SNOW, SALT AND UNPLUGGED PROMISES

Connecticut seems to be surviving the recent series of winter storms the way it always does: with salt, overtime, and lowered expectations.  Life must go on and we’re all counting on CDOT to keep us moving.

So kudos to their 900 drivers and 650 trucks that worked tirelessly to first, pre-treat some 10,000 “lane miles” our state highways with salt brine, then plow the snow when it came. 

If only our municipalities did as good a job.

Drive from town to town and you’ll see a vast difference in road clearing.  In some, because cars were taken off the road before the storm, streets are clear.  In others where cars were left parked at the curb, it may take days to chisel them out from the icy berms caused by plowing… like some sort of archeological dig.

Still to be excavated as well are dozens and dozens of bus stops across the state.

Kudos also to our railroads which, even in the teeth of a giant snow and ice storm, kept service running, albeit at a reduced level.  Where other states’ railroads pre-emptively shut down before the storm (think NJTransit), Connecticut’s trains kept running.

Amtrak did what Amtrak always does in a storm: run enough trains to claim victory while canceling enough to remind you who they are.  A week later and they’re still struggling.

As I wrote last week, rail riders deserve open waiting rooms and cleared platforms at stations (a service usually provided by local towns).  But one experiment in keeping platforms clear of ice and snow without using tons of rock salt has proven something of a disappointment.

I refer to the state’s boldest experiment yet:  electrically-heated station platforms in Darien!  What could possibly go wrong?

Back in 2023 a $32 million contract was awarded by CDOT to rebuild crumbling station infrastructure at Darien with new platforms heated by electricity… the first such project in the state. 

Now, explain the math to me:  how will we pay some of the highest electric rates in the US to melt snow vs the cost of human shovelers and bags of salt?  Where’s the savings?

Admittedly there’s more to this particular contract… better speakers for train announcements, improved lighting, public information display boards, new elevators, ADA-compliant ramps and sidewalks, and EV charging infrastructure. But we’re talking 32 million taxpayer dollars!

Work on the whole project was due for completion by the middle of this year, but almost immediately the project ran into trouble. 

Demolition of the old platforms encountered unmapped underground utilities and unexpected infrastructure requiring extra work.  The original steel railing vendor went bankrupt.  The completion date was pushed back and another $6 million was added to the cost.  Funny how that happens.

Last November the first half of the project was finally done but they’re far from being finished.  The elevators still aren’t running and only half of the platforms have been replaced.

But how did the one new electrically-heated platform do in the recent ice and snow storm?  Just OK.

Heated Platform - Darien

The one platform that is working (on the NY-bound side of the station) seems to have fared well in the recent storm.  But Eversource says it is still waiting for paperwork from CDOT as well as state and local inspections before they can throw the switch on the other side.  And CDOT says they’re waiting for Eversource to return a signed agreement.

And we’re all waiting for Spring.

 

WINTER TRAVEL HACKS

I hate Winter.  And Winter hates transportation.

Growing up in The Great White North (Canada, eh?), Winter seemed to last about six months.  This Winter in Connecticut seems even longer.  But feet of snow and sub-freezing temperatures don’t have to stop you if you follow some tried and true travel hacks.

TRAVELING BY CAR:

If a storm is coming, get your car off the street and into a garage.  That way the trucks can plow and you don’t have to dig out your ride.  If you do have to clean off your car after a storm, include the roof in your efforts.  Otherwise your car may start launching “ice missiles” at unsuspecting targets as you’re driving down I-84.  That can mean a fine and possible injury to others.

Keep your gas tank full.  Your windshield washer tank too… with ice-melting fluids, not water.  Replace worn wipers before winter storms.  Frozen, shredded rubber on dirty glass turns night driving into roulette.

When you start your engine, let it idle for at least 20 to 30 seconds before driving to ensure adequate oil distribution.  Don’t race the engine.  This isn’t Daytona, and cold oil doesn’t respond well to your enthusiasm.

Drive with your traction control turned on and proceed with caution.  Just because you’re in a SUV, don’t assume that because your car is bigger it’s safer.

Check your tires.  For every 10 degree drop in temperature you lose one PSI in tire pressure.  Under-inflated tires mean longer stopping distances (before factoring in the ice), lower fuel economy and higher risk of blowouts.

If you’re in an EV anticipate that your car won’t charge as well in the cold.  And expect to lose 20-40% of your normal driving range.  Pre-conditioning the battery while plugged in can claw back some of that mileage.

Without sounding like a scolding parent, just assume the worst because Winter always does. Keep an emergency kit handy: a blanket, flashlight, phone charger, and gloves in the car aren’t paranoia, they’re planning.

TRAVELING BY TRAIN:

While train travel is much safer in bad weather, it’s not immune to physics.  Sub-zero temperatures are the enemy of all things mechanical.

To their credit, Connecticut’s railroads have a much better record of performance in Winter than in years past when service was pre-emptively cancelled to avoid stranding passengers.  But remember… parts of this railroad are 100+ years old and centenarians don’t like playing in the snow.

While apps like TrainTime have vastly improved communications, they’re not perfect.  Trust your eyes and crowd-source any mistake you see to our Twitter account (@CTRailCommuters) to advise your fellow riders.

If your station’s waiting room is locked or the platform is not shoveled / sanded, document it and call your Town Hall.  Commuters deserve heat and a safe path to their train.

Grabbing the first train in the morning darkness turns you into a guinea pig as it encounters frozen switches and doors so later trains don’t have to.  Overhead power lines can snap and strand you without heat, so opt for diesel powered trains if they’re an option.

And don’t forget to download and activate your ticket before boarding in case cell service is lost and you’re hit with an $8 fine under Metro-North’s new rules.

Keep your cell phone (and its Winter-hating battery) fully charged and close to your body heat to preserve its power.  Stashing your phone in a bag or outside pocket will drain your power quickly.

Finally, ask yourself “Is this trip really necessary?”  Sometimes the smartest winter travel decision is deciding not to travel at all.

PRIVACY IS DEAD

OMG!  Wegman’s supermarkets are using artificial intelligence and facial recognition?   Outrageous!  Alert the authorities!  Cancel dinner!

Never mind the fact that on your way to shop you passed by dozens of video cameras and license plate readers.  Or the fact that your cellphone has been constantly pinging your location enroute.  Attention shoppers:  you have no privacy!

Supermarkets are not alone in their use of this tech.  CVS, Home Depot, Macy’s, Target and Walmart do too.  They say it’s just for controlling theft (of which there is plenty), but I’m not buying it.  By knowing your face they know everything about you:  your online shopping history, social media posts and credit history.

With digital price shelf tags that update in seconds, the only real question is how long before the algorithm decides your face looks like it can afford to pay another 12 percent.

Even turning on your cellphone may involve recognizing your face.  Calling Customer Service?  They may use voice recognition or even measure your tone of voice for signs of stress and frustration.

Airlines can deduce the reason for that last minute trip you’re booking.  If it’s for a funeral, critics wonder if they might charge you more because you absolutely need to travel ASAP.  Airlines insist they’d never raise fares because you’re flying to a funeral.  Of course not. They just happened to notice you booked one way, last minute, to Des Moines… right after your phone searched for “obituary.”

And when you do board your flight, it may be facial recognition scans that will get you on the plane, not just a boarding pass.  Coming home from overseas your quick processing will depend on facial scanning by Customs and Border Patrol.

Did you buy anything overseas you didn’t declare?  With a few (pesky but legal) steps, your credit card statement becomes a travel diary, complete with timestamps, locations, and a helpful list of things you “forgot” to declare.

Want to catch a Knicks or Rangers game at Madison Square Garden?  Facial recognition may deny you access, even with a ticket, if you’re a lawyer who’s sued them in the past.  Justice may be blind, but MSG security definitely isn’t.

In your car your face is less visible so companies like Flock depend on your license plates, color and model of your vehicle to ID you.  That’s why cops are cracking down on obscured or “ghost” plates used to avoid tolls, the automotive equivalent of shoplifting.  Here’s a site showing Flock cameras near you.

Flock also can also deploy drones to keep an eye on things… useful in law enforcement but a bit too scary for the Bridgeport City Council which, in a rare moment of restraint,  overwhelmingly rejected a $500,000 contract covered by state funding.

Bridgeport joins a growing list of cities rejecting Flock out of privacy and data-sharing concerns.  Those cities claim that Flock does more than scan license plates, but also the faces of protestors.  And shares its data with the Feds.

Imagine the possibilities.

In China facial recognition identifies jay-walking pedestrians, shames them publicly and gives them demerits.  Rack up too many points and you must take re-education classes… and you’re not allowed to ride high speed trains.

Washington got upset about TikTok and its ties to China.  The Feds panic about a funny app while quietly building their own all-seeing data ecosystem.

Not that there’s much you can do, at this point.  Privacy is dead.  Our lives are an open book.  The only question left is who’s still pretending not to read it.  

STRAWBERRIES IN JANUARY ?

Over the holidays a dear friend sent me a wonderful present.  Not the proverbial “muffin basket” (of which I write so often), but a fresh fruit bonanza from Edible Arrangements that looked like a bouquet of flowers… beautiful and oh so tasty!

As we devoured the perfectly ripe melon and delicious strawberries, it got me thinking about how lucky we in Connecticut are to be able to enjoy fresh, out-of-season fruit in the depths of winter.  But how it makes its way to our supermarkets is not only a tale of botany but of logistics and long-distance transportation at some cost to our environment: nature assisted by fossil fuels.

Take for example:

STRAWBERRIES:   Mostly from Mexico, these are trucked but are prone to spoilage, hence the price.  Trade disputes and seasonal Customs duties have periodically increased costs, also affecting avocados and berries.  Climate impact:  relatively high.

ORANGES:            Mostly from California and Florida, this fruit is picked, washed, sanitized, sorted and packed within 24 hours of ripening on the vine.  Stored at 38 – 45 degrees Fahrenheit in refrigerated trucks it begins a four to six day drive cross-country.  At food distribution hubs the truckloads are broken into smaller lots for local delivery.  Climate impact:  moderate.

GRAPES:     Your favorite snacking fruit has come a long way… 5000+ miles from Chile.  After harvest the grapes are chilled to 32 degrees and packed in “reefers”, refrigerated shipping containers, for the 12 – 14 day ocean voyage to ports like Wilmington DE and Philadelphia for trucking to Connecticut.  Climate impact:  lower due to shipment by sea.

BLUEBERRIES:      These are grown in Chile and Peru, hand-picked, washed, graded and packaged for refrigerated shipment to the US by boat.  Climate impact:  lower per‑pound impact because sea freight is fuel‑efficient.

BANANAS:   This is the perfect fruit for long-distance delivery.  In Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia bananas grow on massive bunches weighing about 100 pounds.  Harvested while green and fully mature (but not ripe), they are washed, cut and packed into 40-pound boxes which must be stored at exactly 56 – 58 degrees and shipped in reefers with sophisticated monitoring of oxygen and CO2 levels.  After their 8 – 14 day ocean journey to the US East Coast they are trucked to huge ripening facilities where ethylene gas is slowly added.  In about a week they’re ready for local stores.  Climate impact:  relatively low.

PINEAPPLES:        Almost all come from Costa Rica and Ecuador, not Hawaii. Picked almost fully-ripe, they are packed and shipped in reefers at a steady 45 – 50 degrees.  From harvesting to our local stores it’s a 10 to 16 day journey.  Climate impact:  moderate.

MELONS:     Cantaloupe and honeydew are largely imported from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico in winter, with the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean sources supplying some specialty melons.  Climate impact:   moderate due to long distance reefer trucking.

LOCAL GREENHOUSES:           Not everything we enjoy in the winter is imported as some Connecticut greenhouse keep turning out leafy greens, some tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs year round.  Climate impact: Minimal transport needs are offset by substantial winter heating requirements, which can give greenhouse crops a higher overall climate impact than their short travel distance might suggest.

So the next time you’re standing in the produce aisle, marveling at strawberries that taste like July, remember you’re not just buying fruit:  you’re looking at the literal ‘fruits’ of a globe-spanning transportation system running on diesel, refrigeration, container ships, human beings and carefully timed logistics.  It’s a small reminder that our everyday conveniences quietly depend on a vast transportation network, one we rarely think about until those strawberries show up in the dead of winter.

 

WHO'S RUNNING THIS RAILROAD?

As we all adjust to the crazy new ticketing rules on Metro-North, it’s an appropriate time to step back and explain the bizarre patchwork of ownership and responsibility that makes our state’s railroads possible.  Because, when problems arise we should know who to blame and hold accountable.

If you’ve ever wondered who’s actually in charge when your train is late, your ticket doesn’t scan, and parking enforcement is already writing you up, congratulations, you’ve stumbled upon the mysteries of Connecticut rail governance.

You may not realize it, but a single train ride on commuter rail in our state may be touched by seven or more different agencies, each responsible for a different part of your ride.

THE RAILROAD TRACKS:         Fortunately, the State of CT owns the railroad tracks, signals, power lines and right-of-way from Greenwich to New Haven, the largest section of the Northeast Corridor that is not owned by Amtrak.  That gives us more control of ‘our’ trains.  But Amtrak owns the tracks, etc. north of New Haven to Massachusetts (aka The Hartford Line) and east of New Haven (Shore Line East) to New London.

THE STATIONS:     Here’s where it gets more confusing.  Most train stations in the state are owned by CDOT but a few are owned by the towns and cities where they are located.  In some cases the town owns the station but it sits on CDOT-owned land. 

As for who is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the stations, it’s usually the owner but CDOT contracts with third parties to run big stations like Stamford, New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.  Remember this when you’re slip-sliding on the platform waiting for your train.

STATION PARKING:         Parking at the stations is ultimately controlled by CDOT as they own most of the parking lots.  At the big stations with parking structures (Stamford and New Haven, for example) CDOT hires third parties to run the show.  In the smaller towns, where CDOT owns the land, they may lease it to the towns to operate.

The cost of parking is often determined by the local authorities, in most cases the towns or agents of CDOT.  On CDOT-owned land the parking is available to all, regardless of where you live.  In town-owned lots, rates and even access can be limited to local residents.

Commuter rail may be regional, but parking policy seems aggressively parochial.

THE TRAIN CARS:           On the New Haven line, CDOT owns about half of the railcars with Metro-North (MTA) owning the rest.  On Shore Line East and The Hartford Line, CDOT owns the cars except those operated with Amtrak equipment.

TRAIN OPERATIONS:      CDOT hires Metro-North to run the trains on the New Haven line and branches.  The two agencies work under an “operating agreement” the size of a Manhattan phone book and just as readable.  On Shore Line East the trains are run by Amtrak and on The Hartford Line some trains are run by Amtrak and others by a CDOT contractor, TransitAmerica.

SCHEDULES:         CDOT tells Metro-North the level of service they want and then works with that agency on how to deliver it (given financial constraints in their state budget).  On Shore Line East and The Hartford Line it’s a similar deal, but this time working with Amtrak.

THE FARES:          CDOT sets commuter fares for trains in our state, not Metro-North or Amtrak.  The fares usually increase in lockstep: the latest MTA fare hike in NY soon to be matched by July’s CDOT fare increase.

 

How does all this work out for you, the rider?  How can a single train trip be touched by so many state and local agencies, towns and city departments?

The short answer is… it does work, sort of.  But it leaves passengers confused when it doesn’t.  If you get a parking ticket at the station, do you think Metro-North is to blame?  If your train is running late or over-crowded, who do you call?

Ours is an imperfect system, a relic of decades of bi-state compromises, overlapping authorities, and well-meaning bureaucrats and operators doing their best inside a structure that practically guarantees confusion.

"BEST OF 2025"

Jim Cameron's Talking Transportation columns are some of the best-read pieces on our site.  And while Jim takes some holiday time off this week, here are his five most widely read columns from 2025 for readers to re-enjoy -- or fume over, whichever is the case.

No. 5: Avelo Airlines — neither woke nor broke.

While understandable, public anger over Avelo Airlines' contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fly deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security is misplaced.

Read the column here.

 

No. 4: Blinded by the (head) light

You are driving down a dark narrow road and suddenly blinded by an oncoming pair of headlights. !!X#&%($!!! Where's the road? Am I going to crash? Why is this happening and what can I do?

Read the column here.

 

No. 3: CT’s Real ID deadline is looming

Quick. Look at your Connecticut driver’s license! If you don’t see a gold star in the upper right corner, you’ll soon be unable to use that as ID to fly.

Read the column here.

 

No. 2: Shapiro’s Folly – a bridge over Long Island Sound

How did we get sucked into a debate about a project that every transportation expert I spoke with said just won’t happen?

Read the column here.

 

...And on to the most-read Talking Transportation column of the year...

No. 1: Out-of-state license plates are costing CT towns big money

“This is the number one form of tax evasion in Connecticut.  Connecticut is losing millions annually and our DMV does not care.” So says the president of the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers.

Read the year's best-read column here.

Best wishes for a Happy “News Year”!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO I-84

Happy Birthday to Interstate 84.  You’re now 64 and you look every mile of it… truly the ouroboros of CT highways

Last week marked yet another birthday for Interstate 84 in Connecticut, first opened on December 16, 1961, a milestone that deserves candles, cake, and perhaps a moment of silence for every commuter who has ever thought, “How is this highway still not finished?”

Back in the 60’s, I-84 wasn’t just a highway.  It was a promise.  The sleek, modern “Yankee Expressway” would whisk drivers effortlessly from Danbury to Hartford and beyond.  Congestion would vanish, they said. Town centers would breathe easier, they hoped.  America would drive happily ever after, wouldn’t they?

Spoiler alert: ‘they’ were wrong.

The early 1960s were the golden age of highway hubris. The federal government was handing out interstate money like Halloween candy, and Connecticut happily obliged by deciding that U.S. Route 6, a perfectly serviceable road that inconveniently (at least to drivers) passed through towns, had to go.  

What better solution than a wide, limited-access highway careening over and through over hills, rivers, and Hartford neighborhoods and downtown alike? 

When the first 15-mile stretch opened between the New York line and Sandy Hook, officials celebrated as if traffic had been permanently solved.  It hadn’t even reached Hartford yet but optimism was cheap, and costly concrete was plentiful.

By the time I-84 finally lumbered into the capital city years later, the damage was already baked in.  Entire neighborhoods were carved up in the name of progress. The highway bent, twisted, doubled back, stacked lanes on top of each other, and introduced a master class in left-hand exits, the traffic engineering equivalent of juggling chainsaws.  And we’re still debating how to fix all that… the topic for a future column, if not a thesis.

Consider the Waterbury “Mixmaster” where I-84 crosses Route 8, a traffic interchange so messed up that national traffic engineers hold it up as an example of what never to build again.  And that’s before CDOT spends $3-5 billion to replace it.

And yet, every decade since the ribbon was cut brought the same response to the ever-worsening traffic: Just widen it.

Traffic backed up? Add lanes. Still backed up? Add more lanes. Still bad? Rebuild interchanges, add HOV lanes, re-stripe everything, and promise that this time it’ll work. This logic has been faithfully applied for more than six decades — making I-84 not just a highway, but a self-sustaining traffic experiment in futility.

So as I-84 blows out its birthday candles, it stands as a living monument to “induced demand”, the transportation principle politely explained in planning textbooks (yawn) and painfully experienced by anyone who’s crawled through Waterbury at rush hour (ouch):  the more road you build, the more traffic shows up to fill it.  Like magic. Or mold.

To be fair, I-84 has aged exactly as expected.  It’s constantly under reconstruction and needed repairs, perpetually congested, and somehow always remains essential despite being deeply flawed, much like Connecticut itself.

So happy birthday, I-84.  Sixty-four years young.  You were built to end traffic and instead, you’ve given us a lifetime of it.