Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page A04

A4 SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2009 THE HARTFORD COURANT NEWS PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE Commuters Share Ideas For Waterbury Line McCluskey D-West Hartford, said Friday "There are things we could be doing now. All the stimulus money will be gone. The Bridgeport-Waterbury route draws the fewest passengers compared to Metro-North's other branch lines, but it's also the fastest growing: Ridership shot up 34 percent last year, and Parsons projects it to triple by 2030. State Rep. Theresa Conroy D-Seymour, told Parsons staffers that the Naugatuck Valley is becoming a bedroom community for people who can't afford to live closer to jobs in Fairfield County, meaning that congestion on Route 8 and 1-95 will only get worse unless the Metro-North service is improved.

The line has only one track and no signals, so service will remain severely limited without improvements, consultants said. They're considering some low-cost options, such as adding signals and two or three railroad sidings to allow for more frequent train trips, and far more expensive options, such as double-tracking and electrifying the whole 27-mile route or even converting it to a busway or light rail system. The Department of Transportation and Parsons said for any Waterbury line upgrades to qualify for annual federal transit funding, they've got to examine those big-ticket options. But McCluskey said that's no reason to miss out on applying for one-time-only federal stimulus aid; he called on Gov. M.

Jodi Rell and the DOT to apply now for aid to build sidings, signals and perhaps a second track. McCluskey and others see the Waterbury-Bridgeport line as a link in a potentially bigger passenger transit system: A Hartford to New York route that would run from Union Station in Hartford through New Britain, Plainville, Bristol and Plymouth before connecting to the Waterbury line. "We have stations along the Waterbury line with no shelter, no restrooms and unsafe parking areas. There are many things that could be done this year and in the next construction season to improve the quality of service," McCluskey said. Val Lott of Woodbridge, who drives to Seymour to commute to her job at Peoples Bank in Bridgeport, said she wants quick improvements, too, but for different reasons.

"The primary goal should be building ridership, and you'll do that by adding more trains. If we miss the 5:55 p.m., there's not another train until 8:15," Lott said. "If you want to see your new customer base, just take an aerial shot of Route 8 over Shelton around 5:30," Jim White of Derby told consultants. Rick Dunne of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Agency cautioned that even with infrastructure improvements, the DOT would need more operating funds to add trains. Subsidies on the line run over $24 per rider, but would drop if ridership improved.

Commuters said a single additional run a northbound trip at mid-evening on weekdays would dramatically increase regular commuter business. Consultants conclude their study this fall. By DON STACOM dstacomcourant.com Consultants are studying a series of long-term, high-cost ways to improve mass transit to ease rush-hour traffic congestion on Route 8, but commuters say the answer is simple: Add more trains to Metro-North's Waterbury line. "What people want is more service another train in the evening," Roger Cirella of the Metro-North Commuter Council told planners at a public forum in Derby this week. "The things you're talking about will happen in seven years?" commuter Jim White of Derby asked.

"What we need to know is what you can do in six months." Consultants from Parsons Transportation said they're examining small-scale improvements, too, but acknowledged that even those could take five years or longer to implement. "This is unacceptable," state Rep. David GIBBS COLLEGE Farmington Campus To Stay Open By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER alevinbeckercourant.com HARTFORD Police Discover Drug Factory Hartford police say they stumbled upon a drug factory in a building at 1921 Vineland Terrace Thursday and ended up seizing 22 pounds of marijuana, 5.3 pounds of cocaine and $5,800 in cash. They also arrested four people seen fleeing the apartments when police arrived in the area to work on an unrelated case. As the four people fled, they left the doors ajar, police said.

Detectives saw the drugs, detained the four people, secured the apartment and applied for search warrants for two apartments. The marijuana, which to maintain, he said. About 105 students are now enrolled at the Farmington campus, while 115 are enrolled in Norwalk. Before the closing was announced, the Farmington campus had about 450 students, Peterson said. Peterson said that the school is re-evaluating its curriculum and working with state officials to get approval for new programs, with hopes of beginning them early next year.

The school will continue to offer programs in business administration, and fashion design and merchandising. Preliminary plans for the school's new direction are scheduled to be laid out at a meeting with state higher education officials next month. New enrollment could begin by October. At the time the closings were announced, most students were on track to complete their degrees by the end of this year, but some fewer than 50 were not that close to graduating and expressed concern that they would have trouble finding other schools to honor their credits. The state Department of Higher Education and the college worked to accommodate those students, and several colleges in the state arranged to allow Gibbs students to transfer their credits.

Another Gibbs school in Boston that was scheduled to close is also expected to remain open. students to complete their associate's degrees. On Friday, school officials announced that the Farmington campus will remain open because market conditions had changed enough that it could be successful. A "primary force" in that change was the struggling economy, which has led many people to consider going back to school as a way to update their skills or pursue a new career, said Andrea Meyer, director of media relations for the Career Education Co. "Education is very viable at this time," she said.

Gibbs College President Kurt Peterson said that market research did not support keeping the Norwalk campus open. It proved too expensive police valued at $70,000 to $80,000, and the cash were found in a first floor apartment. The cocaine, which police valued at $150,000 to $200,000, was found in a second floor apartment. Marijuana and drug paraphernalia was also found in the second floor apartment, police said. Those charged were: Kanda Thompson, 31, of 50 Forest Hartford; Garth Lennon, 38, of 19 Vineland Terrace; Leonardo Johnson, 24, of 942 East 38th Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Terrell Hunter, 28, of 421 Allen New Britain.

All were charged with possession of more than a kilogram of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and operating a drug factory HARTFORD Man, 22, Shot In Ankle A 22-year-old man was shot in the ankle late Thursday in front of the STG Spanish American grocery store on Barbour Street, police said. The man told police he was walking by the store when he felt a pain in his left ankle and noticed he had been shot, police said. A family member drove the victim to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Gibbs College will keep its Farmington campus open beyond this year, the school said Friday, reversing plans to close in December.

Gibbs' Norwalk campus will still close as planned at the end of 2009. The college's parent company, the Career Education announced in February 2008 that both campuses, along with eight other schools nationwide, would close after attempts to sell them failed. The Connecticut campuses stopped accepting new students but remained open with a closing date set for the end of 2009 to allow most of the Advertisement SAVE ON YOUR ENERGY BN Premium White. Energy Efficient. Double Hung, vjjjjjy, tfi VINYL REPLACEMENT WINDOWS "Stenosis?" Connecticut Glastonbury doctor Dr.

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