CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7546

FOR RELEASE: December 22, 2015

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062 FAX: (860) 594-3065 WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

Upgrades to Passenger Parking At Various CTfastrak Stations In Central Connecticut

      The Connecticut Department of Transportation today announced upgraded passenger parking plans for various CTfastrak Bus Rapid Transit system stations in New Britain, Newington and West Hartford.  At a press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony held today at the CTfastrak Elmwood Station in West Hartford, Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker presented parking expansion plans that included the construction of new spaces, negotiations with municipalities and parking enforcement issues.

      Parking capacity along the CTfastrak corridor will be expanded by 142 percent in 2016 – for a total of 429 spaces versus 177 today.

      The CTfastrak upgrade plans include:

·         The addition of 13 parking spaces at the Elmwood Station starting today and 11 more spaces in early January 2016

·         A new passenger drop-off lane added on Main Street in front of the Downtown New Britain Station

·         Enforcement of the CTfastrak customer only parking policy making more customer parking available at the East Street Station in New Britain

·         The addition of 11 spaces at the Newington Junction Station in spring 2016

·         Plans for expanding parking by 90 or more spaces at the Cedar Street Station in Newington in mid-2016

·         A new park and ride lot near University of Connecticut Health in Farmington in 2016 which will be serviced by CTfastrak Route 121

·         Leased parking space agreements being pursued at several locations in the area of CTfastrak stations with announcements to follow shortly.

Presently, the parking capacity at the various CTfastrak stations is as follows:

·         East Street Station, New Britain - 23 parking spaces

·         Cedar Street Station, Newington - 45, plus about 15 on-street parking spaces that were added at the station on Myra Cohen Way

·         Newington Junction, Newington - 27

·         Elmwood Station, West Hartford - 27

·         Flatbush Avenue Station, West Hartford - 31

·         Parkville Station, West Hartford - 9

·         Szczesny Garage in New Britain: Presently, it is free to park in the garage on weekends and CTfastrak customers can show their fare tickets to pay $3 on weekdays; Negotiations are in process with city of New Britain officials for free parking at Szczesny Garage on weekdays. 

      "CTfastrak is growing in ridership and popularity. As we work with municipalities going forward, we anticipate more enhancements and convenience for our riders,” said Commissioner Redeker.

      The CTfastrak system provides direct service to and from Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford and Manchester with routes that take advantage of the bus-only CTfastrak roadway. The CTfastrak system offers a one-seat, no-transfer ride to many major regional employment, education, shopping and healthcare destinations as well as connections to the New Haven Line-Waterbury branch rail in Waterbury and Amtrak service in Hartford. A new 4.5 mile multi-use trail was built parallel to the CTfastrak bus-only roadway from New Britain to Newington Junction. A recently launched benefits program that offers riders discounts or bonuses at area businesses called CTfastrak Rewards is also available.

For information about CTfastrak, visit www.ctfastrak.com, connect via Facebook at www.facebook.com/ctfastrak or via Twitter at @ctfastrak. Route timetables are available at www.cttransit.com under the “Schedules/CTfastrak” tab and the latest CTfastrak Rewards information is available at www.ctfastrak.com/rewards.