I'm curious to know why you'd want the main transfer station to be at a different location other than downtown Chapel?

i would love to have a visioning session for the CT Transit with ridership data on how many people and buses come through the downtown, and how many people are actually trying to come downtown. it seems like having to use the new haven green as a major transfer point endangers pedestrians. perhaps if state street were redesigned to shift more land to the sliver lots you could create a transfer station on state street next to the state street train station.

another question: if you were making a design plan for one of the best public spaces in the country, would you want it being polluted with noise and smog, creating a potentially dangerous situation for pedestrians to access it and requiring extra 10 feet of unused space on chapel street (for the bus to park)?

more importantly though, you would have to use another bus to transfer to the train station; it appears that there is no true connectivity in our transportation systems -

additionally, the CT Transit is not partaking in the community effort to keep our green clean and presentable. I spent a few hours last week cleaning trash off of the southern green. the majority of the trash (which makes sense b/c this part of the green has the most foot traffic) was surrounding the bus stop. it appears that there is a maintenance void created by the CT Transit stop. perhaps one way to solve this (as i posted on the other issue) is for the CT Transit to make a contribution to Town Green and for Town Green to take on the responsibility of the bus stop.

oh - sorry - one last comment

if the CT Transit ran buses after bars closed (which i understand would be an operational nightmare based on the drinking habits being exemplified in #nhv) i could be convinced of the location. but as it stands, CT Transit is not an option for bar patrons nor EMPLOYEES - which forces more vehicular traffic into our downtown.

I don't understand. Citizen has an idea. Doug likes it but doesn't like it? Like I said, I don't understand that type of logic.

James - sorry to be confusing -

I like the concept of painting the bus lane as the bus is routing currently.

I would prefer to host a design charrette and figure out if using Chapel Street as a transfer station in general is the best use of Chapel Street and the Customers' time.

But as things are now - with Chapel being a major bus station, I think painting the far right side of Chapel (as you're heading West between Church and Temple) is a terrific idea. I personally haven't seen this as a problem - meaning I haven't noticed that cars are in the bus lane at this stop. There is (I think) room for 3 lanes - two of which are travel and one is reserved for buses stopping.

At other places downtown, I have seen parking be an issue (Crown/Temple, 45 Church, City Hall), but I personally haven't seen this as a problem. The suggestion is still a good one though - and would create a visual marker for pedestrians and cars alike as they are using Chapel Street to make way for buses and improve traffic flow.

Wow. Guess I opened the cork on that one.

I completely agree with Doug,
The main transfer points should not be on the green or even in front of 360 State where crowds of people waiting for the buses make it difficult to traverse the sidewalks.

The unused sliver lots on the East side of State street would be a much better location for central bus transfer location.

I totally agree that the transfer point should be on State Street. Build a new CTTransit station there, nice seats. One thing that comes to my mind instantly is that pedestrian activity would be dead on the side of the street if nothing else is there.

Doug - I've seen, numerous times, cars parking there, and switching lanes to there.

I can see why you folks advocate for a different location for the transfer station, but call me crazy, I also like the fact that its so heavily used and is centrally located. I'd imagine it makes it convenient for people who use it on a daily basis but it would be interesting to see more data on its use by the public.

I'd love to know where all the money would come from to build a new station on State St. I'd imagine it would be much less costly to do some design upgrades at the current locations as well as increased attention with keeping the area clean.

Great idea.

Also, a different location for the transfer station would be great, and State St. has some room. As to where the money would come from, I don't have a damn clue.

Hey Citizen -

I thought you'd enjoy this picture - I had to pull over in my bike, and I think a video (with the bus' horns being recorded) would have been better to capture it -

That's an awesome pic!! Nice job capturing it! btw - it's Rigel - changed the seeclickfix name to Citizen.

I agree with EVERY point that Doug makes above. I really don't think the green is a useful hub.

State Street makes a ton of sense, especially with the train station right there.

Does anyone live near the green? (who doesn't drive)? I don't see people get off the bus and go to their apartments. If the location as-is requires us to cut out, what, 5 lanes of on-street parking? (which, being present, would lower overall speeds and make the whole area safer), then why keep it there?

I think it's a nice vision of an inclusive town center, but really the transit hub should be so much more than what we currently have on the Green. It should be a real hub of taxis, trains, buses and other uses.

The road is more than wide enough, has no on-street parking already, and could definitely use the traffic-calming that having a large metropolitan transit service operated out of it would bring. It would also be an ideal location for a street car or two.

I'm sure there will be more stimulus money available for transit. If we had a comprehensive plan in place--now--for a beautiful & smart transit hub, it'd let us apply for grants when they come up.

We often miss the boat on federal money because we don't have plans in place--or like with Whitney Ave, we're forced to "rebuild as was" when the money is available.

As part of a comprehensive vision for the city, we should have--at least--a plan for a restructured and modern transit system, with a strong element of it being a modern transit hub.

Well said, Streever!

Do you really think that will stop CT drivers from acting up? Please! CT is known for its illegal driving standards. Nice idea but wont do crap!

i think a regiment of education, infrastructure, and enforcement will help curb CT drivers. this is part of the infrastructure.

E,
coincidentally enough, this is part of the three es. Engineering, education, enforcement.

CT Drivers went from abysmal rates of seat-belt wearing to a 97% rate due to a long term education & enforcement campaign.

As long as we have will to do so, we have proven that you can change drivers habits and behaviors.

Keyword: Enforcement! I have seen many major illegal behaviors happen right in front of cops and they do NOTHING! On average, cops don't do their job when it comes to giving out tickets for poor driving. This is why driving is so bad here in CT - they know they can get away with it and have absolutely no reprocussions. Dont even talk to me about the seatbelt law - do you KNOW how often I see cars packed with kids, babies and tots without seatbelts or carseats?!?!?!?! Again, CT is a complete joke when it comes to traffic laws!

how cool would a bus station like this be? right near union station, on state just before knights of columbus?

yes, i second all of the points already stated to move bus stops away from immediately downtown. the bus congestion increases aggressive driver behavior overall and diminishes the walkability and bikeablility of downtown new haven.

In NYC, cameras are used to enforce the bus only lanes. That would be a great start here as well. There's no excuse for a driver to delay 50-100 people from getting to where they need to get to on time just because they want to park there for a minute.

I agree with the other comments here. A European-style bus terminal, like the one Juli posted, would be a huge asset to New Haven. Rome, Italy has a great one right in front of their train station and it is possible to walk off the train and travel to any neighborhood in a matter of minutes. The current system is disconnected and doesn't allow a one-seat ride from the train station to other neighborhoods.

Furthermore, a well-designed bus transfer station could help catalyze economic development in the area around Union Station or the Ninth Square. It may be best to locate a hub halfway between Union Station, which is expanding, and Downtown and/or the Yale Medical complex, so as to take advantage of all of the origin and destination points within downtown -- the former Coliseum Site is probably located at the midpoint between these three areas of activity.

If the city is building a streetcar line, that should be connected with the transit hub as well.

I agree 100% with this comment. I might also suggest that bus only lanes will give emergency vehicle traffic an open lane when needed, and this could help to reduce the MANY sirens that fill our streets with unnecessary noise.

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