. Erik, Roxy, and Kate had alternate return plans to Hartford, leaving four of us to retrace our route (more or less).
Part Two: Firefly to Frog
Brendan, Justin, Tony, and I bid our farewells and pedaled back toward New Britain in the warm afternoon sun. We paused (and got out of the way) to watch a bike race in Walnut Hill Park before arriving at the CTFastrak terminal. Brendan headed homeward on the MUP and Justin, Tony, and I opted to catch the bus back to Hartford. We looked around for a few minutes, unclear as to where exactly we should wait for said bus. One of the yellow-vested helper people pointed us to the proper spot, where we chatted about Polish food with a nice couple from New Britain until the #101 bus to Hartford arrived.
I backed my bike onto the bus, having learned from my morning trip, and my bike fit snugly against the wall of the bus, a big improvement. Tony placed his bike in one of the two remaining slots and we made way for Justin. “ONLY TWO BIKES!” the driver yelled. We tried to explain that the bikes fit the rack without protruding into the aisle at all, but “ONLY TWO BIKES, ONLY TWO BIKES!!” was the beginning, middle and end of the driver’s willingness to discuss the matter.
Rather than banish one member of the trio, we removed our bikes and ourselves from the bus and headed for the MUP.
The MUP surface was covered with a mix of snow and debris, some bits of gravel, various sticks and organic materials, with some broken glass for variety. There were some stretches with little or no snow that allowed for easy passage, some snow-covered stretches with a 12” clear strip melted away abutting the railing which necessitated riding with one hand off the brake lever to avoid smashing my right hand against the steel railing supports. A few spots had large piles of snow that required a full dismount and portage. It was equivalent to riding on the shoulder of a dirty street, which is essentially what it was—the plows clearing the busway over the winter had deposited the snow and all it contained on the pathway, literally dumping on bike and pedestrian infrastructure (yet again). The unobstructed stretches of the path were being used by others, as we exchanged greetings with people walking alone and together, with dogs and strollers and the like.
We rode to the path’s northeastern end at the Newington Junction station, where Justin and Tony opted to ride surface streets to their respective homes. I bid them adieu and rode across the street to the station, sat on a nice wooden bench, and waited ten minutes for the next bus. Two minutes later, my bike’s front tire popped loudly without warning. I guess taking the bus was a good call.
The next bus arrived full, standing room only. Three of those people were standing in front of the bike rack, which was a bit awkward, but still allowed room for my bike (albeit boxing them in). I think that bolder signage, say a large bike pictogram in the bike space, would have made it obvious that bikes were supposed to go there.
THE GOOD:
The buses and the busway are decent, and provide for a swift, convenient trip between Hartford and New Britain. The stations are nice and clean. The electronic arrival time signs are appreciated. There are bike racks at the stations.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
- Signage is not always clear.
- The on-bus bike storage is a start, but capping it at two will discourage and inconvenience multi-modal commuters. Since these buses are more akin to light rail in many ways, emulating the 8-10 bike capacities of successful light rail bike facilities should be the goal. Multi-modal commuters are a natural ally of mass transit projects, and the DOT needs to stop slighting them and treating them like an obstacle and an inconvenience. They need to give the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board some teeth and listen to them for real!
- There were some glitches seen and reported, which is inevitable with something brand new, but the learning curve needs to be mastered before the novelty wears off if people are going to adopt CTFastrak for real.
THE BAD:
The multi-use path needs to be maintained, no loopholes, no excuses. The policy to ignore it for the winter months and use it as a snow dump is short-sighted and weak, especially when the on-board bike limit could force multi-modal commuters to choose between waiting for the next bus, riding, or being late for work. Even with the winter slack-off, there is no excuse for the path to remain un-cleared at the end of March, especially for the highly-publicized debut weekend of the busway! Some real improvements need to happen in order for this to be anything more than an empty gesture on the DOT’s part.
THE TAKEAWAY:
The implementation of CTFastrak was deeply flawed, and did lasting damage that exists to this day. The DOT remains in arrears for Flower Street, whether or not they admit it. That said, the facility has the potential for success. This was an easy way to get between New Britain and Hartford. I don’t have occasion to make that trip very often, but it could be a real boon to those who do. It’s more pleasant and sensible than driving between the two cities, especially at rush hour. I hope people use it, and I hope the DOT engages and learns from those who use it. It’s free through Sunday, April 5, so go try it out.
MAPDOT
MAPDOT? Really, Chris? I guess if I’m MAPDOT I have nothing to lose by commenting. Glad you approve generally of the CTfastrak service, if not the non-maintenance of most of the MUP. (Do you know of any MUPs maintained through the winter in the state?) My intent on asking for your picture was to show the bike rack in use. I get you not wanting your picture used anywhere. We asked anyone whose picture we took this weekend for their approval. Just wanted to share with our team so that we could see any bicycle (not just yours) use the rack that had been facilitated by MAPDOT and developed in consultation with the bicycling community. By the way, we will take up your suggestion that we instruct cyclists to back their bike in.
Tony C
MAPDOT needs to lighten up.
I’m a fan of the busway. The stations are actually beautiful. Wish the driver had used reason when our 3 bikes fit just fine.
The multi-use path is nice, although it stops in Newington. Ridiculous that there isn’t a periodic maintenance plan to clear leaves and debris. I could understand the reasons at this point of not clearing during the winter with a rather small usage rate. That said, not cleaning during the Spring and Fall. That’s plain silly. I know that negotiating with DOT to do any maintenance at all can be frustrating. It took years to convince CT DOT that they are required by statute to clear the Bissell Bridge bike / ped crossing. Seems that 6 lanes of traffic can be cleared to bone dry in a day, but and 8ft bike ped connection is nigh impossible until one invokes litigation. I’ve seen amazing bike / ped connections and infrastructure in other cities, but it comes from designers that do something other than drive to work solo.
Great review, and I highly recommend New Britain Museum of Modern Art, Polish food, and bicycle destinations like Firefly Brewey and the Carousel Museum in Bristol.
MAPDOT
We will be doing Spring cleaning of the MUP this week. A little busy getting everything done for opening day. And this was a later Spring for snowmelt. Tony, maybe everyone needs to study Tae Kwon Do and lighten up a bit.
bob painter
Reports like this are just what CONNDOT needs to meet the desires of the multimodal public. Sure, a little snarkiness creeps in, but this is a channel to make what should be a very good move by CONNDOT into a great move.
Christopher Brown
A yellow line on the floor at the aisle side of the bike spot would be one potential solution to accommodate a variety of bike sizes and types. However many bikes fit between the line and the wall (like, say, three trim road bikes) would be good to go.
I do like the NBMAA a lot. It accounts for most of my trips to New Britain. I’ve found Polish food to be a bit light on vegetarian options, but I love me some pierogi. We should do a Bushnell Park Carousel-to-Carousel Museum ride– Take a spin with us!
Margo Lynn
I’d do a carousel-to-carousel ride, if part of the ride could be by bus. Not all of us have the legs to go the miles.
I’m looking forward to try CTFastrack for events in Hartford, especially parades and such that block off streets and make parking a pain and evening events that the current transit system ends too early to allow for suburban riders.
Christopher Brown
The Carousel Museum is 9 miles from the Downtown New Britain busway terminal. It would be cool to integrate CTFastrak into organized group rides (as was the intention of this past Sunday’s ride) but that two-bike maximum would be an obstacle. If special arrangements to waive the bike cap can be made ahead of time for a special event on a weekend, it would make such a thing possible. They are having a 15K run there on May 3, so it’s not an outlandish notion.
Kerri Provost
I am reminded of the grand opening for the Market at Hartford 21, where there was a lot of noise and excitement, but many of the goods did not have price tags affixed yet. It seems that details should be ironed out before making a giant spectacle of something — that’s what soft openings are all about.
Roxy
Erik’s rear tire had its first slow leak since he got them, sounds like something we might have encountered on the bike path. Also, the bike rack on our bus was different from yours, and our two bikes did protrude into the aisle!
Anyway, fun Sunday, great post!
Chris Doucot
I used the bus way yesterday, with my bike, and am glad to avoid rush hour on my commute home from CCSU. This will be a great thing for CCSU students from Hartford. Hopes: better signage in Hartford (union station is not the location of the union station stop), more access for bikes, expansion of the service.
Mr. MAPDOT, will the fare process for bike users be that we enter via the rear doors, secure our bikes, and then go to the front to show our ticket?
Chris, keep fighting for bike aces.
Dr. Bob, keep us polite.
MAPDOT
CTfastrak buses boarded on the bus-only roadway are “proof-of-payment” so you only need to have a valid ticket in your possession. No need to go past the farebox except for rare exceptions like the first time you use a multi-day pass or ten trip ticket. And even that won’t be necessary by the end of the year when we install new fare equipment statewide including off-board ticket validators.
Justin
The idea that CT DOT shouldn’t maintain this commuter path for bikes and peds in the winter between its stations because other multi-use paths in the state don’t necessarily get plowed is a cop-out. I road my bike from New Haven to New Britain yesterday (commuting home, catching fastrak en route) along the Farmington Canal path and it was evident that trail sections in New Haven and Hamden had been maintained and cleared of snow, but when I get to Cheshire the path hadn’t been maintained and I and other trail users (there were many) were forced to walk gingerly over the icy sections. When I got up to Southington, the trail was perfectly clear again. So it’s clear that some communities have realized that clearing their active transportation infrastructure in the winter makes sense. They realize that we can’t just right off the 1/3 of the year that is awful here in terms of weather.
And this isn’t just some multi-use pathway out in Bolton. This is a highly trafficked transportation corridor that the DOT should have a vested interest in keeping clean and safe for peds and cyclists throughout the year. It’s clear that DOT sees the bike path as an afterthought, some kind of amenity for unserious people who might want to dawdle on it on the weekends. The truth is that all kinds of people bike and walk throughout the winter to get to transit, most not by choice. DOT continues to talk the talk but can’t even imagine what it’s like to walk the walk–literally. I guess it doesn’t help when DOT HQ is located in a car-tastic location and most of its employees live in car-tastic communities. But come on folks, do your research.
Justin, Hartford
Brenda Watson
I’m running the CTFasttrack on May 3rd. I love all the ideas above. New Britain gets a bad rap but its one of CT’s many hidden gems! Way to go CT for seeing this project through and thanks to people like Chris Brown to keep folks at DOT on their toes!!
Justin
Very glad to hear it is indeed a Proof of Payment system.
Lizzee
I rode the Fasttrack yesterday from Hartford to NB and back. It was great. I can’t wait to see what businesses pop up in response to the ridership traffic.
Josh LaPorte
I rode the 161 Fastrak from St. Francis to Park Street (this is the route linking St. Francis and Hartford hospitals, via the Sigourney Street Fastrak station) and had a chat with the driver who told me that at the moment these buses are stopping at all posted local bus stops, but once all the green fastrak stop signs are posted they will only stop at posted fastrak stops, which seems to me to be a good thing (fewer stops, faster travel times) but may be an inconvenience to folks who assume the fastrak bus will stop at local stops. This seems a little confusing and hopefully the DOT will make it as clear as possible.
This was a super convenient route for me, but one the return trip I ended up walking all the way down Washington Street from Park and turning onto Capitol before finding a marked stop to get back to Asylum Hill. There is supposed to be a stop at “Lafayette Square” (i.e. the intersections of Capitol, Washington, Lafayette, and Buckingham) but there was no marked stop that I could find.
The driver told me about a few other things; protestors who got on the bus and complained about tax subsidy for the busway, excited people with kids taking their first bus rides, excited people from towns that now have late-night and Sunday service to their home or work, and some drunken CCSU students who caused a ruckus late at night over the weekend.
Justin
the anti-transit/anti-tax folks are bonkers.
“Moving to the state’s other major east-west highway, the cost of widening 2.7 miles of I-84 in Waterbury is approaching $400 million. This work is expensive.” – Courant editorial
CT only had to pay $100 million to build the busway…