By Bob McGarry, Haddam First Selectman
(March 31, 2023) — Haddam is served by two bus routes operated by 9 Town Transit: Route 644 along Saybrook Road and Route 645 along Route 81. 9 Town Transit just merged with Middletown Area Transit to form River Valley Transit (RVT). As part of the merger, RVT is seeking public input on proposed route changes. The proposed changes affect only one of the routes in Haddam, Route 644. The proposed change would have the bus use Route 9 and 81 instead of Route 154 (Saybrook Road) to travel from the Chester town line to Higganum Center. This change eliminates bus service from Tylerville to Higganum Center. I met with RVT’s Executive Director and expressed Haddam’s strong objection to the change.
Bill Warner, our Town Planner, submitted written comments that said, in part, “The Town of Haddam is deeply concerned with the changes to “9 Town Transit Route 644” along CT Route 154 Saybrook Road. The changes completely by-pass the Town and specifically our 3 villages, Tylerville, Haddam and Higganum. This is where the infrastructure is in place and shopping and affordable housing exists in our town. These changes are short-sighted, ignore Haddam’s low-income populations and completely abandon the idea of revitalizing village centers where infrastructure and affordable housing are already in place. We strongly oppose this change.”
I encourage residents to review the proposed changes and make comments at https://estuarytransit.org/servicechanges/. By hovering over the map at this site, you can scroll down to see the Route 644 change.
Even if you don’t ride the bus, it’s an important service for our residents who do.
