This afternoon, Judith Almeida, a staff attorney at the Connecticut Department of Transportation, ruled that unless a grade separated pedestrian/cyclist bridge is constructed over the crossing, the Connecticut DOT may not permanently close Flower Street to pedestrian and cyclist usage. The Flower Street crossing will remain closed to vehicular traffic.
You can read the full ruling below:
Tim
It would appear the good news is that according to IV.2 they must maintain the bike/ped crossing until a bridge is built. Does this mean a bridge is the only option? DOT: “Take the bridge or get nothing!”
Kerri Provost
There are a few theories on this. Others can jump in with those comments.
Chris
There is room in the wording of the decision for a street-level crossing if they start working earnestly to engineer a creative solution. For instance, a single bus lane in place of two at the crossing would solve the crossing distance problem they have repeated as an obstacle to a surface crossing. This decision offers a new incentive to find a way to make such a thing work.
Hitherto, most of their efforts have been obfuscatory semantics. I hope this will help focus everyone’s time and energy toward an efficient solution.
Heather B
There’s much to appreciate about this ruling. One of my favorite tidbits:
“The CTfastrak project has been delayed from 2005 until 2015 and the community around Flower Street has gone on to create a renaissance of sorts. Some of the burden for the dilemma must lie on the Department of Transportation. This project lingered and people went on with their lives investing in and building up the area. It is not just to come through and ruin what has grown.”
I’m weary of the idea that “the few” should stand aside and allow the DOT to continue to abuse public trust in the interest of “the many” while they delay and plan blindly. Proper concern for the areas directly impacted by the busway route – again dividing the community with a wall where harm has already been done with an elevated highway – requires more care and attention than they’ve apparently been willing to give. Knowing how many bureaus of the DOT “support” the plan to eliminate all crossing at this intersection is nauseating. It’s completely blind, akin to urban planning in a total vacuum.
Kerri Provost
From the wording, it sounds like the hearing officer was also tired of “the few” rhetoric.
George
Crossing CTFastrak at Flower Street will be almost like crossing I-84 above. I wonder how many bicyclists and pedestrians will be killed once service starts?
Brendan
Hundreds of millions.
Tim
Or, according to DOT projections, one every three minutes.
Richard
I don’t know. I will have to consult my ouiji board and while I am at it I will ask about the Hamilton Street crossing which appears like it will be wide open.
If anyone really thinks that there will be a bus every 9 mins. like they say then it will be just a big waste of gas as this isn’t LA or NY. These folks got so many people snowed. I think most folks can get across those tracks in that time and it isn’t at all like crossing I-84. What is wrong with a traffic light warning signals to stop the bus. If they are going to fast to stop then they shouldn’t be going anywhere. This type of stuff makes me laugh. All for the people who don’t even live here when there is so much else that could have been done with the money.
Congrats to everyone who worked on this. Yes sometimes one can fight the big boys and win. (hopefully)