Part One: Frog Hollow to Firefly Hollow

Photo by Christopher Brown

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.

Photo by Christopher Brown

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.

Photo by Christopher Brown

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.

Photo by Christopher Brown

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.

Photo by Christopher Brown
Photo by Christopher Brown

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.