The transportation test no one can pass
AOne of the reasons for the perpetual transportation quagmire is that state officials assume the role of a bad trigonometry teacher who neglects to explain real world applications.
t the end of the regular session, Gov. Ned Lamont sounded like a school principal when it came to that subject no one in Connecticut seems capable of passing — funding infrastructure. special session to have a deeper study of tolls was threatened like summer school. Yes, tolls are as dreaded as high school algebra.
June passed, then July and finally August without a session. The popular public theory was that Lamont and Co. bungled the tolls discussion so badly that they were just trying to pretend it never happened.
Turns out that Lamont simply assigned himself some summer homework. That is, he sent his avatar, Chief of Staff Ryan Drajewicz, to Washington, D.C.
Drajewicz studied the Build America Bureau, which provides grants and guidance on infrastructure issues. He explored credit assistance from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, and the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program.
We can imagine that showandtell: “Have you driven on Connecticut highways? We’re stuck.”
Drajewicz has been somewhat vague about his assignment, but acknowledged he was pursuing ”an overall reset.”
Connecticut desperately needs a reboot when it comes to infrastructure. As House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, RDerby, observed in a grand understatement, “This is a bigpicture trust problem.”
Lamont didn’t help matters by grabbing $170 million to balance the budget rather than using it for transportation initiatives.
Republican legislators may be in the minority in Connecticut, but they are backed by the muscle of toll opponents. Not that they can crack the transportation quiz either. They just repeatedly play the role of a parent telling a teenager on Friday night, “I gave you money last week, what did you do with it?”
While Drajewicz and Lamont cram for sophomore year, former Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker seems to have gleaned some wisdom since leaving office. One of the reasons for the perpetual transportation quagmire is that state officials assume the role of a bad trigonometry teacher who neglects to explain real world applications.
Redeker points to the value of recent Interstate84 enhancements to demonstrate the benefits of investments. Commuters on that oncedreaded 2.7mile stretch in Waterbury saw the average rushhour speeds take a quantum leap from 16 mph to 62 mph eastbound and from 7 mph to 67 mph westbound. In real time, this meant a reduction of 13 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively, to three minutes. Accidents dropped from 38 per month to three.
That’s pretty easy math for anyone to understand. If you want business to move forward, workers need to be able to do the same.
Lamont can’t expect Drajewicz to uncover a secret GPS back road out of the Connecticut traffic jam, but it is encouraging that they are identifying other possible sources of funding.
They need to share their findings with the rest of the class. Trust will only be nurtured in an open discussion. It’s not as though anyone else has the answers.