As the State works hard to clear the winter snow from our highway, rail, and bus facilities, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is also taking a longer-range look at how to serve transportation needs over the next 40 years. As part of an effort called TransformCT, the Department has engaged many of the state’s residents in a dialogue about a vision for the future of Connecticut and how transportation can support that vision. Beginning with an interactive website – www.transformCT.org – the Department is now undertaking two additional outreach efforts: 1) Stakeholder and open house meetings around the state and 2) a random telephone survey of Connecticut residents.

      More on the open houses – in Hartford, Bridgeport and New London – is available here.

      The random telephone survey is intended to find out how Connecticut residents feel about current transportation usage and conditions, as well as to get ideas about how the Department should be investing its resources in the years to come. People from around the state are being contacted by telephone; no one who is called is obligated to participate and anonymity is guaranteed.

      Department of Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker said, “It is absolutely critical for us to hear from people around the state who use our highways, our trains, our buses and our trails. These facilities, along with our ports and airports, serve very basic, daily needs. They help people find and keep good jobs. They serve student needs and the needs of the elderly. People who live in our cities, suburbs and towns all depend on transportation and that means they depend on us to make wise investments to meet their needs, solve problems and support the vitality of Connecticut.”

      Tom Maziarz, the Director Planning for the Department said, “TransformCT is an intensive effort for us to keep Connecticut’s transportation system strong and viable for the future. We have asked, and will continue to ask, people for their help in this planning effort. This survey gives us the chance not only for additional input but it provides a statistically significant sample of how Connecticut residents feel. It will be valuable to us to compare their ideas with those who visit our website and who come to our meetings.”

      The survey began earlier this month and is scheduled to be concluded by early March.