Paul Bass Photo
Forecasts warned of possible rain by day’s end. That didn’t stop some of New Haven’s heartier commuters from hopping on two wheels — and blissing out before beginning the grind.
That started Tuesday off in a more spiritual vein for commuters like Lisa Hodermarksy and Laurie Hasselmann, although Hasselmann did have to do some advance planning with her husband for a four-wheeled switcheroo back home.
Meanwhile, Kica Matos and Holly Parker navigated different modes of public trasnportation home on Monday, then exulted in the shortest commutes of all Tuesday — from the kitchen to the home office.
They are among the commuters keeping diaries this week of their travels to and from the city for work — whether by car, by train, by bus, or on two wheels. Read on for their latest dispatches from the road and the rails.
The World Wakes Up
By Lisa Hodermarsky
Hodermarsky commutes from Westville to the Yale Art Gallery on a yellow motorized 50cc 2004 Honda Metropolitan scooter.
One of the great things about commuting on a scooter is that you are out in the open air, and quite close to the ground (even closer than on a bicycle). So you notice things.
This morning I noticed how the light shifts throughout the course of the year, and the quality of that light, which is one that is best described by tactile adjectives (soft or warm, hard or cold). I noticed the soggy pieces of trash that cling to curbs. And the profusion of weeds that successfully insist their way through the asphalt. (Nature always conquers in the end.)
Lately, I’ve also been fascinated by the way that the city has patched the streets on upper Edgewood Avenue, with a ribbon-like application of tar. My husband, who’s Southern, says this is a typical patching method in the South, where winters are milder and they can hence save money on road repair. (He has some funny Southern expression for it, which I can’t recall now.)
I also been noticed the profusion of wildlife that is so active at street level in the very early morning, before the cars and buses really get revving, forcing all the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and the like, below ground or up trees. These small animals seemed particularly lively on mornings like this one, after a storm — I suppose they’re out foraging for whatever seeds or berries might have been knocked out of the trees by the rain.
On these early June mornings in New Haven it’s fascinating to notice the world at ground level, just waking up.
Crunching The Numbers
By Holly Parker
Parker works as Yale’s director of sustainable transportation. She lives all the way out in Coventry.
Monday evening’s commute home:
Most Mondays I carpool to New Haven with my friend Julia, who lives in Columbia, but she was sick. Fortunately my husband needed to come to New Haven for an errand, so I still got to enjoy good company on the way to work and avoid expensive city parking.
Route: Coventry to New Haven
Distance: 56 miles
Mode: Carpool
Time traveled: 60 minutes
Cost: (assuming IRS reimbursable rate for driving of $0.55 x 56 miles) $31.08
Holly Parker.
I was on my own for the trip home, but luckily there is a transit solution: CTTransit’s Hartford Express bus. It is one of the best-kept transportation secrets in Connecticut…
I can take the New Haven Hartford Express to downtown Hartford — where I can catch the Vernon Express to within 7 miles of my house in Coventry. The bus riders are friendly folk, who greet each other and their driver. There’s WiFi on the bus, and electrical outlets to plug in your laptop — so the bus trip can become my mobile personal office.
Su — an approachable, cheerful, and dedicated rider of this bus — insists on giving me a lift to the park and ride so I don’t have to go all the way in to Hartford and switch buses.
We have a pleasant conversation about all manner of things, and the trip goes by quickly. Su brings me to the Dunkin Donuts at Exit 68 and wants to wait with me until my husband arrives for the last leg of my journey, but I assure her I’ll be fine! I have, shelter, donuts, and coffee…
My husband arrives and is rewarded for his troubles with a buttercrunch donut (his fave).
Tuesday morning “commute”:
Aaaaah, a telework day! On Tuesdays and Fridays I use the 2 – 3 hours of my day normally spent commuting for more productive and enjoyable endeavors! I still got up early this morning, and took a walk through the neighborhood — starting at the lake. A heron had just caught a fish.
Two of my kitties followed me.
And I still had time to make coffee and start the workday an hour earlier than normal — at 8am.
Bankers Check The Post, WSJ
By Kica Matos
Matos commutes by train from Fair Haven to New York
Coming home Monday, I make it Grand Central Terminal and my train in time to grab a window seat. The route back to New Haven is different on this train (stops include Greenwich and Stamford), so the demographics are different, with more banker types reading the NY Post or the Wall Street Journal.
The Internet connection is spotty which makes it difficult to work on the train. To make matters worse, the guy next to me has fallen asleep and his head keeps tilting and dropping dangerously close to my shoulder. I guess I should be thankful that he is not snoring!
The train population thins out as we make stops along the way and there are just a handful of people in my car by the time we arrive in New Haven. The drive home is relatively quick since there is little traffic. I check my watch right after I pull the car into the driveway — it is exactly 6:30 pm.
I welcome tomorrow’s commute, which will consist of walking from the kitchen (where I will have prepared my morning coffee) to my office. Estimated time: 10 seconds.
Bike-Car Switcheroo
By Laurie Hasselmann
Hasselmann works at Yale College Publications office.
I ride to downtown New Haven from North Madison. I ride mostly on Rte. 80, but I squiggle around the surface streets when I get close to the city.
I love riding my bike in June! There is enough daylight to ride by 5 a.m., and the songbirds are in full throat along the entire route.
Today the pavement was dry, there was no appreciable wind, and the traffic lights were mostly green. The temperature was chilly, but I don’t mind: my reflective yellow windbreaker is the most visible piece of clothing I own, and I’m glad to have an excuse to wear it.
Some days it’s hard work to commute by bike. This morning it was a joy.
Please don’t be impressed with the distance: on most days I ride only one way. My husband Steve and I both work in New Haven, but different hours. So today I biked in early, and at the regular work time he drove in. I put tomorrow’s work clothes and today’s lunch in the car (my personal sag wagon), and Steve had his bike in the car.
Then on the way home, when I’ll have to pick up our daughter, I’ll put my bike in the car and drive home, and Steve will bike. It’s about 19 miles each way.
Quote-mobile Sidetracked
By Amy Eppler-Epstein
Eppler-Epstein commutes from North Guilford to New Haven Legal Assistance on State Street.
Instead of my regular drive by myself listening to NPR, or biking to work, today I got a treat I have not had for the last 4 years: I got to drive to work with both of my daughters!
The older daughter, recently graduated from college, was off to a high school “observation” as part of her training for her upcoming teaching job in NYC with Teach for America. The younger daughter was off to her summer internship at Yale Child Study Center.
We drove in the venerable “quote-mobile” (pictured), our once-mousy grey Toyota Camry that underwent a transformation through a family paint job about 6 years ago, and is still kicking at 264,000+ miles (though it needed a quart of oil this morning, and does have some “issues”; but it is running!). Breakfast in the car, fresh local strawberries, homemade mini banana chip muffins, tea and milk- yum! And nice to be with my girls, even tho it was a bit of a stressful commute because there was an accident or something on Route 80 in North Branford, where we had to turn around and back track a few miles to find another route, adding about 15 – 20 minutes to our trip. But everyone still got where they needed to be more or less on time.
Previous “Commuter Diary” installments:
Great series keep it up!