I-84 Danbury Project Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting No. 3 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

I-84 Danbury Project Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting No. 3 September 24, 2019 0

Agenda • PAC Membership and Recap of Outreach Efforts • Perspective Gathering Exercise • Project Need • Project Need Check-in • Project Purpose • Project Purpose Check-in • Next Steps 1

PAC Membership and Recap of Outreach Efforts 2

PAC Membership AAA Danbury Hospital League of Women Voters Town of New Milford of Northern Fairfield County Boehringer-Ingelheim Danbury Housing Authority Town of Newtown Motor Transport Association Danbury Public Schools Cartus Town of Redding of CT (MTAC) City of Danbury: Danbury Museum & Town of Ridgefield New York Metropolitan Business Advocacy, Historical Society Transportation Council West Terrace Neighborhood Engineering, Health & Human Get Downtown Danbury Services, Library, Planning, Putnam County, New York Western Connecticut Council Public Works, & Traffic Greater Danbury Chamber of Governments (WestCOG) Sierra Club of Commerce CityCenter Danbury Western Connecticut Spring Street Neighborhood Housatonic Area Regional State University CT rides Transit (HART) Sterling Woods Association West Side District Connecticut State Police Housatonic Railroad Town of Bethel Danbury Airport Juniper Ridge Tax District Town of Brookfield Danbury Commission for Town of New Fairfield Persons with Disabilities 3

Recap of f Outreach to to Date: 2 7 3 PAC Pop-Up Focus Meetings Events Group 1 178 34 Stakeholder Public Survey Meetings Open House Responses 4

Perspective Gathering Exercise 5

Objectives of Today’s Meeting ▪ Better understand the unique perspectives of individual PAC members and constituencies ▪ “Check in” on local issues and priorities ▪ Provide context that will inform the development of Project Purpose & Need 6

Comment Card Exercise From my perspective, the most pressing needs and deficiencies within the I-84 corridor in Greater Danbury are (list up to 3): In my opinion, the I-84 Danbury Project would be successful if it achieved the following: 7

Project Need 8

What is is pro roje ject need? ▪ Establishes the problem(s) ▪ Justified by data and research ▪ In the case of I-84 Danbury, project need has been quantified through the needs & deficiencies analysis , which is consistent with stakeholder input received to date. 9

Key Pro roblems: ▪ Congestion ▪ Poor Mobility 10

Key Pro roblems: ▪ Congestion ▪ Poor Mobility 11

What is is Congestion? Congestion is characterized by slower speeds, longer delays, and queuing. Causes of Congestion: ▪ Heavy Traffic Volumes ▪ Highway Design Deficiencies ▪ Weaving ▪ Crashes 12

I-84 Tra raffic Volumes = 10,000 vehicles per day Original Design 15,000 Capacity: vehicles per day 2016: 110,000 (Observed Traffic Volumes) vehicles per day 2040: 130,000 (Projected Traffic Volumes) vehicles per day 13

Heavy Tra raffic Volumes ▪ Morning peak hour congestion occurs primarily in westbound direction (towards New York) ▪ Afternoon peak hour congestion occurs primarily in eastbound direction (towards Waterbury) 14

Highway Design Deficiencies Sharp curves limit sight distance (Exit 3) Short merging distances (Exit 4) Short ramp causes ramp queueing (Exit 5) Incomplete interchange (Exit 6) Left hand exit (Exit 7) Insufficient shoulder widths (Exit 8) 15

Weaving Heavy weaving (e.g. between Exit 3 and Exit 7) contributes to congestion and crashes to New Milford Left hand exit ▪ from New York State Route 7 enters on the right and exits on the left ▪ Poor signage leads to driver confusion ▪ Heavy Weaving Area 3 7 from Norwalk to Waterbury 16

Cra rash Hotspots ▪ About one crash a day ▪ Mostly rear-end and sideswipe crashes 17

Key Pro roblems: ▪ Congestion ▪ Poor Mobility 18

What is is Mobility? The ability of a transportation system to effectively move people and goods. Causes of Poor Mobility: ▪ Local traffic patterns ▪ Poor connections between the highway and key destinations ▪ Increased travel demand ▪ Low use of transit, biking, and walking 19

Local Tra raffic Patterns ▪ Lack of alternative east-west routes ▪ 1/3 of highway traffic is local traffic ▪ Highway traffic diverts onto local roads to avoid congestion 20

Poor Connections Danbury Hospital Accessibility Between th the Highway and Key Destinations ▪ Danbury Hospital ▪ Major Employers ▪ Downtown Danbury 21

In Increased Tra ravel Demand One of the fastest growing regions in the State since 2010 Hartford ▪ City of Danbury estimated to have added over 4,300 new residents I-84 Danbury Waterbury Norwich Project Area since 2010 New London New Haven ▪ Brookfield and Bethel also among Bridgeport the fastest growing towns in the Stamford State 22

Low Use of f Tra ransit, Biking, & Walking ▪ Over 90% of Danbury commuters drive to work ▪ Lower use of transit compared to other CT cities Percent of Commuters who took Transit to Work: 2017 ▪ No marked bicycle lanes within 20.0% 15.1% 14.7% Danbury city limits 15.0% 12.4% 11.8% 10.9% 10.0% 4.9% 4.6% 4.4% ▪ Gaps in sidewalk network within 5.0% project area 0.0% Danbury Waterbury Connecticut Norwalk Bridgeport New Haven Stamford Hartford Source: American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates: 2013-2017. Table B08006 23

Project Need Check-In 24

Project Need Check-in Please take a keypad. ▪ Read the question. ▪ You have 15 seconds to press the numbered button that corresponds with your answer. ▪ You may change your mind; the last button pressed will be your recorded response. Let’s start with a practice question . . . 25

Project Need Check-in What time of day works best for future Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Meetings? 100% 1. Morning 80% 2. Midday (lunch time) 60% 40% 3. Evening 20% 0% 0% 0% 0% Morning Midday Evening (lunch time) 26

Project Need Check-in Please rate each of the following statements based on the weighting scale below: 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree 27

Project Need Check-in I routinely change my travel patterns or behavior in order to avoid congestion on I-84. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 28

Project Need Check-in Traffic congestion on I-84 has gotten worse over the last five years. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 29

Project Need Check-in Traffic congestion on I-84 is hurting the local economy. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 30

Project Need Check-in Danbury’s local street network makes it difficult to travel between destinations within the city without using the highway. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 31

Project Need Check-in Improved access to rail and bus transit service is a need within the region. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 32

Project Need Check-in The expansion of the Park & Ride system along I-84 and Route 7 is a need within the region. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 33

Project Need Check-in I-84 acts as a barrier to bicycle and pedestrian travel. 100% 1. Strongly Disagree 80% 2. Disagree 60% 3. Neutral 40% 4. Agree 20% 5. Strongly Agree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree 34

Project Purpose 35

Why is is I-84 in in Danbury Im Important? ▪ One of the fastest growing regions in the state ▪ Major employment center ▪ Major commuter and freight route (10% trucks) 36

What is is pro roje ject purp rpose? ▪ What the proposed action will accomplish (i.e. the intended outcome), not the action itself ▪ Supplemented with goals and objectives ✓ used to define full intent, desired outcomes ✓ used to evaluate and compare alternatives ▪ PAC Role: provide local perspective to help CTDOT develop the project purpose 37

Project Purpose Check-In 38

Project Purpose Check-in Please rate each of the following questions using the weighting scale below: 1. Not important 2. 2 3. 3 4. 4 5. Very important 39

Project Purpose Check-in How important is it that the I-84 Danbury Project reduces congestion on the highway (I-84 and Route 7)? 100% 1. Not important 80% 2. 2 60% 3. 3 40% 4. 4 20% 5. Very important 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Not 2 3 4 Very important important 40