Wednesday March 21, 2012  -  7 PM

SWRPA Offices – Government Center – Stamford CT

 

 

Members in Attendance: Chairman Jim Cameron, Terri Cronin, Sue Prosi, Tim Beeble, Jeffrey Maron, Rodney Chabot, John Hartwell, Mitch Fuchs, Roger Cirella. 

 

Guests: Eugene Colonese of DOT, Sue Doering of MNR, John Austin Sr. – Consumer Advocate.

 

  Minutes: Approval of the minutes of the February 15, 2012 meeting: Motion by Rodney Chabot; seconded by John Hartwell, unanimously approved.

 

1. Appointments:  Chairman Cameron reported that two seats on the Council have been filled by appointment:  Senator Cafero appointed Mark Marzuski and the Governor appointed John Davis to replace Bob Jelly.  There is one more appointment to be made by the Speaker.

 

2. Update on M8s: Sue Doering reported that 98 M-8s have been delivered and 86 have been accepted. Four were received today, making it 8 to date in March.  10 cars were delivered in February.  20% of the fleet of electric trains is comprised of M-8s.  342 M-8 trains are operating each week.  Rodney Chabot reported that there have been complaints that the M-8s are not being maintained nor cleaned and that the HVAC is making the cars too cold.

 

3. Quiet Car Test: All Inbound AM Peak and Outbound PM Peak trains have designated Quiet Cars. MN conducted a survey conducted on 2/2/2012. 1,500 surveys were distributed, and 312 responses were returned.  23% of the responses came from riders in the Quiet Car.  92% were satisfied or very satisfied, and 83% recommended expanding the program to all peak trains, inbound and outbound.  MN is considering adding signage for the Quiet Cars.  Chairman Cameron advised that conductors should be making announcements at stops, and the timetables and Mileposts should inform riders of the policy.

 

4. Legislation Update: Representative Gail Lavielle’s House Bill # 5067, that would assure that the Transportation Budget increases by an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the revenue from the fare increase is expected to die in the Transportation Committee.  Representative Kim Fauwcett, Co-Chair of Transportation Appropriations is pushing for $4,000,000 for Fairfield for Station improvements, pedestrian connections, parking and TOD Planning.  John Hartwell and Roger Cirella handed out leaflets to riders of the Waterbury Branch regarding proposed legislation.

                                       

5. SWRPA Parking Study: Sue Prossi presented the SWRPA Parking Study for stations in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston and Westport.  The Report is available on-line at the SWRPA site.  Parking pay by phone has been in use in Greenwich for 12 months.  Norwalk has been using pay by phone since September.  License plate readers are being used in Westport, New Canaan and Norwalk.  Jim Redeker wants to set up a statewide website for train parking.  Gene Colonese reported that DOT is working with Stratford to add more parking, and DOT is planning new parking in New Haven, Old Saybrook, Westbrook, West Haven, Clinton and Branford.

 

6. New Timetables & Added Stops: There is a two-track outage due to catenary work which affects scheduling.   Terri Cronin asked that the Yankee trains make all station stops.

 

7. Stamford Garage & RFQ: There was a bid walk-through on March 14 for the conceptual planning consultant RFQ.  DOT will develop a short list of bidders and solicit proposals.  The RFQ gives a ¼ mile radius for commuter parking.  Jeff Maron suggested that the priority for selection should be given to the consultant who proposes reusing the existing footprint of the garage.

 

Motion: Motion by Jeff Maron and seconded by Rodney Chabot; Be it resolved that the Commuter Council requests that the DOT Commissioner give priority to proposals submitted in response to the RFP/RFQ that include parking at the Stamford Transportation Center.  Motion approved unanimously.

 

8. Shoreline East Issues: None reported.

 

9. Mainline Issues: Sue Doering reported that there have been no complaints regarding the Pledge.

 

10. Branch Lines: Roger Cirella reports that service on the Waterbury Branch has been good. Danbury; the signalization improvements are proceeding.

 

11. Other: There are new QR Codes for MN as of April 1^st that will direct users of smart phones to web based MN Schedules.

 

12. Adjourned at 9:00 PM

 

Respectfully submitted by:

 

Tim Beeble

Secretary