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TRANSPORTATION
Going, Going...
Converging new transportation initiatives promise to reshape the way we get from here to there
Converging new transportation initiatives promise to reshape the way we get from here to there
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Business New Haven
7/12/1999
By: Sharon Cohen
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New Haven-area travelers boarding Amtrak for trips along the Northeast corridor for the December holidays and the Millennium celebration will reach their destinations much faster on the new Acela (ah-SELL-ah) high-speed trains speeding down the track by year's end.
These new locomotives will whisk commuters between Boston and New York in three-hours - an improvement of 90 minutes over the current trip - and from New York to Washington in as little as two and a half hours or a 30 minutes savings.
This accelerated rail service will mark the first of several transportation improvements moving forward in south-central Connecticut over the next decade. Also scheduled for mass transit: construction of a new Pearl Harbor Memorial ("Q") Bridge over the Quinnipiac River, enhanced services and facilities for Shore Line East rail operations, the addition of a State Street commuter rail station, and the development and implementation of the Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority master plan.
Amtrak officials hope that the 150-per-mile Acela trains will significantly increase business rail travel. "We've already been able to tap into this business market with our express Metroliners from New York to Washington," says Rick Remington, spokesperson for Amtrak-Northeast Corridor, headquartered in Philadelphia, "and are confident we'll do the same from Boston to New York."
Amtrak projects that Acela service will boost its market share in the Northeast Corridor from 12 percent to 15 percent annually, or about 14.3 million passengers total. It also plans on generating $180 million in new profits its first full year of service. Amtrak's past fiscal year showed the company surpassing $1 billion for the first time, powered by the largest ridership increase in a decade.
Prices will be higher for the Acela travel - about $135 each way between New York and Boston or Washington, versus $114 now. However, Amtrak says the cost will still run less than the walk-up fare charged by US Airways and Delta Air Lines, the two primary airlines offering shuttle service between these cities.
Each high-speed train will have four coaches, a first-class car and a café. Acela will offer business-class seats with audio and power jacks, 30 large tables where passengers can spread out paperwork and hold meetings, special check-in areas and concierge service.
Meanwhile, on the highways, the state's Department of Transportation (DOT) hopes to keep traffic moving along with as few bottlenecks as possible during the decade-long construction of the new Q Bridge.
The replacement overpass will have five travel lanes in each direction, located south and within the existing I-95 Q-Bridge harbor crossing. Exits 49 and 50 (Stiles Street/Woodward Avenue) will be combined and serviced by a new connecting road between Woodward Avenue and Fulton Terrace.
The first two phases of construction, planned to begin in 2002, will consist of widening I-95 by one lane in each direction between Exits 51 and 54. Next will be the actual construction of the new bridge, followed by reconstruction of the I-95-I-91-Route 34 interchange that will include eliminating the left lane entrances and exit ramps. The western limit of the project is Exit 46.
The old span won't be demolished until its replacement is up and serviceable. However, backups can be expected due to lane closings during construction. DOT has already begun to encourage ways to reduce traffic, reports Carmine Trotta, a DOT transportation planner.
For example, the state is requesting employers in the region to provide flextime programs. Companies are also being asked to offer preferential parking - free or a better location - for rideshare or transit participants.
Similarly, the department suggests that employers consider a guaranteed taxi or similar service from the workplace to home for rideshare and transit riders with an unusual or emergency situation. The state will also be talking with regional insurance providers about setting up a program that would voluntarily provide an annual rebate to auto insurance policy holders who can document regular transit or rideshare use.
The DOT hopes to beef up the Shore Line East route to encourage increased use by those presently using the rails as well as to attract new rail commuters. Enhancements prior to the roadway construction will include additional parking spaces (parking is already free), new station facilities such as platforms and over/underpasses and wheelchair accessibility.
The department will also be monitoring ridership of the bus service between Branford and New Haven to determine whether service should be augmented.
The biggest benefit to Shore Line East riders will be the new State Street commuter rail station, between Court and Chapel Streets. The new facility should be up and running by 2002 - the design itself is scheduled for completion by the spring of 2000. The station will provide an incentive to those who desire more direct access to downtown New Haven. Presently, many commuters take a shuttle bus from Union Station. "Two years ago, the state considered closing this Shore Line East service because of the number of vacant seats," recalls Trotta. "Over the next several years, especially with the bridge work and continued enhancements such as the new rail station, we expect to attract and retain a number of new riders. The train will be a good alternative to get through this construction corridor."
Rideworks Inc. is focusing its efforts on notifying commuters of the many ways to reach New Haven, besides driving in on their own each weekday, says Jean Stimolo, executive director. New information centers with mass transit schedules as well as highway billboards encourage riders to investigate other alternatives.
"We're letting riders know they have a variety of options to get in and out of the city," Stimolo says. "No one is locked into one approach. Some people carpool in the morning, for instance, and take the train back home at night, or visa versa."
Air transport may not be of much use to those commuters who want to bypass long lines of traffic over the bridge, but it will increasingly provide an option to those wishing to reach hubs within a 1,200-mile radius of New Haven, says Edwin V. Selden, executive director of the Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority.
"After our first full year in operation, I can easily say that [New Haven] Mayor [John] DeStefano made the right decision with privatization of this airport two years ago. At the airport authority we clearly believe that in the long run Tweed will produce jobs and enhance the viability of an already prosperous region."
Selden adds that the goal is for the airport authority to become economically self-sufficient within five years of assuming management responsibility for the airport.
The first year of operation, Selden notes, has been a time to lay the groundwork on which to build toward this goal. AMPORT, the private company hired to run the day-to-day operations of the airport, "has been doing an extraordinary job," he says.
The firm has spent the past ten months putting the systems in place for service enhancement, including personnel, finance, maintenance, Federal Aviation Administration relations, and taking over the fire service and parking lot operations from the city.
The airport is completing an environmental-impact assessment that will launch the state Department of Environmental Protection's permitting for the construction of 1,000-foot safety overruns - turf appendages at the end of each runway. These additional safety measures should be completed within the 12 to 18 months following DEP permitting.
In addition, Tweed recently sent out a bid document for the construction of an air, rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) building to house the airport's fire and emergency rescue equipment; construction should be completed by first quarter of 2000. Robinson Aviation Inc., which offers maintenance and fueling services, will begin construction of its third hanger at Tweed, showing its commitment to the airport and continued acknowledgment that traffic will bear its growing presence.
"We've also initiated discussions with several carriers to provide additional air service," explains Selden. But it's moving beyond the discussion stage that has been the problem in recent history.
U.S. Airways Express is presently the only carrier at the facility. This spring, Trans International Express initiated, and then abruptly suspended, service to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
According to Peter Sheahan, Tans International Express' vice president of sales and marketing, in March the airline expanded service to JFK from two cities - Binghamton and Albany (N.Y.) - to five markets, including Tweed. By May, Sheahan says, the carrier realized it had bit off more than it could chew, and retrenched to the initial two markets over the summer. Trans International Express plans to re-evaluate service options as it acquires additional aircraft.
"New Haven continues to be an attractive option for us, since it appear that the congestion on I-95 makes this a good market area," Sheahan says. Adds Selden. "We hope they'll be back again in the fall when they can match our riders' needs with their flight schedules."
Since January, U.S. Airways Express has increased its passenger manifests by about seven percent, due in part to using larger aircraft -36- versus a 19-seat planes. The airport authority is working with the carrier to offer airfares that are more competitive to surrounding airports. The carrier, for example, recently offered a round-trip ticket to Myrtle Beach for $88.
A trend among many air carriers is increased inventory of the so-called regional jet, an aircraft that holds 30 to 70 passengers, many fewer seats than the ubiquitous Boeing 737. The use of these down-sized craft is much more cost-effective for short-hop commuter carriers than their more commodious cousins. It means they will be more inclined to set up shop at smaller, local facilities such as Tweed, says Selden. He is confident that the present ongoing discussions with carriers will bear fruit. It's just a matter of time. It takes, he explains, at least six to nine months for an airline to offer service once a contract is signed.
What's down the runway for Tweed in the upcoming years became a top priority this spring when the airport received a $390,000 grant from the FAA to update its plans for growth. The last master plan was completed in 1983.
A newly formed 26-member technical advisory committee includes residents from communities adjoining the airport, local and regional representatives from businesses, the state DOT and DEP, FAA, environmentalists, the city of New Haven and town of East Haven.
The committee will work with paid consultants to make recommendations based on the results of an economic study, air-service analysis, facility report and environmental study. It will present a consensus report to the Airport Authority in 12 to 18 months.
Selden concludes that with the study results in hand, Tweed and the New Haven, East Haven and southern Connecticut communities will be able to make a reasoned judgment on how best to grow the airport to serve the economic needs of the region.
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