Norwalk, Connecticut, United States

Lemmie dream. Major limitation at play here is cost: the city of Norwalk is incapable of financing a billion+ dollars in construction costs, and is unlikely to be for quite some time. As such, prioritization would be key: * First, the Green Line would be an essential crosstown route, and its highest ridership stats reflects that well. Traffic reduction on both East Ave and western Connecticut Ave are major selling points, as are the connections between East Norwalk station, South Norwalk station, NCC, City Hall, and the eastern branch of Westport Ave. The entire city benefits. * Second up, the Red Line. Running along the river and the city's developed spine, the Red Line's cost is underepresented; it would be best built by converting the Rt. 7 Extension into a proper city boulevard, with the reclaimed land reuniting the two city halves and allowing for a host of new car-independent development. Barring that, existing sideroads could be utilized, or even highway median-running, although these would likely present logistical problems and impair both ridership and speed. The section south of the SoNo collection might be considered as a Phase I proof of concept before approaching the state to make dramatic changes. *** The Central Loop is contingent upon the construction of both the Green and Red lines, with the Rt. 7 Extension rebuild being particularly essential. Serving as a ring route for the city center, it'd only require a few additional stretches of construction (part of which could be shared in the future), increasing redundancy and interchanges while opening the door completely on the densification of the Norwalk downtown core. Frequency would attempt to match the other two lines, effectively doubling service at all stops and enabling a massive reduction in car dependency in the city center. * Third up, the Yellow Line absorbs a large chunk of the north-south traffic in eastern Norwalk, providing additional connections to the beach and further afield to Cranbury. Rebuilds of East Ave will provide increased traffic safety and cement the southern Norwalk River as the city's urban hub on both sides. * Fourth is a tied, starting with the Blue Line. Major reconstruction of Norwalk's stretch of Rt. 1 is both politically daunting and potentially expensive, but the new connections to the existing tram lines paired with the sheer amount of commercial zoning along the route would take massive amounts of local traffic off the roads. Rt. 1 could easily be upzoned at stops to provide the city even more opportunities for development, and businesses would see much more reliable foot traffic, hopefully assisting the city in currying more local industries rather than the current dearth of big box stores. The hurdle here would be the design of Rt. 1 itself; it either needs to be widened with dedicated BRT lanes, or some of the existing lanes have to be reallocated. Politically contentious on such a congested roadway either way. * Fourth is tied, ending with the Orange Line. Sharing existing tram right-of-ways and extending through Rowayton to the west and Strawberry Hill to the east, the line could act as a major feeder to the others, connecting the city's high schools, several suburban communities, and providing even more service through the train station cores. Political opposition to this line would likely be stark, particularly in said suburban communities. * Last place is the Cyan Line, acting more as an accessory to the Red, Blue, and Green Lines than anything else. Living or dying by the say-so of the Rowayton waterfront, it would primarily act as a new corridor through the Rowayton train station, giving the west side of town a real shot at beginning to pick up some urban pockets as well as providing out-of-town-students and shoppers easier access to NCC and the Blue Line respectively. This one, in particular, might never happen depending on the politics of Rowayton. As for depots, prime locations would be somewhere near the Westport Avenue stop (potentially expensive), South Norwalk train station (would need a sizeable expansion), the DMV stop, near the Belden Avenue stop post-Rt. 7 reconstruction, and NCC (potential new mechanical program?). Potential upgrades later include: * Turning the Red and Yellow Lines into proper Light Rail. * Creating interurban services toward New Canaan, Westport, or best of all Wilton. * Encouraging density on the Orange and Blue Lines for increased ridership, with a potential future upgrade to Trams.