Through quiet woods and over bubbling streams, a lonely railroad snakes across Fairfield County; few motorists passing under its bridges even notice it.
Owned by the Housatonic Railroad Company, this track is called the Maybrook Line, and it is to most residents of the community a mere curio of a bygone age. Yet this forgotten track is not just some useless anachronism, but an opportunity. By reviving it for passenger service and pairing it with smart zoning reforms, we can tackle Connecticut’s housing crisis, ease traffic congestion, and lay the tracks for a more sustainable future.
To understand the potential of the Maybrook Line, we must examine broader challenges facing the Nutmeg State. Connecticut faces a cost-of-living crisis driven by a housing shortage. With demand far outpacing supply, home prices have soared, putting the American Dream out of reach for many residents. Restrictive zoning laws lie at the heart of this crisis, as they artificially limit the supply of housing. The Maybrook Line passes through towns where zoning codes largely restrict housing to single-family homes on large lots. In addition, these local regulations strictly delineate commercial and residential zones. This kind of rigid, top-down government control of land use artificially chokes housing construction and entrenches automobile dependency.
As a result of these zoning rules, daily life in these communities is dictated by the car. This government-enforced automobile dependence leads to clogged roads, poisonous carbon emissions, and overburdened taxpayers, stuck with the bill for endless maintenance projects. Nowhere are the negative results of these planning choices more apparent than I-84 at rush hour.
What if there was another way? What if you could walk from your home to a station, and sip coffee as you glide past the honking steel glacier of I-84? Instead of mind-numbing bumper-to-bumper traffic, you could arrive at work refreshed and return home in a better mood for your family. When we already live with high taxes, pollution, and inconvenience, why not explore alternatives?
This is where the Maybrook Line comes in. While it currently lacks the capacity for passenger service, it forms a link between Metro-North’s Danbury and Waterbury branches. By retrofitting the Maybrook Line for passenger service and constructing new stations along its route, Connecticut could connect three underutilized railroad branches into a wider rail network, improving transportation options for thousands of commuters and daytrippers. However, for the service to be financially self-sustaining, reforms to stimulate transit-oriented development along its route would be essential.
Transit-oriented development refers to community planning that centers access to public transportation. For a revitalized Maybrook Line to financially support its own operation, areas around newly constructed stations could be rezoned for greater density to provide a sufficient ridership base. In this way, Connecticut can tackle its housing shortage while providing alternatives to car-centered development.
Let’s say a town along the Maybrook route adopts a zoning ordinance for an area within 800 meters of a planned station. Within this zone, new regulations could allow for mixed-use construction, a sensible easing of height and setback restrictions, and reductions in minimum lot and unit sizes. To preserve community character, prohibitions should remain on structures like drive-thrus, industrial sites, and self-storage facilities. These kinds of common-sense zoning adjustments can create vibrant, pedestrian-friendly hubs where the Maybrook Line becomes a natural part of daily life, elevating the community rather than obliterating it.
Local residents may recoil to hear of this proposal. Many are jealously protective of the character of their hometown and see zoning as a means through which they can keep property values high and the riff-raff out. But rezoning around constructed stations wouldn’t just make the Maybrook Line viable for commuters; it would directly benefit existing town residents. Greater density means a lower tax burden for residents, because mixed-use and moderate-density development expands the tax base, spreading costs across more people and businesses.
The CT Department of Transportation should conduct a feasibility study on reactivating passenger service along the Maybrook Line. If the study confirms its viability, the state can begin upgrading the physical infrastructure while collaborating with local communities to address concerns about the project’s impact. Concurrently, zoning councils can enact targeted zoning reforms adjacent to planned stations to support ridership, ensuring that the investment in this rail line delivers substantial returns.
I realize that some may dismiss this as too ambitious, too complicated, too old-fashioned, even. After all, am I really suggesting that Connecticut revive a transportation system that peaked in the late 19th century? Yes, I am. To unlock its future, Connecticut can look to its past.
By revitalizing forgotten infrastructure and embracing common-sense transit and zoning policies, we can build a state that is more affordable, connected, and sustainable.
Matthew Silber lives in Norwalk
