No Need for Transit Corridor Development Authority

Hartford, CT – State Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) released the following statement today re: her No vote in the Transportation Committee on a bill to establish the quasi-public Connecticut Transit Corridor Development Authority; House Bill No. 6851 AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT TRANSIT CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.

“I voted no. In the end a transit corridor development authority is not necessary. It is just another layer of government bureaucracy to promote development that towns can already voluntarily plan and construct. Many transportation projects are created and built without a board of politically appointed gatekeepers in the process.

“The original bill would have taken all land a half mile from train and bus stations by eminent domain and would have allowed for a Governor appointed panel of people to sign off on a project. For the good of the people that controversial over reach was taken out of this bill.

“I believe revitalizing Connecticut’s cities and downtowns while also promoting mass transit as environmentally-friendly and as a way to ease congestion on highways can be done by local municipalities.”

Senator Boucher is the Ranking member of the Transportation Committee in the General Assembly.