Attorney General Blumenthal and I finally speak by telephone
After playing phone tag Attorney General Blumenthal on my birthday yesterday, I finally spoke to Attorney General Blumenthal around lunchtime. I congratulated him for the part he took in the Supreme Court victory on global warming. He said he had not received the letter, which I have copied below. After 5 p.m. he called me again to say he had received the letter and we continued our conversation. To be continued after he reads the letter.
Richard M. Stowe
Rail Transport Excellence Coalition
12 Mead Street
New Canaan, CT 06840
30 March 2007
The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
55 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Dear Attorney General Blumenthal:
Thank you for attending the presentation at the Wilton Library.
It was good to have a chance to speak to you about my concerns about your apparent support for State Senator Bob Duff’s call for extending Super 7 to Danbury.
I am stunned and dismayed by Mr. Duff’s campaign and proposed bill to extend Super 7.
And even more disappointed that you and State Senator Andrew Mc Donald joined him at a well-publicized rally earlier in Norwalk this year.
Unfortunately Route 7 widening is currently taking place.
I wish I had contacted you before the Route 7 widening project was set in stone.
But we can’t changet the past.
So let’s focus on the present and future.
Global warming.
The coming global peak oil era.
Biodiversity collapse.
Death.
Injury.
Iraq War.
Iran.
The role of automobiles and petroleum are intertwined in their contributions to these environmental and social degradation indicators. Substitutes to petroleum are not viable due to trade-offs and scarcity of these resources. And the space the automobile consumes is unconscionable.
A Super 7 scenario drives up the cost of housing in Danbury and further degrades level of service on the Merritt Parkway and the Connecticut Turnpike.
Background information:
1950: 49 million cars in the United States +
21 million cars in rest of the world = 70 million cars worldwide.
2000: 221 million cars in the United States +
513 million cars in rest of the world = 735 million cars worldwide.
The annual global human population growth rate from 1950 to 2000 = 1.9%.
The annual global automobile growth rate from 1950 to 2000 = 5.2%.
Our state or transportation region’s policy should not be to build more roads or parking lots to accommodate more cars!
We need less car ownership, not more!
Danbury Branch Line (railroad running on Route 7 corridor):
1) Danbury branch line signalization has not been updated for 100 years.
2) Signalization is manual block, not CTC (centralized train control) like the New Haven and New Canaan lines.
Update signalization immediately.
3) It is the Danbury branch line that needs widening.
Danbury Branch is currently entirely single track except for a siding at the Wilton train station.
Imagine the Connecticut Turnpike with just one lane and a shoulder in just one location to queue up cars traveling in the other direction! That's what the Danbury Branch is like and we need to widen (add a track wherever feasible - two tracks or siding) it now. As service frequencies increase, siding should be added incrementally.
4) Electrify line when service frequencies reach 90 trains per day - rule of thumb for viability.
5) Upgrade Merritt 7 station to something akin to Stamford Transportation Center without parking garages: raised platforms, two tracks with outside boarding, a green, solar-oriented train station above railroad tracks and direct pedestrian access from Merritt 7 to Merritt 7 buildings that line Main Avenue.
6) Upgrade Maybrook line tracks between Dykman’s Junction (Southeast) and the Danbury Metro-North station – track speeds, signalization and third rail electrification, so that Harlem Line trains terminate in Danbury, a city four times the size of Southeast.
Dollars per mile may be high, but its only 12 miles (6 miles or less are in Connecticut).
Can you imagine the state of Connecticut’s economy if the New Haven line terminated in Rye or Portchester (insteadof New Haven)?
Route 7 improvements:
C-DOT needs to do a suitability study for modern roundabouts for the entire Route 7 corridor.
Links to help you think outside the box.
http://www.ourston.com/09_Live_Webcam.htm
http://www.ourston.com/ (check side bar)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2006/10/14/mflights14.xml
Reduce light pollution:
Super 7 already light pollutes and light trespasses the Merritt Parkway. Super 7 is a light pollution alley, so is the Connecticut Turnpike. Instead of adding to it, let’s remove needless light pollution. Light pollution is global travesty. Less light pollution equals less electricity consumption.
Downgrade & narrow Super 7 north of the Merritt Parkway. End Super 7 at Merritt Parkway interchange with modern roundabouts. Downgrade and narrow Super 7 north of the Merritt Parkway to one lane in each direction. In Super 7's place north of the Merritt Parkway, build “super” affordable, green LEED certified, solar-oriented housing on this state-owned land.
Create a direct bicycle and pedestrian connection from super affordable, green certified, solar-oriented housing with Glover Avenue Merritt 7 station.
Market price curb parking and terminate mandatory minimum parking requirements set by municipal planners.
Parking subsidies are the problem. By market pricing parking, a shift will occur where individuals seek appropriate means of travel, whether by train, bus, bicycle or walking.
It may make sense to use the state-owned Super 7 land north of Grist Mill Road to site a bicycle corridor.
I hope you would like to speak more about these solutions.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter.
Keep it green.
Peace.
Sincerely,
Richard M. Stowe
(203) 594-9097
(203) 966-4387
Richard M. Stowe
Rail Transport Excellence Coalition
12 Mead Street
New Canaan, CT 06840
30 March 2007
The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
55 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Dear Attorney General Blumenthal:
Thank you for attending the presentation at the Wilton Library.
It was good to have a chance to speak to you about my concerns about your apparent support for State Senator Bob Duff’s call for extending Super 7 to Danbury.
I am stunned and dismayed by Mr. Duff’s campaign and proposed bill to extend Super 7.
And even more disappointed that you and State Senator Andrew Mc Donald joined him at a well-publicized rally earlier in Norwalk this year.
Unfortunately Route 7 widening is currently taking place.
I wish I had contacted you before the Route 7 widening project was set in stone.
But we can’t changet the past.
So let’s focus on the present and future.
Global warming.
The coming global peak oil era.
Biodiversity collapse.
Death.
Injury.
Iraq War.
Iran.
The role of automobiles and petroleum are intertwined in their contributions to these environmental and social degradation indicators. Substitutes to petroleum are not viable due to trade-offs and scarcity of these resources. And the space the automobile consumes is unconscionable.
A Super 7 scenario drives up the cost of housing in Danbury and further degrades level of service on the Merritt Parkway and the Connecticut Turnpike.
Background information:
1950: 49 million cars in the United States +
21 million cars in rest of the world = 70 million cars worldwide.
2000: 221 million cars in the United States +
513 million cars in rest of the world = 735 million cars worldwide.
The annual global human population growth rate from 1950 to 2000 = 1.9%.
The annual global automobile growth rate from 1950 to 2000 = 5.2%.
Our state or transportation region’s policy should not be to build more roads or parking lots to accommodate more cars!
We need less car ownership, not more!
Danbury Branch Line (railroad running on Route 7 corridor):
1) Danbury branch line signalization has not been updated for 100 years.
2) Signalization is manual block, not CTC (centralized train control) like the New Haven and New Canaan lines.
Update signalization immediately.
3) It is the Danbury branch line that needs widening.
Danbury Branch is currently entirely single track except for a siding at the Wilton train station.
Imagine the Connecticut Turnpike with just one lane and a shoulder in just one location to queue up cars traveling in the other direction! That's what the Danbury Branch is like and we need to widen (add a track wherever feasible - two tracks or siding) it now. As service frequencies increase, siding should be added incrementally.
4) Electrify line when service frequencies reach 90 trains per day - rule of thumb for viability.
5) Upgrade Merritt 7 station to something akin to Stamford Transportation Center without parking garages: raised platforms, two tracks with outside boarding, a green, solar-oriented train station above railroad tracks and direct pedestrian access from Merritt 7 to Merritt 7 buildings that line Main Avenue.
6) Upgrade Maybrook line tracks between Dykman’s Junction (Southeast) and the Danbury Metro-North station – track speeds, signalization and third rail electrification, so that Harlem Line trains terminate in Danbury, a city four times the size of Southeast.
Dollars per mile may be high, but its only 12 miles (6 miles or less are in Connecticut).
Can you imagine the state of Connecticut’s economy if the New Haven line terminated in Rye or Portchester (insteadof New Haven)?
Route 7 improvements:
C-DOT needs to do a suitability study for modern roundabouts for the entire Route 7 corridor.
Links to help you think outside the box.
http://www.ourston.com/09_Live_Webcam.htm
http://www.ourston.com/ (check side bar)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2006/10/14/mflights14.xml
Reduce light pollution:
Super 7 already light pollutes and light trespasses the Merritt Parkway. Super 7 is a light pollution alley, so is the Connecticut Turnpike. Instead of adding to it, let’s remove needless light pollution. Light pollution is global travesty. Less light pollution equals less electricity consumption.
Downgrade & narrow Super 7 north of the Merritt Parkway. End Super 7 at Merritt Parkway interchange with modern roundabouts. Downgrade and narrow Super 7 north of the Merritt Parkway to one lane in each direction. In Super 7's place north of the Merritt Parkway, build “super” affordable, green LEED certified, solar-oriented housing on this state-owned land.
Create a direct bicycle and pedestrian connection from super affordable, green certified, solar-oriented housing with Glover Avenue Merritt 7 station.
Market price curb parking and terminate mandatory minimum parking requirements set by municipal planners.
Parking subsidies are the problem. By market pricing parking, a shift will occur where individuals seek appropriate means of travel, whether by train, bus, bicycle or walking.
It may make sense to use the state-owned Super 7 land north of Grist Mill Road to site a bicycle corridor.
I hope you would like to speak more about these solutions.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter.
Keep it green.
Peace.
Sincerely,
Richard M. Stowe
(203) 594-9097
(203) 966-4387
posted by Richard Stowe at 7:51 PM
2 Comments:
A Super 7 scenario drives up the cost of housing in Danbury and further degrades level of service on the Merritt Parkway and the Connecticut Turnpike.
Of course on the plus side, housing in Wilton and New Canaan will get somewhat more affordable :)
New Canaan housing will almost certainly not go down as a result of a Super 7 scenario. In fact, some traffic may divert off of 123. Real estate values in Wilton are already dampened due to inferior train service and existing Route 7. Super 7 would reduce values in Wilton to the extent that the quality of life was adversely affected, but on the other hand associated development pressures with such a massive public works project tends to drive real estate prices up.
Post a Comment
<< Home