“For too long, the commuters at this station have been inconvenienced by lack of bathroom facilities and our business owner- Cafe Au Lait by lack of running water to run her business, said Rep. Boucher.

By reaching across the aisle in the Transportation committee and with the help of the Governor Rell ‘s office we are now able to bring this dream to reality,’ said Rep. Boucher, who had the funding for the improvements passed in 2006 after holding a public hearing on this issue in the Transportation committee.

The Danbury branch line has a growing ridership and with the advent of running water the hope is even more commuters will use the rail line.

“The growth of local businesses in the corridor adds to the need and the demand for the rail line improvements. This is one small step in the right direction and I look forward to a major upgrade to our signal system and a new parking facility on the Branchline that are in the works” said Rep Boucher.

This station is used mainly by commuters that take the train and other Connecticut train stations. The closest restrooms to the station are located in a private business approximately 70 yards away. A petition in support of the bathrooms was signed by 120 commuters and forwarded to the governor and to Rep Boucher.

Boucher also noted testimony from Deborah Symons, operator of a coffee shop in the station, who said:

“Basically, we have run this establishment, mainly used by commuters who take the train to the city and other locations, without any running water during all this time.

We are constantly bombarded, day after day, by the question: ‘Can I please use your restroom?’ And we have to explain again and again, that our station has no running water, no plumbing, and therefore, no bathrooms.

We have to send our commuters to the nearest bathroom across the street (and across the tracks), which is about 70 yards away. They reluctantly go through the snow - usually all dressed to go to work in the city - and they come back upset and annoyed for such lack of basic facilities in a train station where a huge parking lot is usually filled to the brim, by 9:30 am, every morning.

The DOT, back a few years ago, promised to help us. For reasons far beyond our reach, it never happened. So, we collected more than 120 signatures from our commuters, on a petition for a bathroom, and we sent it all with a letter to our State Representative Toni Boucher and the governor. They immediately responded, and everyone seemed to buzz around the train station with measuring tapes, and calculators.

We believe that residents of the region, avid workers that fill that parking lot every day, deserve to have a train station that, at least, has a place to go to the bathroom, and not just four walls and a place to sit, like a carriage barn from the 1800s. It is a main suburban train station. Very cute, but very inefficient to the needs of this commuting modern society. A bathroom will not only provide our train riders with a basic need, but will also enhance the usability of a beautiful historical building.” I can thank the Governor, Rep Boucher and First Selectman Brennan for their support and advocacy in bringing this great improvement to our train station.

Rep. Boucher serves the 143rd Assembly District of Wilton and Norwalk.