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NVCOG endorses 2026 regional safety targets and approves multiple TIP amendments, including station platform projects
Summary
NVCOG voted to endorse regional roadway safety targets for 2026 and approved several TIP amendments and station platform projects; staff said the regional fatality target for 2026 is 35 and platform upgrades are designed to be ADA‑compliant and solar‑ready, with construction expected in spring 2026.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments voted to endorse regional roadway safety performance targets for calendar year 2026 and to approve multiple Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) amendments that fund roadway and rail projects across the region.
Rich Donovan, NVCOG’s director of transportation planning, presented the safety targets and the methodology the MPO used to calculate regional goals, noting the work aligns with the state's methodology and Vision Zero aspirations. Donovan said the MPO calculated a target of 35 traffic fatalities for the 15‑town MPO region in 2026 and recommended the board adopt CNB MPO resolution 26 0 2 endorsing those regional targets. After questions about federal consequences for missing targets — Donovan said MPOs face no direct financial penalty but noted federal rules restricting flexibility of highway safety funding — the board moved, seconded and adopted the resolution.
Donovan also reviewed a slate of TIP amendments and project adjustments (presented as resolution 26 0 3) that include Route 72 improvements in Bristol, CTfastrak guideway resurfacing, a NuMx breakout project near the Route 8/I‑84 interchange in Waterbury, bridge rehabilitation projects, and multiple rail station platform projects. Staff highlighted that the Naugatuck and Derby‑Shelton station projects are funded under separate programs; the platform projects on this agenda are primarily platform and accessibility upgrades covered by federal station accessibility grants and state funds. Donovan said platform designs are 350‑foot high‑level platforms, heated for winter operation, fully ADA compliant and built with canopy structures that can accommodate future solar installations.
The board adopted the TIP amendments and endorsed the CTDOT‑proposed changes. Members were told early rolling‑stock deliveries are scheduled by CTDOT beginning in 2026 but that widespread operation of new equipment in the region likely will occur later (around 2028).
