Have you been on that train? It’s so bumpy and slow, feels like no one’s maintained the tracks in 100+ years

What’s funny is it’s slow as fuck but still manages to move 180,000 people per day, 30k more than i95.

Edit: and thank GOD for metro north, else we’d need a 3rd and maybe a 4th highway running parallel to 95 and Merritt

I thought that MN can’t share tracks because they’re at capacity, they have no tracks to spare. I’ve never heard that GCT has “so much extra capacity”

Agreed that fiscal crisis was probably the biggest thing spooking big employers, so it’s great we’re finally paying that down. It’s sad to see Lego go but I remember hearing this kind of news more often in the 2010s/during the Malloy austerity years, I feel like I hear more good news now than back then at least.

I’m hoping we eventually get some federal attention for our crappy infrastructure, which’ll help some of our cities’ problems long term. CT always pays much more FIT per person than we ever get back. I don’t think CT cities will turn around in my lifetime/next 50 years or so, but something ambitious like this would really set things in motion for future generations. https://hartford400.org/

Honestly I think a series of smallish improvements can really help. Like, we can speed up/flatten out the crappy Metro North tracks for faster commutes into NYC. I just took the Hartford line to New Haven, the train went 110 in some spots, it was great. Got to New Haven in no time. Then around Bridgeport you slow down to an unnacceptable 10 mph, who would bother taking the train if it’s that slow? Fixing that can’t be that expensive. It’s just adding fixing the ballast under the tracks?

We can take better advantage of transit we already have. Build some apartments on some of the parking lots in downtowns/near transit.

Honestly I don’t think improving our cities is as expensive or difficult as people think. Stuff gets proposed by private developers all the time. Just have to get past the NIMBYs

If I’m a knowledge based company competing for skilled workers, it’s not really a choice. Go where the talent is or get out-innovated and die.

If I’m a low skill company that can operate anywhere, yeah cost of living is more important. And I’ll go to a low cost of living state.

GE, Lego, Aetna (before being purchased by CVS), MassMutual & Empower all left because kids do not stay in this sad, boring ass state after college. I know HR folks and managers in several of these big companies, hell if you read the article you’d see Lego said it too. It’s and uphill battle getting kids to move here for their internships/first jobs out of college.

CT is competing for skilled workers. That’s what this article is talking about. We’ll never be able to compete with low density/low education/low skill states for low skilled workers/companies. We need to keep young talent. We’re failing at it because we don’t have what young people want—which is walkability, culture, places to hang out with to other young people and drink without worrying about driving. We need better cities.

How do tax breaks help attract talent?

These companies are leaving to Boston, not Oklahoma.