Public Hearings

As part of the recent merger of Middletown Area Transit and 9-Town Transit, Estuary Transit District is proposing a series of updates and changes to the existing routes. These proposed changes largely come from our most recent transit study; the Lower Connecticut River Valley Transit Study conducted in 2020.

The primary purpose of these changes is to make service faster and more direct, improve service to under-served areas and better coordinate transfers.

Maps and descriptions of the changes are available below. You can complete our survey to provide your feedback. Formal public hearings will be held:

• March 28, 7:00 PM, Facebook Live
• March 29, 6:30 PM, Clinton Town Hall
• March 30, 6:00 PM, Middletown City Hall

Proposed Route Changes

As part of the recent merger of Middletown Area Transit and 9-Town Transit, Estuary Transit District is proposing a series of updates and changes to the existing routes. These proposed changes largely come from our most recent transit study; the Lower Connecticut River Valley Transit Study conducted in 2020. Estuary Transit District worked with a team of consultants to make these updates to improve existing service. The primary purpose of these route changes is to make service faster and more direct while also improving service to underserved areas. We have more information below that highlights each route change as well as a written description of the major proposed changes. However, we want and need to hear from you about these proposed route changes. We want to all feedback related to these proposed changes to help us change and tweak the route design to make sure they serve our riders the best they can. While we take all feedback, we would really appreciate completing a quick survey, where you will have the opportunity to comment on specific routes or the system-wide changes as a whole.

In addition to changes to existing routes, we also proposing the creation of a new route in Old Saybrook. The route would provide service to the Old Saybrook Train Station, Stop & Shop, Senior Center, town beaches, industrial park and more. It would also enable most of the other Shoreline routes to all start and end at the Old Saybrook Train Station Bus Stop. This would allow the Old Saybrook Train Station become a major hub that the existing routes could leave from at the same time to help coordinate transfers. Let us know what you think of the proposed Route 640 in the Shoreline.

More information about the proposed changes to existing routes and the proposed new shoreline route can be found in the document below and make sure to provide your feedback by filling out this quick survey, we will use the feedback to help us potentially change the design of the new routes.

Route-Alignements

Proposed Schedule Changes

Besides proposed change to routes, we are also making changes to the schedule to make the route departure times simpler and easier to understand. We propose at the Middletown Terminal that all routes will begin at the hourly clock face. This would mean that all of the buses leave at 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, etc. The busses leaving on the hour will hopefully make it easy to understand when the bus is leaving and should allow more time for transferring at the terminal. This change will also help the buses arrive at the terminal on-time more frequently.

A similar arrangement is proposed for the Old Saybrook Train Station bus stop. The Old Saybrook Train Station bus stop could play a similar role as the terminal in Middletown. Route 641, 642, 643, 644, and the new proposed route 640 would all leave the train station stop on the hour (8am, 9am 10am etc.). Despite many routes operating at 2-hour frequencies in the shoreline, all routes would also leave on the clockface hour. However, the routes with the 2-hour headways would be coordinated to meet at the same time every other hour. This would significantly improve opportunities for transfers at the Old Saybrook bus stop and allow for a much better-connected shoreline system overall.

More information related to the proposed Schedule changes can be found in the document below and make sure to provide your feedback by filling out this quick survey we want to hear from you!

Hourly-Pulse-Information

Written Descriptions of Route Changes

We have written descriptions of the route changes in addition to the images of the proposed route changes below. When you are done reviewing the changes make sure to fill out this survey where you can provide specific feedback on the proposed route or schedule changes.

Middletown Routes:

Route 581: Saybrook Road

• Streamline route to stay mainly on Saybrook Road and provide same service in both inbound and outbound directions
• Turnaround at CVH instead of end of Silver Street
• Serve CVH, Stop & Shop, Veterans Home, Saybrook Medical Centers, Middlesex Community College, Summerhill Apartments
• Discontinue route segments on Millbrook Road and Randolph Road

Route 582: Wesleyan Hills

• New bidirectional alignment along South Main Street via Wesleyan Hills and Long Hill Road, terminating at the Department of Social Services
• Adjust alignment to make small deviation off South Main Street to serve Senior Center
• Discontinue route segments on Russell Street, Ridge Road, and Randolph Road

Route 583: Washington Street

• New bidirectional alignment along High St, Church St, Cross St, Long Ln, West St, and Washington St
• Route serves Wesleyan University, Long Lane and Santangelo Circle, West Street, Washington Street plazas, and Sagamore Hills Apartments
• Introduce service to New Meadow and Bayberry Crest Apartments
• Discontinue route segments on Ballfall Road, Congdon Street, Ridgewood Road, and Camp Street

Route 584: Newfield Street

• Improved service through North End of Downtown
• Simplified loop at north terminus
• Introduce service to Meadow Brook, Skyview, and Cromwell Hills Apartments

Route 585: Westlake Drive

• Discontinue highway segment by staying on Berlin Road. Use of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) may help keep buses on schedule through congestion and numerous traffic signals on Route 372
• Riders can connect to CTtransit Route 512 to New Britain at Walmart and can now connect to Express Route 906 on Berlin Road
• Stay on Route 9 in and out of Downtown Middletown to improve speed.

Route 586: Portland/East Hampton

• Bidirectional service through downtown Portland, based on current PM alignment: Main Street, right on William Street, right on High Street, left on Route 66
• Terminate at Laurel Ridge
• Serve East Hampton Center, near intersection of Main Street and Route 196
• Discontinue route segments on North Main St and Middletown Ave in East Hampton

Route 590: Meriden

• Bidirectional alignment along High Street in Middletown to better serve Wesleyan University
• Make local stops along Washington Street in Middletown
• Discontinue deviation into Middletown Plaza. Route 583 will continue to serve Washington Street plaza
• Maintain same alignment for weekdays and weekends

Combined Weekend Routes

• New combined routes based on the proposed new alignments are also being developed and will mimic the service of the new routes during the day.

Shoreline Routes

Route 640: Old Saybrook Local, New Route Proposal

• Consolidate existing route segments in Old Saybrook Center as a new local circulator
• Serve Old Saybrook Station, the Industrial Park on Mill Rock Road/Research Pkwy, Stop & Shop, the Senior Center, Maple Ave, and Saybrook Point
• Allow Routes 641, 642, and 643 to terminate at Old Saybrook Station without needing to deviate downtown

Route 641: Old Saybrook/Madison

• Modified alignment to better serve Clinton Train Station
• Discontinue service in Old Saybrook Center. XtraMile or New Route 640 will serve Stop & Shop and Senior Center instead.

Route 642: Old Saybrook/Chester

• Terminate route at Old Saybrook Station instead of Saybrook Point
• Discontinue service in Old Saybrook Center. XtraMile or New Route 640 will serve instead.
• Opportunity for transfer to Route 644 (not timed) at Chester Center
• Discontinue Ivoryton branch to improve speed and reliability on route.

Route 643: Old Saybrook/New London

• Fully align to I-95 from Old Saybrook to New London to improve speed and reliability
• Discontinue service in Old Saybrook Center. XtraMile or New Route 640 will serve Stop & Shop instead
• Maintain stops at Old Lyme Marketplace, Neck Road, 4 Mile River Road, and Flanders/East Lyme
• Discontinue deviation to Rodgers Lake/North Old Lyme

Route 644: Old Saybrook/Chester

• Align with Route 9 through Haddam to improve speed and reliability
• Maintain stops at Essex and Chester Park & Rides, Chester Center, Higganum, and Middlesex Community College
• Discontinue route segment on Route 154 in Chester and Haddam

Route 645: Madison/Middletown

• Align with I-95 from Clinton to Madison to improve speed and reliability
• Discontinue service to Clinton Train Station. Route 641 will continue to serve