Getting from Here to There: A long-term vision for transportation in Southwest Connecticut
As someone who commuted to work in New York City from our district for years and, now, who travels back and forth to Washington on a weekly basis, I have an intimate understanding of the impact that transportation has on our daily lives.
Few other issues have such a direct impact on our day to day lives and economic prosperity than our transportation system.
Since taking office I have aggressively pursued solutions to address our transportation challenges. In just the last two years, we have broken ground on the Stamford Urban Transitway, revitalized the transportation hub in Norwalk, and replaced aging engines in over 30 Bridgeport buses. Improved signals on the Danbury-Branch line and new Metro North cars will soon make traveling by train more comfortable, more efficient, and safer. And we’ve seen miles and miles of roads widen and repaved throughout the district.
These incremental steps are all important, but our transportation problems can’t be fixed by one new road or one new train. We need to implement a long-term regional vision that takes into consideration where people work, where people live, and where people shop, play, and do business.
We need to encourage transportation-centered housing, make public transportation more accessible and more convenient, and smooth traffic for those on the road. Our investments should lead us through the next decade, not just next year. To meet that need locally, I have joined other Members of Congress in the Northeastern Corridor in pushing for a Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel, which would run under the Hudson River and connecting freight trains to Fairfield County.
The investment required to put a long-term transportation plan into action is significant, and politics play too large of a role in deciding how our transportation dollars will be spent. That’s why I support the creation of a transportation infrastructure bank. This would remove the politics from big investment decisions so that we get bridges we need rather than bridges to nowhere and would encourage innovative financing mechanisms to take advantage of all possible investment opportunities.
Government alone cannot fund our transportation needs; we need a partnership that can leverage private investment to help our area develop and implement an interwoven economic, housing, and transportation vision. I will continue working with all levels of government and our partners in the private sector to make transportation in Southwest Connecticut more accessible, more efficient, and more economical.
Download Jim’s whitepaper on transportation.
