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TORRINGTON, CT – Aspiring motorcyclists in Litchfield County will have to travel much farther next year to take the state’s mandatory Basic Rider Course. After 26 years of allowing Connecticut Rider Education Program (CONREP) classes on the UConn Torrington campus, the university is kicking the program to the curb by withdrawing permission to use its parking lot as a training range.
Nicholas Just, who oversees CONREP for the state Department of Transportation, calls the decision “a significant loss” as it was the only site in the county for prospective riders to take the course. Taking the Basic Rider Course is required by law and provides those who successfully complete it with a required “M” endorsement on their driver’s license.
Just said his records show that motorcycle training classes have been offered at the UConn branch since 1988 with roughly 3,000 students enrolling over the years. The classes were administered by Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted up until four years ago when Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury assumed that role.
“The loss of this training site will mean that roughly 200 students per year will need to find an alternate training site and will therefore have a longer travel time to find one. Making this training more inconvenient for prospective riders could make them choose to ride unendorsed,” said Just, adding that potential consequences are “more possible fatalities and serious injuries on the road.”
UConn’s reason for giving CONREP the boot is planned new pavement for the parking lot. While the existing lot has lines for parking spaces as well as lines showing patterns that motorcycle students must navigate during on-bike training, UConn doesn’t want the new pavement marred by those same commingled lines.
“Because it would be a brand new parking lot, they wouldn’t be able to do that. If you have those lines painted over our lines, it can get very confusing. We want to make sure we have a safe environment,” said Fiona de Merell, community engagement director at UConn Torrington.
The added lines for the motorcycle classes were “the only issue and the only reason” why the relationship is not being allowed to continue, said de Merell. Of the relationship with CONREP, she said, “They’re great. We love having them here. They’re fantastic.”
The decision to oust CONREP came from the university’s Facilities Operations department in Storrs, de Merell added.
John Purdy Jr., who runs the CONREP classes at N.V.C.C., likewise lamented the loss of UConn Torrington as a training site. “It’s a great facility,” he said. “There are no distractions. It’s a standard-sized range.”
Purdy (pictured above) said UConn is paid $4,500 annually for facility fees, which includes the use of classrooms and the parking lot, custodial fees, security and tech support. An additional $950 is paid annually for a portable toilet. N.V.C.C. pays those tabs and is then reimbursed by CONREP. On-range instruction at UConn Torrington occurred on Saturday and Sunday between May and October.
CONREP is looking for an alternative location in Litchfield County, but the prospects are limited. “If it’s not a state-owned facility, it gets more complicated because of insurance concerns,” Just said.
With the loss of UConn Torrington as a CONREP site, the closest sites for prospective students next year will be in Waterbury at N.V.C.C., in East Granby at the Air National Guard Base at Bradley International Airport, and in Farmington at Tunxis Community College.
– By Bud Wilkinson
(Originally published in “The Republican-American” on Nov. 1, 2014.)
This is a major loss to the motorcycle community,I have taken two courses in Torrington and planned to make this event an annual tune up for the start of each season. John P, and Steve S have been exceptional influences in my riding style and performance.