Train Station Restarting but Paying for Parking?

Particularly when funds are tight, it's the squeakiest train station that gets money for oil heat. And First Selectman Bill Brennan doesn't mind making sure DOT officials know how squeaky Wilton's station is.

After announcing at last week's Board of Selectmen meeting that the train station building would reopen in a year's time, Brennan and four other town officials gathered at the embattled structure on a brilliant Monday morning to commemorate the news. All five spoke of the importance of teamwork and putting consistent pressure on the DOT to get the project pushed through.

"Anytime we do anything that involves different aspects of transportation, it's a team effort," Brennan said. "To get this done in this [economic] environment is a real accomplishment."

Brennan lead the efforts with three years of personal and political appeals to DOT officials and said it was commissioner Joseph Marie's new direction for the department that allowed the proverbial train to leave the station. The renovations are expected to be completed by next October and total $190,000, entirely covered by federal stimulus funding as part of the Rail Station Maintenance Repair and Improvement Program.

Behind the train scene, work continued on finishing restraining walls and installing proper signaling lights on Danbury Road. Brennan said the town expects the widening project to be mostly complete and have all four lanes open by this Thanksgiving, another important step toward clearing up the area's long-standing congestion and aesthetic issues.

"We have made some of the most significant improvements I think in a couple of decades," said State Sen. Toni Boucher of the road and railway work. "Our commuters deserve this consideration given that they bring a lot of revenue into the area from their jobs elsewhere."

Along with the improvements come potential problems, of course. The train station's parking lot is currently free and with all the money it is set to invest in the property, it could well be that the DOT institutes paid parking to help offset costs. Brennan said he believes such a move could be considered, noting that it would not be done to make the station into a profit center but, rather, simply to help defray maintenance expenses.

Commissioner of the CT Transportation Commission Gail Lavielle, State Rep. John Hetherington, and Wilton Town Planner Bob Nerney were also in attendance Monday. Nerney said the town is looking into connecting the station to Wilton Center through a prefabricated bridge and had already secured permission to pass through the Portofino's Restaurant property, as well.

In closing, Brennan reiterated his belief that as many of the area's transportation projects near completion, the need for a Super 7 highway continues to decline. The need would further decrease assuming plans to improve and electrify the Danbury branch rail line eventually move ahead.

"Our commuters have suffered long enough on all of this," Brennan said.