A Passenger’s Account From the Derailed Metro-North Train

The derailment and subsequent collision of a Metro-North train could have been much worse. Despite more than 70 injuries and major inconveniences for commuters, nobody died in the accident.

On this morning’s episode of Where We Live, we talked about what happened on Friday and we were joined for a few minutes by Rob Oliver. He works in New York City and was on the train that derailed. In the clip below he describes his experience and says he knew “something awful” was happening.

Our other guest, chairman of the Connecticut Metro-North Commuter Council Jim Cameron follows up with a question about the time between derailing and colliding with another train.

Oliver said he didn’t even realize they had hit another train. “All you felt was this waving, this incredibly loud metal-on-metal screeching noise, and the engineer desperately trying to stop the train,” he said.

Hurricane Sandy Map

As we await Sandy’s arrival to Connecticut and we all have power, check out the ongoing map project we’re working on. We’ll add things like shelters, closures, flooding and anything else that might be helpful to others. If you have any information to add to the map, either leave us a comment here, tweet us @wherewelive, or email wherewelive@wnpr.org. We’ll be updating this on an on-going basis.

***Update*** The map is open for anyone to edit. If you’ve never added a marker to a Google Map before, you can find instructions at goo.gl/fHKoq. Feel free to contact us with information too and we’ll get it up if that’s easier!

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Skyscrapers, Bridges and Roads

Photo: Jay Zhang (Flickr Creative Commons)

We just wrapped up our series looking at the nation’s infrastructure and how it plays out here in Connecticut. We started off with the awe-inspiring world of skyscrapers, which are reaching deeper into the heavens than ever before. This featured an interview with New Haven-based architect César Pelli who’s best known for designing the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Besides having one of the best laughs we’ve heard on Where We Live, Mr. Pelli explained why he thinks we like skyscrapers so much:

“Skyscrapers have an almost mystical quality. They are these very vertical elements against the sky that reminds me of the human figure, which is very important because the human figure is almost unique among animals that we walk so very vertically, it goes against all reason. It’s much simpler and safer to walk on four feet than just on two. Our head, our eyes, our vision of the world is at the very tip of this vertical element. And I see skyscrapers having similar qualities as human beings.”

Our other guest on the show was Kate Ascher, who wrote the beautiful book The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper. In response to Mr. Pelli’s quote she said, “I’ve never really thought about skyscrapers as having a human figure so that’s an incredibly interesting way to think about it and I will probably forever think about them going forward like that.”

It might be one of the reasons children try to build the tallest sand castle or Lego tower. Speaking of Legos, they actually have an architecture series where you can build structures ranging from the White House to the Seattle Space Needle to the Burj Khalifa. They don’t have the Petronas Towers yet but you can vote for them to be included in the series here.

On the heels of skyscrapers, we tackled the not-quite-as-sexy topic of bridges. According to one report, 9.2% of Connecticut’s bridges are “structurally deficient.” Does that mean we should be holding our breath when driving over bridges? Absolutely not.

Tom Harley is the Chief Engineer at Connecticut’s Department of Transportation and he said that a structurally deficient bridge might have:

“…a great deal of rust around one of the connections,  some of the steel has begun to corrode away and there’s not quite as much steel there as we had intended to when we designed the bridge. Maybe there is a reason for us to reduce the load rating on a bridge and therefore have to post it and detour larger vehicles around the structure.”

Some of the most popular bridges in Connecticut are those on the Merritt Parkway, which are far more appealing to look at than billboards. One caller asked if the bridges were designed by Yale students, but they were actually designed by one guy: George Dunkelberger.

Photo: Bev Norton (Flickr Creative Commons)

And finally, how could we do an infrastructure series without talking about roads? They’re something that have become ingrained in the human experience from religion to popular culture. Ted Conover wrote the book The Routes of Man: How Roads are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today. It’s another book that is worth checking out and is part of the unofficial “John Dankosky Book Club” (watch out Oprah). We asked our Twitter followers what their favorite roads in Connecticut are. Here are a few of our favorite responses:

• @ryanhanrahan: Rural road on shoreline with unspoiled views of the Sound and marshes. I hate I-84 lol.
• @CouncilorCotto: Mountain Road going towards West Farms Mall is awesome if you go just a little over the speed limit…lotta dips..#rollercoaster
• @edwardgaug: Hatchet Hill Rd. in E. Granby is one of my favorites to drive. Reservoir/Shuttle Meadow in Southington is best on motorcycle.
• @ConnHistSoc: Found this map the other day. Did you know Sisson was once New Cross Rd & Hubbard St? yfrog.com/kl8qgryj

Photo: Michael Krigsman (Flickr Creative Commons)

Mr. Conover also pointed out all of the great road metaphors, which he thinks are the most common kind of metaphor out there. In the epilogue of The Roads of Man, he shares some of his favorites:

“The road to x is paved with y. That idea is up my alley. Don’t worry about the road ahead – it’s a straight shot. There’s a lot going on under the hood. Now that you’re in the driver’s seat, you’re going to want to avoid that deer in the headlights. You’ll also want to take a peek in the rear-view mirror. When you reach the crossroads, look both ways. If you keep going the way you’re headed, you’re going to drive it into the ground. It’s a total dead end. But the straight shot, that one’s paved with gold, so let’s green-light it. Let’s step on it!”

Our friend Jennifer added one of her favorite road-related quotes from The Muppet Movie: “Bear left. Right, Frog.”

And of course as the great Yogi Berra said, “When you come to a fork in the road…take it.”

Thanks for letting us geek out on this infrastructure series.

Transit Oriented

by John Dankosky - Our conversation about mass transit on yesterday’s Where We Live covered some familiar ground for us: The Hartford-New Britain Busway project and The Springfield-New Haven commuter rail line.  But as I got to thinking about these topics, I realized we probably can’t talk enough about projects that – when combined – will cost more than $1 billion and could radically transform the look and life of many communities.

Our friend Tom Condon raised some of the same concerns of New York Times blogger Nate Silver when talking about the new Brookings report on transit and jobs in the top 100 metro areas (equally incredulous that Modesto, Calif. seems to rate more “transit-friendly than New York).  We also raised a question about the study’s treatment of cities like Bridgeport, where residents’ usage of transit to get to work was only really studied within that metro area.  Meaning that the thousands who hop the train to head to work in New York City weren’t counted.  For his part, co-author Alan Berube defended the work, and suggested that this was just the first step in a larger process.

Future site of Enfield train station, by Serri Graslie, WNPR

Serri Graslie, our soon-to-depart NPR Kroc fellow has been following the preparation in towns along the rail line, and has gotten her fill of buzzwords like “density” and “transit-oriented” and “multi-modal.”  Her reporting on Enfield and Meriden reveals two communities with different ideas about how a commuter line might help them rebuild and transform.  One of my favorite images from her story about Enfield is from the town’s community development director Peter Bryanton:

As he drives down a narrow road abutted by overgrown trees and the train tracks, Bryanton points out two houses — one is boarded up, the other looks occupied. Both are hardly 15 feet from the tracks.

“I’ll tell ya, you see these houses here how close they are to the tracks? When that train comes by, you know it. Because it’s buzzing through here at about 50 miles an hour.”

The implication: Maybe someday, they’ll actually slow down and let people off here.

We also heard voices from New Britain, where the busway project seems much closer to reality than an Enfield train station.  Our collected Courant columnists, Kevin Rennie and Condon split on the merits of the idea, Rennie reinforcing his description of the plan as a “boondoggle,” while Condon told us he’d come around to the concept.  To hear what people in New Britain think, I encourage you to check out CCSU journalism students’ “Project Main Street” an examination of the what the busway might mean to the city.  I especially like Matt Clyburn’s virtual busway ride, where he follows the path of the new commuter option from downtown New Britain to the proposed Sigourney Street stop next to Aetna in Hartford.

Commuter Rail Advocate Asks: “Where Are The New Cars?”

by matt.hintsa/flickr creative commons/A Metro North Commuter Railroad train arrives at Westport station

by John Dankosky - The Chairman of Connecticut’s Commuter Rail Council wants to know why new Metro-North train cars still aren’t in service.  He’s asked officials from the manufacturer and the company testing the cars to attend a meeting tonight in Stamford.

The new Kawasaki M8 cars were purchased six years ago at a cost of $866 million dollars.  They were meant to solve a big problem on the busiest commuter train service in America – the Metro-North New Haven line.

“The cars we have are a legacy of the neglect that the state has paid to transportation for decades.  They are 35 years old – they’re older than many of the passengers on the trains – they’re falling apart,” said Jim Cameron, the Chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council.  ”The real question is where are the new M8 cars?”

Well, the answer is, they’ve been delayed again and again – first by a shortage of steel to make the cars, then because of problems found during testing.  Cameron has asked – unsuccessfully – for officials from Kawasaki and LTK, the consultants running the testing to appear in front of his council.  They’re not expected to be at the Commuter Council’s gathering at Stamford’s Government Center at 7 p.m. tonight.

“I don’t understand why commuters can’t get a straight answer from consultants that are getting paid 27 million dollars, who are involved with this testing on a daily basis, why these trains aren’t in service,” Cameron told WNPR’s Where We Live.

And, Cameron says they’re desperately needed, with the current fleet of cars being decimated by winter weather.  Because so many of the older cars are out of service, Metro-North has cut back its schedule on the New Haven line by ten percent.  Cameron says the new cars would help during what he’s called a “winter crisis.”

“Interim commissioner Parker of the DOT testified two weeks ago that the trains will probably be in service mid to late February.  Hello…it’s mid February, and their trains are no closer to being in service,” Cameron said.

DOT Commissioner Jeffrey Parker told Where We Live that the trains are in the final stage of testing, and should meet that deadline.  ”As I’ve always said, the testing is dynamic, and problems could crop up that would delay us, but as I stand here today, that’s what we’re headed for,”  Parker said.

And, Parker says that commuters should separate the long-term need for new rail cars, and the problems caused by the worst winter weather in decades.  He said that even if the new M8s were in service, it wouldn’t have led to “salvation” for the New Haven Line riders, jammed onto overcrowded trains.

Parker said the crowding on trains isn’t “terrible” this winter, but says that, on average, 1,000 to 2,00o more people are standing during their commutes than usual with the reduced schedule.   That’s out of 140,00 people a day.  But, Parker admits, “I’ve been on those trains, and forced to stand, and it’s not a comfortable thing.”

As for Cameron’s repeated request for Kawasaki and LTK to attend tonight’s commuter forum to answer questions about the delay, Parker doesn’t see the need.  He’ll be there, he says, along with a project official from Metro-North.  ”We really don’t want to have a real in-depth complex conversation about the inner workings of the car,” Parker told me.  ”Bringing in an electrical engineer who knows how the car works internally is not the best use of time for us.”

Tonight’s meeting of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council takes place at 7 p.m. at Stamford’s Government Center.

Stuck In Traffic? Floss Your Teeth.

by Catie Talarski

From Richard Florida, in The Atlantic:

Commuting is a waste of energy and time, and carries with it enormous economic costs. Commuting costs America an estimated $90 billion dollars per year in terms of lost productivity and wasted energy, according to the annual Urban Mobility Report… Every minute shaved off America’s commuting time is worth an estimated $19.5 billion dollars.  That translates into $97.7 billion for five minutes, $195 billion for 10 minutes, and $292 billion for every 15 minutes saved nationally.

daveynin, creative commons

While researching tomorrow’s show on the dreaded Interstate 95, I’ve come across a few time-filling activities for all you folks stuck in hours of traffic on a weekly basis.

Of course there are the obvious physical activities: stretching, butt clenching, or deep breathing exercises.  But how about car care, teeth cleaning, or exploring all those buttons on your blackberry? Do you want traffic info sent straight to your phone?  There’s an app for that. (TIP: Download it BEFORE getting stuck in traffic).

Spike has their own list of outlandish stuck-in-traffic activities including nose picking, honking for no good reason, and having an existential crisis.  You could also catch up on phone calls and texts, but use caution! In Connecticut (like Massachusetts) you can still get a ticket, even in traffic.  You don’t want to increase your chances of rear-ending another car, after all.  Then you’ll be even more late to work… and your boss won’t like that.

yummiec00kies, creative commons

If you’ve tried ALL these tips, and are still impatient and full of rage… know that the web is full of resources to help people just like you.

Or you can channel your rage towards Congress.

But, in the meantime, at least you can find a delicious place to eat.

(Check out the NPR series “I-95: The Road Most Traveled“)

Governor Going Up The Pike?

by John Dankosky -

UPDATE: The Governor is going!  So says chief of staff Lisa Moody.  Hopefully the Governor will catch the nice sea breeze in Bahstan.

Tom Dudchik at Capitol Report posted a headline that made me laugh today. It’s a link to a press release by the National Governors Association about their next meeting coming up this weekend in Boston. The headline: “Will She Go?”  Mass. Governor Deval Patrick is inviting the nation’s governors for what he hopes will be “an exciting and productive three days,” but we don’t know if Governor Jodi Rell will make the 1.5 hour trip up the Mass. Pike to attend.

This space, and many others, found a combination of humor, surprise and head-shaking sadness in the story from February that Governor Rell was blowing off a chance to meet with colleagues and the Obama administration at the NGA meeting in Washington.

The funny?  Well, there’s the fact that Rell didn’t make the trip down 95, but the Governor of American Samoa did (that’s a 15 hour trip, don’t ya know?).

The surprising?  Given our state’s continuing budget woes, Rell’s decision not to travel may seem sensible. But as we reported in February, the state has paid its NGA dues, and it seems more sensible to take part in the activities that we’re already paying for.

Holding out hope?  As DOT commissioner Joe Marie leaves, so too does his leadership in regional rail planning.  It will be interesting to see if Governor Rell makes it up to Boston to grab Connecticut’s rightful place at the center of the Northeast transportation discussion.  As current gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel put it back in February, our state needs a “hungry governor” so that other states won’t “eat our lunch.”

It’s fair to say that another NGA meeting gives Connecticut a chance to get to the head of the national lunch line.  My first call today will be to the Governor’s office to see if she’ll attend…I’ll let you know what I find out.

Marie Leaves DOT, Leaves Questions Behind

by John Dankosky – To a person, every single conversation I’ve had about outgoing Connecticut DOT Commissioner Joe Marie has been positive.  That’s mostly because as Ed Mahoney correctly puts it in today’s Courant, Marie was credited with “turning the focus of one of the largest and most expensive components of state government from road-building to mass transit.”

That’s a turn the troubled state department long needed – and Marie seemed to be making headway.  And that’s not just in Connecticut, either.  Marie seemed to understand – in a way that the Rell administration hasn’t always – that Connecticut’s geography makes it a major player among Northeast states…that we need to aggressively work together on big problems.

Marie was an advocate for the New Haven to Springfield rail line, that not only connected our major cities, but also connected us to Massachusetts and points North. Marie discussed the plans with us on Where We Live last March.

As Don DeFronzo of the state Transportation Committee told The Connecticut Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf, Marie was the point man for the project:

Not just for Connecticut but for New England,” in pursuing federal aid for a proposed $800 million commuter rail line initiative designed to serve communities between New Haven and Springfield, Mass. Connecticut already has secured about $40 million in federal aid and applications for a second round of funding are due in August, DeFronzo added.

But, as Keith also reports, Marie’s department may have had a vision bigger than it’s pocketbook would allow:

In a report issued earlier this year, the transportation department projected a $926.4 million gap between the cost of planned highway, bridge and transit projects for the next five years, and the level of anticipated funding available.

And state workers wonder about the timing of Marie’s departure, too.  They’ve been sparring with Marie over contracting issues, and union spokesman Matt O’Connor told The Mirror, “His departure in the midst of this series of contracting questions left unanswered is certainly cause for concern.”

Deputy Jeff Parker takes over immediately.  We’ll try to get him on the show soon.

High Speed Rail Back in the News

by John Dankosky – It’s been one of our favorite topics, but now it seems that everyone’s excited about prospects for high speed rail in Connecticut.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was back in Connecticut to give his stamp of approval to the state’s efforts to connect Springfield and New Haven.  As WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, LaHood was “optimistic.” Mark Pazniokas of the Connecticut Mirror went further, calling the Secretary’s visit a “face-saving pat on the back” for a state that’s been a big loser in federal funding recently.  LaHood also uttered a phrase not heard around these parts much:

“Connecticut has its act together”

Meanwhile, Pat Scully at the blog “The Hanging Shad” says that the state’s plan to build a Hartford to New Britain busway should be scrapped for more rail development:

“Yes, we’ve already spent millions on the busway and it’s expected that a federal grant of $220 million for the project will come through soon but neither is a reason to keep after building a roadway we will be stuck with forever and most importantly, nobody will ride.”

Scully says it’s “throwing good money after bad” – but from what we know, that money can only be used for the busway project.  The state’s not likely to forfeit it – even if the plan doesn’t fit with a larger “vision” for rail in the state.

The Wheels on the State Go Round and Round…

by John Dankosky and Brenna Chiaputti – Following up on our “Smart Growth” conversation, I wanted to draw your attention to some other news we talked about on the show.

Yesterday at the CT Transit Hartford Maintenance District facility, Governor Jodi Rell stood in front of one of the first of the many new buses that will be purchased with the  $152 million dollars Connecticut received from federal stimulus funds for transit projects and purchases.

Rell said the first twenty buses will go to replace older buses at the New Britain/Bristol Transit division, which has the oldest buses in the state.  The state is also buying 77 buses for the CT Transit operations in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Waterbury, 28 commuter coaches for the express bus fleet that operates into Hartford and five commuter coaches to run the I-Bus from Stamford to White Plains, N.Y. with stimulus funds.

And, she got to sit in the driver’s seat.

Governor Rell takes a drive - photo by Chion Wolf

For more pictures by Chion Wolf of Governor Rell’s day behind the wheel, click here.