Investing in Transportation Infrastructure to Accelerate Economic Growth Economic Impact of Hartford Springfield Boston Rail Service
Thursday, November 18, 2021, 12:00pm-1:30pm
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Sponsored by: UConn Department of Public Policy (DPP), Connecticut Town & City Management Association (CTCMA), Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) and American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).
The transcontinental railroad and the US interstate highway system are two examples of transportation investments that yielded massive economic benefits. Recently the Capital Region Council of Governments and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission commissioned a study to look at the economic impact of restoring regular passenger rail service from Hartford to Springfield to Boston. The bottom line is that for a six to eight billion dollar investment, the payback over 30 years would be nine to ten times that investment and yield growth that the region has missed over the past decades.
Welcome
Lyle Wray, Executive Director Emeritus, Capitol Region Council of Governments: Dr. Wray has served as Executive Director of CRCOG in Hartford since 2004. Previously he served in the Minnesota area as Executive Director of the Ventura County Civic Alliance, Executive Director of the Citizens League, and Dakota County Administrator & HR Director in The Twin Cities.
Originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, Lyle earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Manitoba. He has had a variety of international teaching & consulting experiences in e-government, performance measurement, civil society and human resources. He co-authored Results That Matter, published by J. Wiley in 2006. He was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2015. and was elected President of the Community Indicators Consortium in 2017.
Mohamad Alkadry, Head, UConn Department of Public Policy: Mohamad G. Alkadry serves as a Professor and Head of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Connecticut. He previously held academic and administrative appointments, and was tenured at Florida International University in Miami, FL, West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
Dr. Alkadry has over 50 peer-reviewed articles, peer-reviewed book chapters, and journal symposia. He is also co-editor and co-author of three books: Women and Public Service: Barriers, Challenges and Opportunities (2013, 2014), These Things Happen: Stories from the Public Sector (2002), and Scaling Up Microenterprise Services (1998)Dr. Alkadry has authored in excess of fifty community and professional studies in areas of governance and public management.
Alkadry earned his B.A. from Carleton University, his M.P.P.P.A. from Concordia University, and his Ph.D. from Florida Atlantic University.
Moderator
James Redeker, FHI Studio and former Commissioner of CT DOT: James P. Redeker was named Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation by Governor Dannel P. Malloy on August 25, 2011. He had served as Acting Commissioner since March 2011. Prior to being named Acting Commissioner, Mr. Redeker was Deputy Commissioner of the agency and also served as Chief of the Bureau of Public Transportation. Mr. Redeker joined the DOT in 2009 after a 30-year career with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ Transit. His portfolio of experience includes strategic planning and policy, capital programming, transportation planning, transit-service planning and scheduling, transit friendly development, demand forecasting, pricing, paratransit and community service delivery, customer service and information technology.
Jim Redeker received a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Science in 1977 and a Master’s in Civil Engineering in 1978 from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In addition, he has taught a variety of courses at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University and the National Transit Institute.
Presenters
Steve Gazillo and Team, AECOM authors of economic impact study on Boston rail: Vice President and manager of the transportation planning practice in AECOM’s New England region. Responsible for transit, rail, complete streets, bicycle, pedestrian, TOD, traffic planning, and related work. Our transit planning projects extend nationwide. AECOM acquired URS and launched the combined company at the start of 2015.
Dan Hodge, Executive Vice President, Cambridge Econometrics, Inc.: Dan Hodge has worked for over 25 years as an applied economist and economic development consultant focused on assessing local, regional, state, and multi-state economies in terms of economic impacts, competitiveness, target industries, strategic plans, and infrastructure investments. He works closely with public sector, non-profit, and private sector clients to interpret and formulate input from a range of stakeholders into a logical, compelling set of issues, opportunities, goals, and policy recommendations. Dan has worked extensively on rail projects, planning, and economic analysis, including the Massachusetts state rail plan, the Knowledge Corridor passenger rail feasibility study, and multiple iterations of east-west rail and Inland Route rail studies. Dan holds masters degrees in applied economics and public policy from the University of Michigan.
Panelists
Mayor Luke Bronin, City of Hartford: Luke Bronin was sworn in as the 67th mayor of the City of Hartford on January 1, 2016. Mayor Bronin is a husband, a father, a veteran, and an attorney, and he is committed to building a stronger Hartford for all of the city’s residents. He has focused on confronting the city’s fiscal crisis directly and honestly, engaging young in partnership with community organizations, and working to draw investment to the City.
Prior to becoming mayor, Luke had the opportunity to serve in senior positions in both federal and state governments. In 2013, he was appointed by then-Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy to serve as General Counsel. In his position as the governor’s chief lawyer, Bronin partnered with legislators and state agency officials to advance the Governor’s agenda, and he was deeply involved in developing policies to combat veterans’ homelessness, expand economic opportunities, reform our criminal justice system, and protect our environment.
Prior to his role in Governor Malloy’s office, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. In that role, he helped lead the federal government’s efforts to isolate and disrupt international terrorist groups, and advanced U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Mayor Bronin earned his B.A. and J.D. from Yale University and his M.A. from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Kim Robinson Executive Director, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission: Kim Robinson has been the Executive Director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVP) in Springfield, MA since October, 2019. Prior to that she was Executive Director of the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency in Reno, NV. Kim is recognized for her ability to successfully manage complex projects, programs and operations; communicate forthrightly yet effectively and navigate sensitive political relationships; facilitate consensus and commitment among competing stakeholders; and lead diverse teams to success.
PVPC is a regional planning agency for the 43 cities and towns in Hampshire and Hampden counties. She is committed to leading the next chapter in its long history of improving Pioneer Valley residents’ quality of life, as well as building on the partnerships the agency has cultivated with its 43 member communities to help them succeed, from basic government service delivery to big-picture regional visioning.