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Business Council Looks For Transportation Fixes In Fairfield Area

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- As president and chief executive officer of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, Paul Timpanelli can look at the view from his 14th story office at 10 Middle St. in downtown Bridgeport and see all types of transportation: the Bridgeport/Port Jefferson Ferry and Metro-North Railroad, along with any number of cars and buses on the roads and highways.

Paul Timpanelli says transportation is the region's biggest problem in the short and long term.

Paul Timpanelli says transportation is the region's biggest problem in the short and long term.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Unfortunately, when he peers through the glass, he also sees a big mess.

“Transportation is probably our biggest problem both in the short and long term,” said Timpanelli. “The problem affects businesses as people have difficulty in getting to work and it directly impacts our ability to generate more economic activity in this region.”

The Bridgeport Regional Business Council includes the Chambers of Commerce in Bridgeport, Stratford and Trumbull, and also serves the communities of Fairfield, Monroe, Easton and Shelton.

The Business Council has a fluid strategic plan that supports a collective mission to create opportunities for business growth in the greater Bridgeport region, Timpanelli said. Its mission is to increase economic opportunities for the region by acting to create an environment for business expansion, retention and recruitment that will result in tax base growth and jobs growth.

That mission is hampered when the mechanism of getting people to work and goods and commodities to the businesses that need them is in severe disrepair.

“Our transportation problems in this state, and particularly in Fairfield County, are a significant detriment to our goals here,” said Timpanelli, a former first selectman of Trumbull, where he is still a resident. “This situation affects so many areas; internal county connectivity, parking tome of transit – you name it.”

Local residents who have been stuck in seemingly endless delays on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, not to mention other local thoroughfares, know that many residents do not even consider public transportation as a travel option. Timpanelli himself has been guilty of this.

“I had a meeting in Hartford recently and it was being held at Union Station, I mean right at the train station,” Timpanelli said. “One of my colleagues called and asked, ‘What train are you taking?’ I was absolutely flabbergasted. I hadn’t even thought of taking the train.”

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