Stamford Commuters Want Train Station Garage To Stay Put

STAMFORD, Conn. — Although the Department of Transportation may be undecided on where to build a new train station parking garage, Stamford commuters are not. They want the new garage built exactly where the current one is.

“I find the ‘let them walk one-quarter mile’ attitude repugnant,” Michael Young of Stamford said during a public hearing Thursday at Stamford High School. The DOT is considering sites for a new garage within a quarter-mile radius of the train station. The current garage is across the street from the Stamford Transportation Center and is connected by a walkway.

“Why take away something so successful,” Rodney Chabot of Darien said, adding that the current location keeps people out of the snow and rain. He said he would be willing to walk a distance temporarily while the new garage was built.

“It’s cost effective to me, it’s my federal dollars, my state dollars, my town dollars and my $10 a day,” Esther Giordano of Stamford said.

The new garage would be built through a public-private partnership with each side putting up at least $35 million, said James Redeker, commission of the Department of Transportation. An initial design should be done next year, he said.

The new garage would have at least 1,000 spaces to replace the one built in 1987, expand availability of parking and improve traffic and pedestrian flow around the station. The plan would minimize public costs for construction, maintenance and other operations, said the Environmental Impact Evaluation of the project.

In the study, the DOT analyzed four options for the garage: taking no action with minimal garage repairs, repairing the original garage, replacing the original garage on the existing site and replacing the original garage with Transit-Oriented Development.

While construction is done, handicapped spaces will be moved to the lot built in 2004, Redeker said. Additional parking will be made available within a quarter-mile of the station, he said. 

People can submit comments until Oct. 5 by email to dot.environmentalplanning@ct.gov or by mail to Mark W. Alexander, Transportation Assistant Planning Director, P.O. Box 317546, Newington, CT 06131-7546.

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