Most Significant Development 2008 - [5]

2008 saw the Urban Transitway begin to finally cut its swath through Stamford. Phase 1 of the project runs an east west connection through the South End opening the train station to cleaner connections to the highway, The Cove, & Shippan. The road will ultimately not only improve traffic flow, but also include dedicated high occupancy & bike lanes, new sidewalks and potentially open up the strip to new interest in mixed use development.

Perhaps most significant though, the federally funded project could potentially be a precursor to one of hopefully many in the coming year if Stamford is able to line up a taste of the incoming Obama administrations economic stimulus package with its stated focus on infrastructure investment. What exactly that could mean is anyone’s guess right now; conditions thus far have only called for projects to be “shovel ready”. Stamford has enough ideas, from the rather mundane of underpass widening to the more progressive like a light rail line or ferry terminal. The transitway set to open later this year (which seems so long for laying a road) will hopefully demonstrate that our city has a comprehensive transportation vision worthy of investment.