An article written recently by John Moritz titled “Will widening I-95 in Stamford help traffic? CT DOT is considering it” outlined a DOT proposal to widen the section of Interstate 95 in Stamford. In a time of great progress for our small state, we are apparently back to an era of regressivism.
After the signing of HB 8002, we can now finally see the future of Connecticut housing plans. Front and center of this bill was the focus on transit oriented development, something that this administration has been focused on. This is great news for people living in our cities who understand the need for safe and pedestrian-first streets.
It has been too long in this nation that we put automobiles first, and finally, we have hit a turning point where they will continue to rule no longer. The discussion of another lane being added to our interstate is an absurd attack on our cities and societies. The “one more lane” mentality lent us the destruction of much of our downtown areas in Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and most notably, Hartford. The highway has tormented our society, and we should not continue to support these massive superhighway projects. Our state has vowed to do better for the people, not the automobiles. Cars are not your taxpayers; we are –the 3.6 million Nutmeggers who call this state home.
There is a consensus among planners that adding one more lane will never and has never fixed traffic; the only solution is getting people off the roads in the first place by way of transit. Instead of adding a lane of the highway at a cost of $10 million per mile, the state could make dedicated busways across our state that will improve the roads for the thousands (and growing) that use our buses every day. The effect that would have on commuters would benefit more people than any highway infrastructure spending ever could. Planning and adding paint reading “Bus Only” to our streets is much more cost-effective than appending to an already enormous concrete structure that divides communities.
The people of Connecticut want our tax dollars to be spent in ways that improve our lives for the best value, exactly what state government should look like. Our state has been here for us recently when our federal government let us down; the state cannot afford to lose the trust of the people like it had eight years ago.
They must continue their course of good. I hope that common sense will prevail and shut down the discussion of this for the last time because, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need [more] roads!”
Isaac Theodore Reicin is a lifelong Stamford resident and undergraduate student at The University of Vermont.