Talking Transportation: An Interview with the Connecticut DoT Commissioner
A Chat with the Commissioner
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti has a holiday gift for rail commuters… and maybe a lump of coal for the stockings for highway speeders.
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti. Photo contributed by New England Public MediaOnce a year I get a sit-down with the Commissioner. We’ve known each other for many years since his days as President of Metro-North. He knows I always ask him the tough questions but once told me “You’re always fair, Jim”, a comment that brought a tear to my eye.
So when I asked him when train service was going to get faster, he didn’t blink… or over-promise.
“My boss (the Governor) keeps asking me the same question. We’re still doing the modeling,” he said. And while a few months ago he promised a 10 min faster ride “by next year”, Metro-North trains are still slower and running less frequently than just a few years ago.
But while the railroad crews are still “playing whack-a-mole” with trouble spots, any hopes for expanded service and more express trains probably won’t happen “until the spring”, says the Commissioner.
Stats show overall weekday ridership is topping out at 53% of pre-COVID numbers. But a handful of rush hour trains are up to 75%. And new technology allows the railroad to know on a minute to minute basis just how crowded each train is. He said that he has plenty of spare rail cars so that CDOT’s partner, Metro-North, is quick to add cars to increasingly crowded trains.
But while service or speed may not be increased, neither will the fares. “We are having no discussions about fare increases,” said the Commissioner. Neither does it seem that peak fares will be returning anytime soon, at least not until service improves.
What is still under consideration are new discount fare plans. Though he wasn’t specific, such things as a discounted 30-trip ticket have been discussed previously.
Rail and signal enhancements on the diesel-only Waterbury branch line will mean expanded service but not new cars, at least not yet. The CDOT request to the tiny rail car industry for new cars proposals brought a dismal response but the agency is working on other ways of modernizing the fleet.
And when the MTA’s $11 billion East Side Access project opens Grand Central to LIRR trains in December 2022, Commissioner Guilietti hopes that some New Haven line trains will then access Penn Station “the first day ESA opens”.
On the highway side traffic is worse than before COVID, both in delays and danger. “It used to be that people drove 20 miles over the speed limit,” he said. “Now they drive 50 mph over the limit”. Accidents are frequent and often deadly at these “horrific speeds”.
So CDOT is about to launch three pilot programs in work zones with speed enforcement cameras. Sometime “before the spring” anyone speeding in these work zones will be ticketed automatically at a fine of up to $200.
The nation will soon be awash in money from the recent Infrastructure bill with $30 billion designated for Connecticut and another $100 billion up for grabs in competitive bidding. But to write the grants and prepare the engineering to qualify for that money, CDOT needs to deal with its brain drain.
Almost 400 senior staffers at CDOT have retired this year with more expected to leave next year before pension rules change. In addition, the agency needs to hire 200+ staffers just to handle the new infrastructure projects. Commissioner Guilietti says his recruiters are visiting universities and even high schools to find and develop talent.
“These are good paying jobs,” he says. “ And they’ll be around for 20 to 30 years” as we rebuild our roads and rails.
About Jim Cameron:
Jim Cameron has been a commuter advocate for over 30 years, with a special focus on the Metro North railroad. He spent nearly two decades on the Connecticut Metro North Commuter Council, and most recently founded The Commuter Action Group. Jim Cameron’s Talking Transportation was a popular column on the former WestportNow.com prior to its cessation, and joins The Westport Local Press and several other online community organizations. A resident of Darien - he serves on its Representative Town Meeting and is Program Director of the town government TV station, DarienTV79. He can be reached at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: @CTRailCommuters
First Snow? National Weather Service, NYC Weighs in: “Light accumulations are possible”
With possibilities of snow on the minds of many Westporters, the National Weather Service, NYC Office weighed-in on the forecasts for this Wednesday - saying that any amounts greater than an one inch would be expected in the eastern portions of Coastal Connecticut. The winter weather is forecast to arrive over Westport on Wednesday morning with a rain/snow mix, then most likely turning to all snow and then ending in the afternoon. An update to current forecasts will be announced Tuesday afternoon.
Snow days are still on the table for the 2021-2022 school year, although this forecast doesn’t paint a favorable picture for Westport’s students. The State Department of Education announced that learning-from-home days would not count as school days unless they met the State’s online curriculum requirements, which will not be released until the 2022-2023 school year’s start.
Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 19 over Weekend; State Hospitalizations Up 80 with a Total of 500 Hospitalized
The Westport-Weston Health District reported 19 new COVID-19 cases for Westport over the weekend. The State’s daily test positivity rate was up to 5.80% while hospitalizations were up 80 patients.
Westport total positive or probable cases: 2,249 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 32 deaths.
State Daily Test Positivity: 5.80% [up from 5.20%]
State Hospitalizations: 500 patients [+80]
Weston's Jose Feliciano Says "Feliz Navidad" at Ridgefield Playhouse Benefit
Jose Feliciano who lives on the Saugatuck River in Weston is one of the most highly awarded and best selling recording artists in music today. His 19 Grammy nominations have earned him those awards 9 times and he has been inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Feliciano has been immortalized with a Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. With over 45 Gold & Platinum records he is well known to Westporters for both his many successes and for many local appearances down through the years. Joining Jose on stage were Jonathan and Michael, his two sons who played drums and bass guitar. Also performing was opening act Vaneese Thomas, an R&B, jazz and soul blues singer known for Billboard R&B chart hit single, "Let's Talk It Over".
Last Tuesday Jose performed to raise funds for Traffic Jam Live, an organization co-founded by Ridgefield resident Bo Beatty to fight human trafficking which affects communities large and small, including many here in Connecticut. Since 2008, more than 1,000 children have been referred to the Department of Children and Families in Connecticut as possible victims of child trafficking.
Over 475 attendees filled the Playhouse including State Senator Will Haskell of Westport who helped pass the new CT state law that better protects victims of human trafficking in Connecticut. Says Bo Beatty, "Our mission is to disrupt child sex trafficking here in the US, right here in our local communities. Our key disrupter is Music. Streaming headliner concerts enable other anti-trafficking organizations to fundraise through TJL produced streams that also distribute key messaging on red-flags, what to look for in spotting signs of trafficking.”
Traffick Jam Live shines a spotlight on the shadows of human trafficking through concert and event productions that inform audiences on vital human trafficking awareness information. For starters, if you see something, say something by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 to Traffick Jam Live.
Photos by J.C. Martin for WestportLocal.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery
