VHB assisted the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) with creating a new master plan for the Stamford Transportation Center (STC), the busiest passenger rail station in Connecticut. The new master plan includes a comprehensive review and evaluation of the existing STC site and environs, providing recommendations and conceptual improvements that will lead to increased public and private transit use as well as enhanced vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian access.
As the STC faced increasing accessibility issues due to its existing site constraints and added pressures of the area’s capital project developments, CTDOT expressed the need for a new vision for the station with the goal to ultimately transform the complex into a best-in-class facility. Through a task order contract, a multi-office, multi-discipline VHB team was able to bring this vision to life.
VHB conducted extensive research, which included reviewing prior studies done for the STC, the City of Stamford and surrounding area, analyzing comparable multimodal transportation centers throughout the United States, and studying local, City, and CTDOT development projects. The team held virtual site visits and work sessions with CTDOT and City personnel, conducted stakeholder interviews and surveys, and performed traffic analyses. VHB also developed a dedicated project website to keep the public involved and up to date on the latest project news and progress.
This extensive effort resulted in the development of a master plan with recommendations that address both short- and long-term needs of the STC and support a sustainable, transformative vision. The plan is centered around three distinct areas—Station Place, the STC itself (which includes the concourse, track, and basement levels), and the tunnel level/bus and shuttle area. It also addresses traffic and station area roadways, pedestrian paths of travel, customer waiting and ticketing areas, wayfinding/signage, bus and shuttle operations, and transportation network companies and taxi services.
