(rshsdepot) Fairfield, CT

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Commuters question third train station plan

By:Chris Ciarmiello, Staff reporter July 01, 2002
Fairfield Minuteman

Commuters question third train station plan

As the town moves toward a decision on the proposed third train station near
Commerce Drive, the one group of constituents that would have the most
reason to be firmly behind the plan are those who ride the train every day.

After all, a third depot would offer closer rail access for those living in
the eastern part of town, and would provide parking for most of the
1,500-plus people now on the commuter parking space waiting list, officials
say. The station would also be adjacent to a 930,000 square-foot commercial
and retail development, where rail riders could shop and dine.

But recently, many commuters themselves have raised questions about the
plan, including whether or not there will even be enough rail car capacity
to support 1,500 new riders.

"We have tremendous overcrowding problems on the trains," says Jim Cameron,
vice-chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, a
state-legislature-created liaison between riders, the state Department of
Transportation, and rail providers.

While the council is not taking a position on the Commerce Drive area plan,
Cameron did point out that, without funding to increase the number of rail
cars on the tracks, new parking pass holders might not have such a
pleasurable commute. According to a DOT study, the state would need to shell
out $1.5 billion to $2 billion for 400 new cars by 2020 in order to service
a rising number of commuters. On any given day, 14 percent of cars are out
of commission, Cameron said, and mechanics work throughout the week to fix
the fleet's many older cars. "Nobody in Hartford is talking about the
reality of this situation," he said, adding that the lag time between
ordering and using new cars is 3 years.

If new cars are not ordered, Cameron said the council fears that conditions
will become more crowded on trains, leading many commuters back to their
automobiles.

Service questions

Commuters have also recently questioned whether the new station - which
would be the only Fairfield station compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act - would result in a cutback on service at the downtown and
Southport stations, an issue that remains unclear.

"We're still unable to get any kind of commitment [from the DOT],"
Representative Town Meeting member Philip Dukes, R-1, said on Tuesday.
Dukes said that he has spoken with a number of residents who are concerned
that service, particularly express service, would be cut back downtown and
Southport if Black Rock became the town's major station. "The reality is
that there are a lot of commuters ... that rely on the express train
services," he said. "What [the DOT] is telling us is they can't guarantee
how [express service] is going to be divvied up."

Dukes added that with Fairfield resident Harry Harris heading the state rail
bureau, the town has "someone we can trust" - for now. But down the line, a
commissioner from another part of the state might not be as concerned if
plans call for cutbacks at Fairfield stations, he said.

First Selectman Kenneth Flatto said last week that he is trying to be open
with residents about possible service changes at the two existing stations.
"My belief is that there will be some schedule changes down the line, with
or without a third train station," he said. But he added that the DOT has
said it hopes to improve service, not decrease it.

While some commuters are concerned that the Southport depot could be closed
if a third station is created, Flatto said DOT officials have verbally
guaranteed him that it would in fact remain open, and are willing to put
that commitment into writing in a final deal between the town, state, and
Blackrock Realty, the Stamford developer that would be responsible for
development of the retail and corporate complex.

Close to 200 people, about 75 percent of whom are Fairfield residents,
currently hold parking passes for the Fairfield Center station, and others
who are within walking distance also use the facility, according to Town
Planning Director Joseph Devonshuk.

Charles Dunn, a Fairfield commuter and former secretary of and Senate
liaison for the state judiciary committee, says that possibly closing
Southport and moving express train service from downtown to a new station in
the Commerce Drive area has been discussed for years in Hartford, however.
Keeping both Southport open and express service downtown with the addition
of a third station is "wishful thinking," he said.

Cameron, however, said that he does not see the DOT closing any existing
station.

DOT officials did not return several phone calls last week. A staffer said
this Monday that Harris would not be available until after press time, and
that there was no one else who could discuss the project.

Taxes and downtown

To bolster their position, some commuters are also saying that the project
could negatively impact not only the Black Rock/Commerce Drive areas, but
also the downtown.

"Fairfield has always wanted to revitalize ... downtown," says Dunn. By
making the Black Rock station the primary depot, and taking traffic away
from downtown, "you directly limit that vision," he said.

That belief is not held by the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, however. "That
is exactly opposite of what would happen," says Chamber Executive Director
Patricia Ritchie. If the downtown station were expanded, she says, "there
won't be any parking left for shoppers."

Ritchie said that downtown merchants want the third station to open to
relieve some of the congestion downtown. "The Post Road is hard enough to
cross now," she said. "To bring that kind of traffic ... is not the answer."

Still, some commuters, like Dunn and Southport resident Steve Sheppard, are
wondering if renovation of the Fairfield Center station would cost less than
the $6 million that the town would pay for the Black Rock/Commerce Drive
project. Sheppard says many residents are already facing large tax increases
, and would rather see a cheaper alternative.

The problem, Flatto points out, is that there is much uncertainty about what
a downtown station renovation would entail, or how much it would cost. But
he noted that in other towns the state has exercised eminent domain to
significantly expand stations, leaving residents with little control over
the projects.

Regardless, Flatto said he does not expect that a station in Black
Rock/Commerce Drive would affect the downtown revitalization. "I really
think the [downtown] station's always going to be a primary station," he
said. In a survey distributed by his office earlier this year, about half of
the respondents said they would continue to use the downtown station if a
depot was also built in the Commerce Drive area, Flatto said. That is one
reason that he feels the three-station setup can be a long-term reality.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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