For years, Connecticut has struggled with a number of clean energy initiatives as the legislature has been reluctant to authorize policy or money for them. Nevermind just keeping pace with the neighbors, there are lessons for Connecticut in the region and elsewhere for innovative ways to tackle climate change from energy and emissions standpoints. Connecticut has had its eye on Colorado lately because of its approach to the thorny motor vehicle emissions standards issue. In Connecticut, the standards have become a flashpoint over how the state moves forward to meet the greenhouse gas emission goals it has set for itself, as well as limiting pollutants that create the smog that makes Connecticut air quality some of the worst in the country. The most recent groundbreaking move from Massachusetts is its future of gas initiative, which is starting the process to make the state the first to drastically reduce and potentially eliminate the use of natural gas. Rhode Island is among other states considering something similar. That outcome is not likely in Connecticut, if the recent failures are any indication.

What CT could learn from other states’ climate change policies

The collaborative, first announced last October, will be a nonprofit tasked with working with the government, industry, labor and academia, along with neighboring states, to help drive offshore wind toward becoming a major economic driver in the state. It will be housed in offices at the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region in Groton, an agency that serves as the area’s Economic Development District. In a statement, Gov. Ned Lamont said the Connecticut Wind Collaborative would help guide the development of offshore wind statewide. The collaborative is one leg in Connecticut’s Offshore Wind Strategic Roadmap, which will work to create a regional supply chain and develop the workforce required to meet the needs for the wind industry. The idea is to create a wind industry cluster in New England that will create a “critical mass of expertise” to boost domestic wind power. The state announced Wednesday that Paul Lavoie, the state’s chief manufacturing officer, was voted in as chairman and treasurer of the collaborative earlier this month. Other board officials named at the time were Andrew Lavigne, manager of the state’s Clean Economy Program at the Department of Economic and Community Development; Kate Aufhauser, the governor’s strategic adviser for economic development, and Paul Whitescarver, executive director of seCTer.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240131/state-launches-effort-to-keep-connecticut-at-forefront-of-the-wind-industry/

State utilities regulators urged Connecticut’s second largest electricity provider to use the same safety precautions for work at office buildings as a public street or highway after a land surveyor was struck and killed in Fairfield last year. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued its recommendation in a recent decision, following an investigation into the death of 59-year-old Stephen Brynn, a Colchester contractor hired by United Illuminating Co. The ruling is likely to draw attention to safety procedures for work done on entrances and exits on commercial properties. During the investigation, UI told PURA that no matter the location, risks to workers must be fully assessed and safety measures put in place. Some measures could include signage, a barricade protecting the worker or assigning a second person as a “spotter.” In a statement, UI spokesman Sarah Wall Fliotsos said: “Safety for all our workers is our number-one priority at UI, and we appreciate PURA’s attention to worker safety reflected in their decision last week.”

After death of worker, CT utility should step up certain safety precautions, state report finds

Ten rural Connecticut communities are receiving their portion of more than $9 million in state grants to improve safety and transportation, with upgrades including sidewalks, trails, and roads. The grants — released through the Transportation Rural Improvement Program, or TRIP — are designed to direct funding to rural towns that are often ineligible for many federal transportation programs, according to the office of Gov. Ned Lamont. The largest grant is going to Salisbury, which will receive about $1.15 million for sidewalk construction on Main Street. The TRIP program is a new competitive grant program funded through state bonding. Last year, towns with half of their population living in rural areas were eligible to apply for the funding. While the Department of Transportation will cover the entirety of construction costs, municipalities are required to cover the cost of designs.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-transportation-safety-upgrades-rural-towns-18637357.php

The $16.5 million plan is among the projects that made the School Construction Project Priority List put forth by the state Department of Administrative Services, according to an announcement issued by State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury. DAS’ School Construction Project Priority List Review Committee approved the project’s consideration last week. Kushner’s office stated the project will update and reconfigure 28,400 square feet of science labs, located on the fourth and fifth floors of Danbury High School’s C Building. The project will also affect other interior spaces, including the labs’ prep rooms, work rooms and storage areas. The labs themselves will receive new doors and equipment, and classroom doors will be modified for building code compliance. The state is expected to cover nearly $10.43 million, or 63.21 percent of the project’s total $16.5 million cost. A timeline for when the project would be completed wasn’t immediately available.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/danbury-hs-science-lab-project-advances-ct-18637863.php

A bridge spanning the Pomperaug River along Route 172 in South Britain received a clean bill of health following an inspection Tuesday morning, one of thousands of bridge inspections done by the state every two years. The snooper Tuesday was provided by state contractor McClain & Co. of Middletown, which specializes in the support of engineering companies and government agencies for the inspection and maintenance of bridges. Workers used a device called a snooper, a cranelike apparatus that allows for access to the bridge’s underside. There, inspectors applied various techniques, including a simple tap of a hammer, to determine the bridge’s structural integrity, much of it based on sound. A state Department of Transportation engineer on scene said the inspection focuses on a bridge’s steel super structure and underside concrete decking.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/01/30/route-172-bridge-in-southbury-gets-green-light-from-inspectors/

With CTfastrak about to enter its ninth year, The Jayden mixed-use project in West Hartford is on track to be the latest instance of transit-oriented development along its route. Hexagon New Park LLC intends to build a five-story, 70-unit apartment building on a New Park Avenue site near the busway’s Elmwood station. The Jayden would become the latest of more than a half-dozen major residential and mixed-use projects that developers attribute to CTfastrak, the bus rapid transit system that links New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford. High-frequency shuttles run between those communities and link to traditional bus routes serving most other central Connecticut communities. The Jayden would be a key victory for transit-oriented development advocates who defended the busway against heavy political opposition, with some conservatives in the General Assembly arguing that it was an expensive boondoggle.

Years after its first buses rolled, CTfastrak delivering new development in West Hartford

“It’s not partisan. It’s not even geographic, in the sense that it’s defined by only big city mayors, or any sort of specific factor — if you’re connected via a railroad, which almost every community in the United States is actually, whether they know it or not, there’s been a resurgence and focus about how rail can make a difference and be part of a community’s mobility strategy,” explained Mitch Warren, who moderated the event and serves as executive director for the quasi-public Northeast Corridor Commission. That effort, dubbed NEC Future, provides the menu of options for how roughly $16.4 billion of new federal dollars — and any other federal funding over the next three or four decades — can be spent on the corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, except for the ninety-odd miles of unresolved corridor between New Haven to Providence. Called the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study, the study will recommend a new off-corridor route that meets goals for time and capacity included in the 2017 NEC Future Record of Decision. Whether that means a return to the controversial idea of a bypass through coastal southeastern Connecticut, or a direct route between Hartford and Providence is not yet clear, though a recent interview with Congressman Joe Courtney hinted that the direct inland route may already be off the table.

Eastern Connecticut the Odd Man Out as Powerhouse Gathering in Stamford Pitches High-Speed-Rail

Town officials and developers of a proposed 245-apartment, mixed-use project on a contaminated lot said they may reject a $3 million remediation grant from the state, due to stringent conditions that could boost project costs by $25 million. Developers have long kept away from 81 Black Rock Turnpike, as any new construction would require a costly environmental cleanup of the contaminated soil below the site. Looking to transform the vacant lot into a new, five-story apartment building, Post Road Residential — a local property development company — worked with town officials to secure a $3 million grant from the State Department of Economic Community Development in June to clean up the low-level PCB contamination, which originated from aged underground storage tanks used to heat the former factory. According to Montelli, the Brownfield Remediation and Development Municipal Grant came with three conditions that developers are unwilling to meet: increased wage rates, affordable housing requirements and state control over the property.

Fairfield Developers May Reject $3M State Grant Over Costly Conditions on Housing

The state Department of Transportation is moving forward with a plan to create a roundabout at the intersection of Route 6 and Route 61, which has been the scene of numerous traffic accidents over the years. First Selectman Barbara K. Perkinson welcomed the news, saying the intersection and the town as a whole will benefit greatly from a roundabout, also known as a rotary or traffic circle, which is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction. Many residents have said a traffic light should be installed as the once sleepy stretch between Woodbury and Watertown has been built up a great deal since the intersection was first engineered. But DOT officials say, based on professional engineering standards, the area simply does not necessitate a light. A roundabout appears to be the answer.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/01/28/new-roundabout-in-the-works-for-woodbury-intersection/#login