Update on Stratford Train Station

Commuters in Stratford, Shelton, Monroe, and our entire region rely on Stratford Train Station to get to work every day. But parking continues to be a problem at the train station—making it inconvenient for commuters and forcing more people to drive to work. We have had some progress in cutting the waiting list at Stratford Train Station by a third, but still have over 1,000 people on the waiting list.

We are working to fix this by adding more parking and making the train station more convenient for commuters. In 2007, Representative John Harkins and I created a Stratford Train Station Advisory Board made up of commuters and interested citizens. They have worked hard to help prioritize work and ensure that all improvement projects stay on track. The advisory board members’ contributions are invaluable, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Government officials, including Mayor James Miron, Representative Harkins, me, and representatives from both the state Department of Transportation and local Stratford engineering department are working with the Advisory Board. This is a bipartisan, joint state-local initiative to ensure that four specific initiatives move forward in the next year. Here is an update on each of the four initiatives, where they stand, and what challenges remain to make them a reality:

1) New Parking Garage. Recently, Mayor Miron approved a design for a new 500-600 space garage, which is estimated to cost upwards of $29 million. Thanks to Representative Harkins, we have already secured $13 million of this funding from state bonding, and another $6-8 million is available through federal programs. We are working on obtaining the remainder of the funding, and the design is now moving forward with a “public comment” period in February of next year. Additionally, the town is moving ahead with plans to purchase property for this project.

2) New Parking Lot. However, the new parking garage is going to take a while to construct given the scale of the project. Mayor Miron came up with another idea for additional parking that calls for extending the existing parking lot towards Barnum Avenue, eventually creating an additional 374 spaces. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) recently completed a preliminary review of this plan, and laid out the steps to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals. We expect that potential wetlands issues will require building the new parking spaces in two phases; that is, building the first 120 spaces fairly quickly while awaiting the results of environmental review on the remaining spaces. Most of the money for this phase of the project is in place from the maintenance fund the state pays for the train station.

3) Canopies. The State Bond Commission approved $250,000 earlier this year to design canopies to cover the station’s east-bound platform. Governor Rell came to Stratford to announce this funding this summer. However, we need additional funding in order to actually build the canopies. Governor Rell has shown her commitment to this project, and we will be working with her to secure the necessary funding to complete this project next year.

4) Platform Extensions. Commuters know that they often have to change train cars to get off at Stratford station. So Stratford is beginning design work with the DOT on expanding the westbound platform to enable more train cars to stop at the station. The state approved a grant for this project several years ago, but more money is needed to actually complete the project and the town is seeking federal funding. In the meantime, the town will start design work for the project.

All of these projects are very exciting, but there are two huge challenges we still need to overcome to make them all a reality. First, all of the projects have some funding in place to begin work—but none of them have enough to fully complete the project. Second, all of the projects require extensive permitting from local and state officials—which is usually the thing that slow construction projects down in Connecticut. I want to be realistic about these projects. Although each project is heading in the right direction, we still have a lot of work to do to make them a reality.

While economic times are tough and we need to cut wasteful government spending (as I have discussed in detail in previous columns), we still need to make investments in our transportation infrastructure to ensure workers can get to jobs in New York and lower Fairfield County. I believe the improvements for Stratford Train Station are smart investments, and will continue to work in a bipartisan way with local and state officials to move the projects forward.

Dan Debicella is the State Senator representing Stratford, Shelton, Monroe, and Seymour. If you have feedback for him or want to talk about the issues, he can be reached toll-free at (800) 842-1421 or by e-mail at dan.debicella@cga.ct.gov.