nothin $950K Grant Would Boost Buses | New Haven Independent

$950K Grant Would Boost Buses

Liana Teixeira photo

Aaron Freeman said he lugs his Stop & Shop grocery bags across four busy Whalley Avenue traffic lanes to wait at a bus stop for a ride that may never show up. New money from the feds may throw him a transit lifeline.

Freeman (pictured) shared his plight at a public meeting at Mauro-Sheridan Magnet School Sunday afternoon, where Director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking Douglas Hausladen with a team from CDM Smith, a consulting firm, presented the city’s latest efforts in improving public transit.

Top on the list: a new $760,000 Federal Transit Administration grant for a transportation alternatives analysis, which may help relieve Freeman’s travel woes,and those of many other commuters.

The federal government approved the city’s request for transit study funding in 2011. To secure the funding, the Board of Alders must also approve the request before a September deadline. Of the $950,000 allocated toward the project, $760,000 is provided by the federal government and $100,000 from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The remaining $90,000 would come from the city, as bonded funding.

We have many transit options in New Haven,” said Corinne Donahue, the senior transit planner for CDM Smith. Ideas include identifying areas where faster transit is needed, and connecting people to essential locations for jobs, shopping, medical appointments and schools.

In a 2005 regional transit study, the city indicated the bus routes on Whalley, Dixwell, Grand, Congress and Campbell Avenues as top priority for transit speed and efficiency. Almost 10 years later, Donahue said, these routes must be looked at again to see if they are still a priority or if new ones have emerged.

Also a priority: making sure the bus lines with the most ridership provide access to bikers and bike paths.

Another goal, Donahue said, is to make public transportation options more appealing not only to those who already use them, but also to those who don’t.

The meeting was the second in a series of four public hearings to gather feedback from transit users. Residents were not shy in sharing their struggles with the current bus system.

The Sunday buses show up whenever they feel like or sometimes not at all,” said Shelagh Brennan of Fountain Street. She said she tries not to take the bus on Sundays anymore, and takes to walking or riding her bike instead.

Alderman Richard Furlow’s experiences have not been any better. During rush hour on workday mornings, he said, the buses are often late. Whenever he calls CT Transit for answers, Furlow said, they also have no idea where the bus is. He said he runs to the next stop on the route in hopes of catching it.

The public transit downtown needs to be more user friendly,” said Furlow.

Hausladen said the study’s tentative start date would be winter 2015. The study could last anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

This [study] is a perfect opportunity,” said Hausladen. It coincides with the completion of a high-speed express rail from Hartford to New Haven in late 2016, which will provide even more transportation options for commuters. Reworking the city’s transit strategy now, he said, will help bring in new technology and data-gathering previously unavailable.

Several upgrades that are being considered include the replacement of bus passes with refillable metro cards.

By the end of 2015, plans call for all New Haven public buses to have global positioning systems (GPS). Riders could check smartphone apps and find out when the next bus is coming or if it’s delayed, avoid waiting in 20-degree weather for a late bus. Those without smartphones could still call CT Transit to find out the bus schedule, as employees there would have access to the same GPS information.

At the end of the day, Hausladen said, the study could reveal many unique options for the city, such as upgrading bus shelters to include advertisements and real-time bus schedule kiosks, better lighting, internet hotspots and nearby public restrooms.

The remaining public hearings are scheduled for Thursday, July 17, at 6 p.m. at the Fair Haven Library and Saturday, July 19, at 2 p.m. at Career High School.

If the study is approved, four additional public meetings would be scheduled to gather additional comments and feedback.

In the meantime, a survey is available to those who attend the public meetings and online here. So far, 175 residents have responded to the online survey.

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