SUV Drivers Can Park, Ride The Rails To Work

The state’s single largest new parking lot expansion, set against a beautiful backdrop of wetlands, trees and waterways, was unveiled at the Shoreline East railroad station in Branford Tuesday by state and town officials. 

Acting DOT Commissioner Jim Redeker said it is the largest parking lot expansion that the state has undertaken on the shoreline over the past two decades. He praised Branford’s town, state and federal officials for working together to get it done so well. But the past history of this particular 5.3 acres of land, involving decisions by the state and former First Selectwoman Cheryl Morris, is another story. 

“We ended up with a very beautiful project,” First Selectman Unk DaRos said as he and the others came together to cut the proverbial ribbon. ​“If you can make a parking lot look beautiful, I’d say that this parking lot is really beautiful.” He thanked the designers, engineers and contractors for their careful work in preserving the wetlands while at the same time creating 299 additional parking spaces. The combined commuter lot will now hold 500 cars.

Parking is free at the Branford station and all Shore Line East stations. Commuters from North Branford and East Haven, towns without train stations, often use the Branford parking lot.

The Guerrera Construction Co., of Oxford, was awarded a $2.63 million contract for the parking lot expansion. The project, slated for completion on July 2, 2011, came in a bit early.

Redeker said in an interview with the Eagle afterward that he is proud of the aesthetics of this project. ​“We were in a space of inland wetlands, and we built around them to preserve them. And we made sure that we did it carefully. We created special landscaping and trees along the side. We took very special attention to preserving all through the construction. We worked very carefully.” 

State Rep. Lonnie Reed said in an interview that an area near the railroad station has long had flooding problems. ​“By putting in this huge culvert and reconfiguring the space in addition to parking spots, the engineers have helped to fix the whole flooding problem.”

DaRos told the assembled group that from the very first day the current lot opened, ​“it was filled to capacity.” And it has remained so as commuters take the train to various points along the shoreline, often to New Haven and from there onto New York City. ​“That shows you that if you give people the choice to use mass transit they will use it. I think it is a wonderful thing.”

Redeker concurred. 

“We have had an amazing response to public transit in the state of Connecticut. This is is a testimony to what rail can do and how it is growing and what it is doing for our economy, “ he said.

“I would like to thank three partners: Amtrak, which owns and operates this service, Guerrera Construction Company, which did the work, and the town of Branford, represented today by Unk DaRos. A partnership like this just doesn’t happen unless people are working together from the beginning. In addition to that partnership is the federal partnership that provided the stimulus funding to make this happen together makes it a terrific success.”

He then introduced DaRos, state Sen.Ed Meyer, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who helped get stimulus funds for this project, and state Reps. Reed and Pat Widlitz. 

DeLauro had pressed for federal stimulus funds for Branford because she and town officials had projects that were shovel ready, including the $75 million Amtrak Bridge project now underway in another part of town. As if on cue, she noted, an Acela express train whizzed by, a train she often takes to Washington, D.C.

“As the commissioner pointed out this is the most heavily traveled commuter region in the country. When 80 percent of Connecticut commuters drive to work by themselves, we need to provide the alternative that people need so that they can look at other means of travel.”

The opening of the new parking lot extension brought back old memories for DaRos and Widlitz. Both remembered years ago when then-Gov. John Rowland proposed to eliminate the entire Shoreline East railway service.

“His statement was for what we are subsidizing every rider we could buy them an SUV,” Widlitz told the Eagle. ​“I will never forget that. Overnight, literally overnight, we came together in Guilford. We had 250 people up in arms and we had a protest the next morning to stop the governor’s proposal. It made no sense. It had no vision. The vision is for mass transportation. Getting all those SUV’s on I‑95. Can you imagine?”

Before he left the new parking lot, Redeker told us DOT will be back. He said the state is preparing for the next Branford railroad project, a new North side high-level platform at the Branford station with an overhead pedestrian bridge. ​“This will permit train traffic both North and South,” he said.

“It is on the books and we plan to move on that very quickly.” He said he had no target date as yet for when construction might begin at the Maple St. station. 

State Sen. Meyer said the State Bonding Commission approved millions of dollars in funds for the new north-side platform in Branford in February, along with platform extensions at the Guilford station, and other funding for use between Guilford and Old Saybrook for the electrification of railway sidings.

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