High-speed rail discussion draws standing room only crowd to Greenwich

The Amtrak Acela Express, at left, heading toward New York City, passes through the Greenwich train station. The Amtrak Acela Express, at left, heading toward New York City, passes through the Greenwich train station. Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close High-speed rail discussion draws standing room only crowd to Greenwich 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

GREENWICH — A critic of a proposed high-speed rail system through parts of Connecticut’s Gold Coast said unity, political pressure and pull may be the only way to stop the plan’s progress.

“The broader the coalition and the more it serves the entire state and the less it pits one town against another, the more likely you are to get state-wide support,” Gregory Stroud of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation told a standing-room-only crowd at Town Hall Wednesday that included officials and residents from much of lower Fairfield County.

“In Southeastern Connecticut, we managed to get every single municipality between Branford and Providence, R.I., against it. That’s how you stop it ... There are the resources here. There is the clout here. There’s the heft. If you guys speak together, they have to take you seriously,” he said.

The proposed rail line is part of a larger plan called NEC Future, the Federal Railway Administration’s vision for the Northeast Corridor that would increase the role of rail travel in the region through 2040, and build on infrastructure that already is near capacity, according to necfuture.com.

Early information describes a raised rail system that would follow Interstate 95. Stroud said historic areas, like Cos Cob’s Bush Holley House, and residential neighborhoods were at risk from disruption.

“I don’t think the Federal Railway Administration came to Fairfield County to say, ‘Let’s build a terrible project through the wealthiest real estate in the hardest market to run rail through,’” Stroud said to the 100 people at the meeting. “They didn’t propose this because they thought, ‘What the heck’ or because there’s no problem. There’s a real reason.”

The environmental review of the proposed plan is complete. A 10-year-plan is being drawn up over the next 12 months to cement the details. Stroud said it was unclear how much flexibility remains in the potential route and that some details are available.

A call to NEC Future Spokesman Douglas Gascon for comment was not immediately returned.

“I would strongly urge representatives and the public to ask for access to these maps going forward,” Stroud said. “It seems like a reasonable request whether you’re for it or against it.”

Stroud said residents should request a meeting with the FRA in Fairfield County to get their questions answered directly.

Jim Cameron, head of the Commuter Action Group, said discussion needs to be strong on facts with emotion left to the side.

“We have to have a reasonable conversation with the FRA,” Cameron said. “We cannot come off looking like rich NIMBYs who in theory support the idea of high speed rail unless it effects our own property values.”

Wednesday’s meeting drew people from throughout the county, including Darien First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson, state Rep. Gail Lavielle and other government representatives and state residents.

“We are concerned with the environmental and residential disruption this plan could have on our community,” said Sarah Harris, a representative from Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe.

Todd Bryant, president of the Norwalk Preservation Trust, said, “The more people the better. Everybody on the line from Greenwich to Green’s Farms to Westport needs to work together. They listen to numbers. They ‘grade by weight,’ as we used to say in college. The more people show up at the meetings and the more emails and letters and more public officials they hear from the better.”

Greenwich resident Heather Brower said she was frustrated that previous efforts to get hard information about the plan, even with the support of town resident U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

Rich Kehoe, state director of Blumenthal’s Connecticut office, said the senator would remain involved in the high-speed rail discussion and would look at convening a meeting with representatives of the FRA.

“We will lay the groundwork for bringing people together and getting the voices heard early on in this process because there is still a lot of time for things to change and things to actually halt,” Kehoe said.

Stroud urged attendees to call NEC Future Spokesman Douglas Gascon at 203-493-0239 with their questions and concerns.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com