Members of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut re-adopted transportation as one of the legislative priorities for the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions. On behalf of the nearly 2,000 state-wide members of the League, we are pleased to submit our transportation and transportation-funding priorities for the upcoming session.
Transportation is critical to keeping our economy viable, our workers working and making Connecticut competitive and modern.
The League continues to believe that the principal goal of any transportation policy must be the reduction of all vehicular traffic on Connecticut’s roads. The League will advocate for the following measures:
- Careful priority setting among programs using reliable and complete fiscal projections to clearly identify all the costs and benefits of competing projects. Although the state’s fiscal situation is creating a serious scarcity of resources we believe that a commitment to mass transit will result in the reduction in road congestion, the decrease in pollution, and the improved availability for moving freight through the state.
- Commuter bus service continues to impact most immediately the congestion on our highways and provide mobility for our most-economically challenged citizens. We will support continued funding for existing bus service, and incentives for intra-state mass transit users, increasing the frequency and longer hours of service in place in communities where bus service already exists
- Continued efforts to make mass transit more attractive to current and potential users by improving the service and the passenger capacity on existing railroad lines by changes in scheduling to respond to the passenger needs on existing commuter rail service. Bus shelters for passengers and clear information as to the schedule need to be made available.
- Continued efforts to maximize the use of existing rails for freight by improving scheduling, eliminating surcharges, and improving access for shippers at origin and terminal points.
Adopting a Fix-It-First Policy giving priority to maintenance of highways and bridges over new construction.
- DOT should develop and implement a prioritized, multi-year plan to maintain state roads and bridges.
- Prioritize efforts to find solutions to eliminate specific congestion points along the major highways and propose solutions such a flexible use of highway lanes, congestion pricing and, as a last resort, expansion of on and off ramps.
- Continue planning to upgrade existing highways instead of building new superhighways.
Better coordinated land use/transportation planning.
- Land use planning at all levels should be coordinated to minimize highway congestion and urban sprawl.
- The state needs to continue planning for critical projects even if funding is delayed in order to be ready when funding is available.
Maintain dedicated funding sources for mass transit, highway congestion relief and highway maintenance.
- Review all long-term and short-term funding options including congestion pricing and mileage-based pricing. Explore public/private partnerships to implement various projects.
- Increase fines for safety, speeding and other infractions.
- Aggressively pursue receiving a higher share of federal transportation funds. We need to invest in infrastructure to keep our state competitive.
January 2012
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