Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the purpose of this study?
- How long will this study take?
- What is the study area?
- What is the role of the Study Advisory Committee?
- How can the public get involved?
- How soon will improvements be implemented in these rail corridors?
What is the purpose of this study?
This study is intended to evaluate service and facilities in the Waterbury and New Canaan Branch lines to determine possible improvements and the general costs and effects of those improvements. The study will analyze the existing service and operations in the Waterbury and New Canaan branch line corridors. A long list of preliminary alternative improvements will be developed and screened, leading to a short list of the most viable and feasible candidate alternatives. This short list will then be evaluated to develop study recommendations. Based on study findings, along with input from stakeholders and the public, the result of this study will be a plan identifying a set of potential transit improvements in both corridors.
How long will this study take?
This study will be carried out over an approximate 18 month period concluding in late 2009.
What is the study area?
Two separate corridors along the Waterbury and New Canaan Branches of Metro-North’s New Haven line will be studied. The Waterbury Branch Line corridor extends 27 miles between the Waterbury and Bridgeport rail stations. The New Canaan Branch Line corridor extends 9.9 miles between the New Canaan and Stamford stations. The study area will include the related roadway networks and adjacent land uses that may be affected by various alternatives, but the focus of this planning effort is the service and facilities in the rail corridors.
What is the role of the Study Advisory Committee?
The Study Advisory Committee (SAC ) will provide information and guidance to the study team. The SAC will meet four times at key milestone points during the study. It will include representatives of state, regional and municipal agencies as well as organizations or groups with a special interest in the transportation system in the study corridors of the Waterbury and New Canaan Branch lines.
How can the public get involved?
There are a variety of opportunities for the public to participate and provide input to the study team:
- Public information meetings will provide the public with a formal opportunity to view study activities and provide input. Four public information meetings—two in each corridor--will be held at key study milestones throughout the study.
- This website allows the public to track the progress of the study and receive notice of public meetings. It also provides an avenue for submitting comments directly to the Study Team.
- Several surveys, a passenger survey and a zip code survey, will be conducted in targeted areas within the study corridors to gain feedback about the needs of branch line users and non-users.
- Targeted stakeholder outreach meetings will be conducted to ensure comprehensive representation from all stakeholders in the study area. These meetings will allow input from a variety of individuals with a broad range of perspectives on the transportation system. These meetings will ensure that many perspectives are heard.
How soon will improvements be implemented in these rail corridors?
This planning study is the first step in identifying what improvements are needed and can be accommodated. There are many steps that still need to be completed, following determination of the recommendations that will result from this planning effort. Major, longer term recommendations may have to undergo a detailed environmental impact analysis and documentation process, followed by an engineering design process. Shorter term or less complex recommendations may be identified for implementation in the nearer term (5 - 10 years).
This planning effort will develop an initial “long list” of preliminary alternatives that may suggest many possibilities, including improved branch line facilities and service, express bus routes, station improvements and others. From this initial long list of alternatives, a short list of the most feasible and viable candidate alternatives will be developed, using a set of evaluation criteria that will be determined early in the study process. Later in the study, a description of these alternatives will be available on this website.
