AASHTO Journal - Connecticut DOT Opens New Transit Center Parking Garage

The Connecticut Department of Transportation recently hosted a grand opening ceremony for a new parking garage at the Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center in Stamford, CT; a garage that will play a key role in boosting multimodal links to the center’s transit options.

[Above photo by Connecticut DOT]

The new 914-space parking garage directly connects to the center – commonly known as the Stamford Transportation Center – via a 320-foot pedestrian garage and provides direct access to the Track 5 platform heading to Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

The new garage includes 92 electric vehicle charging stations; 120 bicycle parking spaces, including 50 e-bike charging stations; and has façade lighting with color changing high-efficient light-emitting diodes or LEDs that will commemorate special events and holidays.

The parking garage project included the reconstruction of the South State Street and Washington Boulevard intersection, making it safer for all roadway users; with upgrades that include new sidewalks, traffic signals, and thermal crosswalks.

Governor Ned Lamont (D) noted during the ceremony that the $100 million parking garage project was entirely funded by the state through bond funding.

The original garage, built in 1985, will soon be closed and its demolition will begin within the next month. Following that work, the Stamford Transportation Center will have nearly 2,100 parking spaces – an increase of 600 spaces compared to the previous facility.

“Stamford’s train station is the busiest public transportation hub in Connecticut, and the rail line that utilizes this station is the single most heavily used commuter rail line in the United States,” the governor said in a statement.

“Thousands of people who live here depend on these trains to get them to their jobs every single day, and businesses benefit by being centrally located to a transportation center that is accessible and convenient for their workers,” he added. “When we make investments to improve our transportation infrastructure, we are doing it with a laser focus on how our state and the people who live here can benefit economically to support themselves and their families.”

“The new parking garage ensures that commuters, no matter if they are driving, walking, or biking, have convenient, safe access to the Stamford Transportation Center,” noted Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut DOT commissioner.

Eucalitto – who also serves as the vice president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – also pointed out that the new parking garage is a “key component” of the Stamford Transportation Center, enabling opportunity for transit-oriented development and setting the stage for the rehabilitation of the station itself.

To that end, the Connecticut DOT plans to issue a request for qualifications for a transit-oriented development project to be created at the site of the original garage property, which will complement additional investments that the City of Stamford has been making to improve properties and infrastructure around the station. This joint state and city endeavor is expected to drive further economic and community development for Stamford and the entire state.

The agency also released the “Stamford Transportation Center Master Plan” at the parking garage ceremony, which includes short and long-term recommendations that aim to improve multimodal connectivity between trains, buses, and vehicles, provide upgraded passenger amenities and waiting areas at the center, while also expanding and modernizing the transportation facility itself.