Author: chelsea

Oh boy, this one’s a doozy. So, who wants to ride a bus for 2 hours straight? Yeah, me neither. I’m not exactly an “extreme commuter” or anything like that. However, we do have a route that fits the “let’s ride a bus for 2 hours” bill. Meet: the Coastal Link.

Some backstory: So, I first found out about this route through a Miles in Transit video where he rode it the other way (Norwalk-Milford). At that point, I haven’t even considered making this blog yet, and when I did make it I wanted to do the Coastal Link, just for how long it is. Sounds fun, right? Then, I wrote my entry on the 261, and came to LOATHE stroads for the lack of anything interesting to say about them. That’s when I said “oh dear god no” when I saw that the Coastal Link was on my todo list. And, while it isn’t the longest bus I’ve ridden for distance (that’s the 95X), it definitely is the longest route by runtime (by bus, beating the 14’s two branches). So, let’s get into this 2 hour marathon.

So, waiting at the mall after getting off the 271, all seems normal, right? Where’s the bus? It’s supposed to be laying over! I check the tracker, nothing. One bus even DISAPPEARED. My first thought was “oh crap” until 10:25 (3 minutes late!), a Milford Transit bus pulls in with the destination sign reading “CL COASTAL LINK”.

That explains it, because Milford Transit doesn’t even have GTFS or tracking of any kind. So, aboard the bus and off we go, down Route 1. Oh dear god, stroads…

So, we go down Route 1, turn down a street into downtown Milford, and down Broad Street. At this point, we’re in flag stop territory as Milford Transit doesn’t really have signed bus stops. Several people got on, and we high tailed it out, turning onto South Broad and eventually Bridgeport Avenue. Fortunately, it was a straight shot into Stratford and deviation #1 (2? Would the mall count?)

Alrighty, now that we crossed the… *looks at pronunciation key*

Hauser Tonic River? Did I get that? They named a river after Stjepan Hauser?! Oh, oh HOOSA-tonic. Damn, that’s disappointing.

After crossing the Housatonic River, we entered Stratford, left flag stop territory (stops were signed), and deviated to The Dock Shopping Center, and a double deviation to Stop & Shop specifically. Upon finishing this, we turned onto Barnum Avenue, passing a Walmart. Turning down Main St. brings us past Stratford’s Metro-North station. From here, we pressed on further down Main St., eventually turning down Stratford Avenue, and soon enough entering Bridgeport. At this point, we had townhouses lining the streets and, while it wasn’t the best-looking area, it wasn’t the worst either. Around here was where ridership started to pick up, with the bus eventually reaching about 80% capacity. Yeah, I didn’t think I’d see a Milford Transit bus this full. As we pressed on, we crossed a couple more rivers, passed a Bass Pro Shops, and went under the interstate twice, passing homeless camps, until we deviated into the GBT Terminal.

Alrighty, so after deviating into the GBT bus terminal, swapping an 85% full bus for a 95% full bus, we turn down John Street and Fairfield Avenue. From here, we still pass a bunch of houses and shops, pass under the New Haven Line again, and pass under I-95 again. And it’s more of the same. Again. But at least we pass a Dunkin’ and a creek! Neat.

At this point, we were in Fairfield, and we’d reach Route 1. Again. But, the interchange was a bit hacky since the bus stop was positioned in such a way where a sharp turn was necessary. And yes, someone DID get on here. We kept on down Route 1, through Fairfield’s town center and past the town green. I must admit, it seems like a nice area, save for on-street parking on a stroad. We also passed by a side street near Fairfield’s Metro-North station. But, once we left Fairfield for Westport, it was stroad HELL.

Of course, once we entered Westport, it was stroad HELL. It legitimately was nothing but shopping centers on either side. No deviations either. But, wait, there’s a proper downtown area in Westport?! Holy CRAP! Sadly, though, it’s nowhere near Westport’s Metro-North station. But then we crossed the Saugatuck River and it was the same crap. Strip malls and needlessly wide roads, all dragging on forever. Until, oh crap, we’re entering downtown Norwalk! Yeah, we took a turn at East Ave., passed the Norwalk Green, crossed the Norwalk River, and a few more turns and FINALLY we made it to the WHEELS Hub!

The good: You can’t say it doesn’t serve a lot! Yeah, it serves quite a bit. Three RTA jurisdictions (5 if you include the Stamford and New Haven divisions of CTtransit!), several towns, all stretched out over 20 someodd miles. Plus, it’s pretty much THE definition of a cross-regional bus route, serving multiple major cities along the way and with the various smaller communities. Also, it’s only $1.75 (which seems to be standard statewide, regardless of authority), vs. $4.50 for an intermediate ticket on Metro-North (from Milford to South Norwalk). And it runs to 10pm?!

The bad: It’s a bit long! I mean, yes, it’s intended to connect multiple places together, but it just drags on. The fact it’s all stroads doesn’t help much here. And, no front-door service to Metro-North? Would it have hurt to deviate into Stratford’s inbound platform at least, along with Fairfield’s?

Nearby points of interest: Norwalk! Bridgeport! Stratford! Milford! Also the Post Mall (which is the largest in the state!)! Also, whatever is in Westport. Yeah, there’s not much around there given the stroady nature. There’s also Fairfield, which seems alright.

Total crossings over the New Haven & Danbury Lines: 7

Total crossings over I-95: 10

Overall, it’s a decent route. A marathon, sure. But, it gets the job done as a link between the communities it serves. Plus, the connection between transit authorities and CTtransit is always nice. But, if you’re looking for speed, just take Metro-North.

Rating 9/10

Alrighty, another CTtransit route! Now, this one’s a bit tricky as there’s THREE(!!!) variants of the route. But, looking at the schedule, the 271M to Milford is the full run, with the 271S to Savin Rock and the Sunday-only 271R being short-turns. The full run also runs every 40 minutes, while trips go to Savin Rock every 20. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get into it.

So I got on the bus at Union Station instead of the New Haven Green, and from there we were off to the races. A few turns and Route 1 later, we were on Howard Avenue. Was there a prison? Not really. However, I wouldn’t describe this as the best part of New Haven. Dangerous still? Not really, though. But it was a high ridership area, and from here, we turned down Kimberly Avenue. We passed through a bunch of row homes and shops, even a school and a park. Soon enough, we went under the interstate and over the West River, into West Haven.

So, at this point, the road became Elm Street as we passed more of the same. Yep. More houses, more shops. Same stuff, different town. We made a turn, down Campbell Avenue, which seemed sorta walkable, I guess. It has parking on the sides of the street. Eventually, though, we’d make our way to the ocean and Savin Rock Park. By this point, ridership has fallen significantly, but there were still a few people on the bus.

Alright, from hereon out it was what is probably rich NIMBY hell. Following the ocean, on the side I was sitting on, it was just houses upon houses, sometimes a park, but it all looked like it’d belong to rich people. There was also a beach along the way at one of the turns, and the other side had much more for the eyes to see. Eventually, there were some shops like Sunoco and Dollar General. At one point, we even turned down a side street that probably shouldn’t have buses on it. And yes, it’s part of the route.

Finally, we made it to Milford. From here, we turned down New Haven Avenue, deviated towards Milford’s MNRR station, and went back up the way we came. From there, we went further up Gulf Street, and down Route 1 to the end of the route at the Connecticut Post Mall.

The good: Well, it serves a lot of mostly high density neighborhoods! It also directly-ish serves Milford’s Metro-North station, along with the Connecticut Post Mall. Short-turns to Savin Rock are also nice, since not everyone needs to go the full hour ride out.

The bad: What’s with Sunday routing being different? It also feels like it drags on forever through rich NIMBY hell, but to be fair not many people there are probably looking to take CTtransit.

Nearby points of interest: Milford’s downtown and the Post Mall. Also, Savin Rock and the West Haven Green.

Overall, it’s a decent enough route. It definitely serves a lot, and, at least on my run, was a few minutes early. Nevertheless, I’d say that this route would be better having the express variant over the 261.

Rating: 7/10

Nono, this isn’t Fairfield (Metro-North). That’s next time I’m in the area. This is Fairfield Metro (Metro-North). Okay? We good? I know, it’s a little confusing. But, let’s dig into it.

Okay, so of course, getting off the train, the platform is very much still seemingly immaculate. You’ve got benches, a huge parking lot (this was built to relieve pressure on Fairfield!), and would ya believe it, it’s fully accessible! YAY! That’s by virtue of a bridge over the tracks, which have elevator access! Ticket machines also exist here. Lastly, you have bike racks on the inbound side, along with what looks like a busway. If it is a busway, it’s kinda useless since nothing stops here, well, at the station itself. GBT stops on Kings Highway just outside the station (0.1 mile walk) with one route.

The good: It’s got ridership, that’s for sure! Given that most of the parking lot was used when I was here, it’s clear that it’s serving its purpose as a relief station for Fairfield. Furthermore, most trains stop here unless it’s an express.

The bad: The platform is kinda long, maybe overly long, but then again some trains CAN be long. Plus, what’s with that thing that looks like a busway?

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot, but there are a few shopping centers nearby.

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven)
GBT (5 on Black Rock Tpke., 7 on Kings Hwy.)

Overall, it’s a servicable station. It’s not bad, but it just feels like it’s lacking in character. Or, maybe, the character is in how modern it is. And, as a relief station for Fairfield, it gets the job done pretty well.

Rating: 7/10

So, from the middle of absolutely nowhere, to the heart of a small city (kinda). Let’s look at South Norwalk.

So, getting off the WHEELS bus (no entries on that yet!), I made my way up towards the station. Wait, oh crap I got off the wrong spot. Turns out, you don’t enter through the parking garage like at Wickford Junction. So, some more walking later, and finally I found the entrance to the platforms. And there’s a station building here, too! Sweet!

Of course, it’s your standard Metro-North affair, but the platforms are configured in a slightly more unusual way. With it being the terminal for the Danbury Line, the trains need somewhere to lay over. So, that’s where the extra tracks and the partial islands come in. Tracks 1 and 2 are your standard express tracks, mostly for Amtrak and express trains. Tracks 3 and 4 are used for trains to New Haven and Grand Central, while tracks 5 and 6 are used for Danbury trains. Here’s a visual from Wikipedia.

So, how’s the station itself? Well, the platforms are your standard affair with benches, a Pepsi vending machine, ticket machines, and a parking machine to pay for parking. Inside the station, you have some vending machines, plus bathrooms which are only open during morning and evening rush hour periods. The inside of the station looks nice though, with waiting areas on either side, connected by an underpass.

The good: It’s pretty much in downtown Norwalk! Furthermore, you also have Norwalk WHEELS deviating in here with every route that serves the station. Parking is (as far as I can tell) aplenty, and you even have two nice indoor waiting areas. Plus, it’s also the terminus for Danbury trains, so one could transfer between lines here.

The bad: That said, sometimes the platform listing is only a suggestion, as the Danbury train above was too long to fit on track 5. It’s also a bit of a ways away from the WHEELS Hub, and the locked bathroom is annoying.

Nearby points of interest: If you’re willing to walk a little, downtown Norwalk is nearby! You also have the Sono Collection shopping center and the aquarium nearby.

Transit connections:
Metro-North (Danbury, New Haven)
Norwalk WHEELS (9, 10, 11)

Overall, it’s a nice station. In a way, it reminds me of Wickford Junction, but with actual service. And, unlike some other stations, it’s properly set up to handle branch services. It’s also centrally located in Norwalk so one could get here without much hassle.

Rating: 7.5/10