 | Picture It Better Together: Taking Transportation Goals From Policy to Reality
Hartford Metropolitan Area, ConnecticutTCSP Project Site Visit Report Sponsor: A partnership project of the City of Hartford, Parkville Revitalization Association, Capitol Region Council of Governments working with the Towns of Suffield and West Hartford Summary of Project and Anticipated Products The objective of the "Picture It Better Together" project is to develop improved linkages among transportation, land use, and economic development at both the neighborhood and regional level. For three prototypical communities within the Hartford region, human-scaled land use designs are being developed that integrate different transport modes both with each other and into the community; address current traffic conflicts; promote economic growth and revitalization; and improve the livability of the respective areas with respect to visual attractiveness, open space, pedestrian friendliness, and availability of a diversity of activities. The three communities are the Parkville neighborhood located on the west side of Hartford, one of the City's most racially, ethnically, and economically diverse areas; West Hartford, an older inner-ring suburb located immediately adjacent to the Parkville neighborhood; and Suffield, a rural town located along the Massachusetts border next to Bradley International Airport. The work for the Parkville and West Hartford communities involves coordination with the proposed Hartford New Britain Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and proposed improvements to I-84 interchanges; and the Suffield portion of the project involves coordination with the Bradley Airport Transportation Study. Products being developed include community plans; model ordinances; and proposed intermodal designs that address walking, biking, parking, traffic calming, the location and design of bus station areas, and trucking. Innovative Aspects The Hartford TCSP project involves a state/local/private partnership between regional transportation planning, typically undertaken by a Metropolitan Planning Organization, and community planning normally conducted exclusively by cities and towns. This is facilitating a discussion and mutual awareness of the interde-pendence between regional and neighborhood concerns. The Hartford project also involves three very different communities representing city, suburban, and rural interests; and yet the process of working together is demonstrating the existence of common concerns and solutions. The result has been the establishment of a team of community stakeholders and regional planners that overcomes traditional dis-tinctions between different levels of government and different organizations. The scope of work integrates community physical design, open space, and economic planning with a variety of transportation concerns; resulting in a level playing field for simultaneously addressing these complex and interrelated issues. Community involvement activities are both extensive and intensive, including small group meetings and workshops, outreach initiatives, public meetings, a planning charrete, and a computer-based community-preferences survey. Evaluation The Hartford project is providing important information for such TCSP program goals as creating non-traditional partnerships; broadening the scope of the plan-ning process to better integrate transportation, community preservation, and envi-ronmental activities; encouraging innovative solutions; leveraging other opportunities; and achieving greater and more effective stakeholder buy-in to project and plan implementation. The Evaluation Plan contained in Hartford's TCSP grant application defined a series of project objectives and associated per-formance measures, data sources, and evaluation methods. These are being used to guide Hartford's evaluation efforts, but also refined as the project progresses to focus on those on those that are proving to be of greatest value in guiding project decisions. With respect to methods, primary reliance is being placed on the use of interviews, regular debriefings of project staff, analyses of trend data, and analyzing the content of developed interim and final plans. Major reliance in describing baseline conditions and tracking changes is based on the use of secondary data sources collected and maintained by the Capitol Regional Council of Governments and the City of Hartford. A photographic inventory of land uses in the communities was developed. In addition, property values were reassessed in 2000, and changes in the number of vacant lots and open space is being tracked. Consideration is being given to tracking sales data at selected major retail outlets. Project records and files are being carefully maintained so they can be systematically reviewed at a later time, and comments from project participants are being documented. By working simultaneously with three different communities, a mechanism for system-atically evaluating project accomplishments is automatically built into the Hartford project. For example, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has observed that the community input regarding the planning and development of busway sta-tion areas from the Parkville neighborhood and the Town of West Hartford is more active, better informed, and more helpful than from other communities located along the busway that are not directly participating in TCSP-funded planning. Status and Accomplishments As of July 2000, TCSP planning activities at both the regional level and in the three participating communities are well advanced with successes already being demon-strated. This includes the hiring of consultants, completion of background research and data collection, the design and initiation of a public engagement campaign, and coordination with busway and I-84 interchange planning. The partnership of the City of Hartford, Parkville Revitalization Association, Capitol Region Council of Governments, and the Towns of Suffield and West Hartford is well established and guiding the overall TCSP planning process. Remaining steps include contin-ued public outreach activities, the development of specific community plans, rec-ommendations for linkages to the New Britain/Hartford Busway and I-84 interchange modifications, continued work on the regional vision and priorities, the development of economic incentives, the preparation of a "best practices" guide and associated model ordinances, and completion of the evaluation assess-ment. Early accomplishments include a recognition that transit friendly commu-nity designs can help overcome the separation of low- and upper-income communities and improve access to jobs and opportunities for all population groups, and the demonstrated value of towns working cooperatively to address zoning and planning issues. With specific regard to the New Britain/Hartford Busway, Hartford participants state that TCSP deserves credit for getting station area development plans effectively integrated into the busway's planning efforts. TCSP is providing design assistance to communities that otherwise would not have this ability, and thereby allowing a transportation land use connection to be practically achieved. Previous Page
Last updated December 8, 2000 |
