Pavia: Stamford To Tackle Transportation in 2012

STAMFORD, Conn. — Making it easier to move to, from and through Stamford is one of Mayor Michael Pavia’s goals for 2012.

With companies such as Chelsea Piers, NBC Sports and others coming to the city within the year, Pavia said something needs to be done to reduce the number of cars on the roads. The mayor has previously said a 5 percent increase in traffic would cause total gridlock.

“I am starting to see a lot of out-of-state license plates,” Pavia said of the influx of people to Stamford.

The biggest improvements will come to the Stamford Transportation Center, which will undergo several renovations with the help of a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant worth $10.5 million. It could be up to $25 million with the addition of private funds received in December, he said.

The changes will make the station more “user-friendly,” Pavia said. The project will include the addition of a pedestrian ramp to connect the eastbound platform to Atlantic Street, improvements to allow the station to handle more riders and streetscape fixes for safety.

“You don’t want to challenge them with a gauntlet,” Pavia said, describing how pedestrians going to and from the transportation center must navigate poorly lit walkways and busy streets.

The city will also be looking to enhance shuttle bus services from the transportation center to central business locations similar to the one at Harbor Point, Pavia said. He also said he is considering the addition of bus lanes, as he saw in Peru, to make public buses run faster and more smoothly.

“That is a reality. That is something that can happen,” Pavia said.

Other improvements that will be put in place include additional traffic lights and turning lanes, but nothing else major will be added in 2012, Pavia said. The city may also try to push the use of buses, carpools and other forms of mass transportation.

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