According to the CTfastrak “Construction Bulletin,” “The current pedestrian crossing on Flower Street Amtrak rail line will be completely closed from Monday, May 13, 2013 to Friday, June 14, 2013. A temporary pedestrian walkway has been installed.”
Though they say nothing about cyclist usage, it can be assumed that this unrecognized population will also be banned from using the north-south route while this construction occurs.
The “temporary pedestrian walkway” is useless for those seeking a direct north-south route alternative, but if you’d like a lovely stroll through a parking lot below the interstate, go ahead and enjoy the walkway that links Flower Street to Broad Street, an east-west route.
Construction is weather-permitting and may be rescheduled if necessary.
If you’ve been following the Flower Street debacle at all, you’re familiar with the CT DOT’s desire to “mitigate” the closure of a north-south route by creating an east-west one between Broad Street and Flower Street. Continue reading 'Reveal the Path to Nowhere'»
Travel lanes were recently reduced in the area of Flatbush Avenue to accommodate CTfastrak construction. Now motorists will be re-routed through a shopping plaza parking lot for approximately one week. The detour is set to start on April 8, 2013 at 5 a.m. Beginning on April 4, 2013, the traffic pattern within Charter Oak Marketplace will change to allow detours.
While CTfastrak is attempting a series of public engagement meetings this month, it is simultaneously attempting to disengage one specific segment of the public: those opposed to the complete closure of Flower Street.
Running parallel to Broad Street between Capitol Avenue and Farmington Avenue, Flower Street has been the subject of controversy since the announcement that it would be barricaded for “safety” reasons. Several inquiries made for data supporting this claim that the New Britain-Hartford Busway/CTfastrak and the existing rail would significantly endanger lives if Flower Street remained open have been disregarded by those affiliated with CTfastrak and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. At a meeting in February, one employee laughed at the request, saying no such data existed.
At the same meeting, anyone who expressed concern with any part of the CTfastrak project was labeled a “detractor.”
What are residents and stakeholders to do if they are portrayed as lousy rabblerousers for trying to help shape a project that cuts through their neighborhoods?
Take time off from work on three consecutive days, travel to the Department of Transportation headquarters on the Berlin Turnpike, and wait around to speak out, even though the agency may arbitrarily not grant the status required for one’s voice to have any impact.
This is, according to the DOT’s Petition for Reconsideration, what the agency has in store.
The DOT, by the way, is petitioning itself. All decisions related to Flower Street have been made internally.
This latest petition was filed on March 6, 2013 by Timothy Wilson, the Manager of Highway Design in the DOT’s Bureau of Engineering and Construction. After the City of Hartford and others filed documents showing intent of having witnesses at the scheduled April 4th hearing, Wilson, in his petition, requested that the hearing take place over several days:
Continue reading 'CTfastone'»
Starting on the evening of March 15th, the stretch of Flatbush from New Park Avenue to the highway ramps will be “reduced to one lane”, eastbound. Newfield Avenue, northbound, between Shopping Plaza Drive and Flatbush, will also be “reduced to one lane,” according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Despite ongoing construction in this area, CTfastrak is describing this as the beginning of stage one for the Flatbush Avenue reconstruction project. There are four stages. There is no indication of when this stage will be completed.
The CTfastrak is seeking input via a survey, with questions about service options and room to comment on other aspects of the New Britain-to-Hartford busway.
The interior of the second and third floors have already gone through demolition and the first floor’s exterior façade is in process of being spruced up. Thanks to $500,000 given by CL&P toward the rehab project, the three-story, blond-brick building at the corner of Ashley and Garden Street (207-213 Garden) is now moving closer to completion.
The rehab project, sponsored by the Northside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, INC. (NINA), was acquired in 2010 from what NINA is calling an “absentee investor.” Except for a pizza shop and package store on the first floor, the entire building (11,000 square feet) was vacant.
Moving forward, the plan is to maintain retail on the ground floor, while creating apartments on the second, and commercial space on the third. David Corrigan, the Program Manager for NINA, says the organization anticipates construction on the apartments will begin early in 2013. He says the apartments should be available to rent in early 2014. Rental rates will be determined closer to the date of completion. Continue reading 'Zunner Building in Asylum Hill Receives Funding'»
With Winterfest slated to begin on the evening of November 23, 2012, workers have been busy making Christmas out of Bushnell Park. Continue reading 'Skaters Gonna Skate'»
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In March, Back9Network — a media company with headquarters on Lewis Street — announced that it was looking for a larger space. In April, Braza on the Plaza closed its doors. A few months later, the golf network began talking about plans to begin construction in the former-Braza (and before that, Spris) space.
Now, work is underway.
At neighborhood meetings, DOT reps informed residents that the plans to close Flower Street were set in stone. One even claimed that it does not matter how many outraged individuals show up at tomorrow’s hearing, opinion will not be swayed by the public.
As local businesses have collected hundreds of signatures and as more people have let their disapproval be known, the DOT seems to be backpedaling. On yesterday’s broadcast of Where We Live, Mike Sanders of the DOT, indicated that the State has begun to reconsider shutting Flower Street to all traffic this fall. Continue reading 'DOT Taps the Brakes on Total Closure of Street'»
Employees of the Connecticut Department of Transportation met with residents and stakeholders in Asylum Hill on Wednesday night, primarily to rehash the presentation given on Monday to the Frog Hollow NRZ. Following a theme, Asylum Hill residents opposed the closure of Flower Street, while the DOT continued to provide questionable justification for that plan. No new arguments were presented, but residents and stakeholders pressed for more specific explanations. Continue reading 'Asylum Hill Reacts to Planned Flower Street Closure'»
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