Design New Haven

New Haven Neighborhood Comparison: SeeClickFix Use

2012-01-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

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See http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/seeclickfix/33452/seeclickfix-now-ranks-municipalities-civic-activity-and-responsiveness for more information about the widget.

New Haven Property Revaluation Meetings

2011-12-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

As you may have read in the media or seen on the City website, preliminary property revaluation notices should begin to arrive at homes in early December 2011. Mayor DeStefano is hosting a series of public information meetings throughout the city to explain the reval process and to answer questions from residents on their individual home values.

Here is the schedule:

o 7 p.m., Thursday, December 8th at Hillhouse High School, 480 Sherman Pky
o 2 p.m., Saturday, December 10th at St. Bernadette’s Hall, 385 Townsend Ave.
o 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 12th at Edgewood School, 737 Edgewood Ave.
o 7 p.m., Tuesday, December 13th at Bishop Woods School, 1481 Quinnipiac Ave.
o 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 14th at Celentano School, 400 Canner St.
o 7 p.m., Thursday, December 15th at Career High School, 140 Legion Avenue

Here is some basic background on the revaluation:

Revaluation is a state-mandated process of determining the fair market value of all taxable property. State law mandates that municipalities perform a revaluation every five years, and a full visual revaluation once every ten years. The last revaluation was performed in 2006 based on a statistical analysis of market values. That revaluation was only partially implemented. The 2011 revaluation included a statistical market analysis as well as interior inspections that were performed between summer 2010 and summer 2011. The impact on tax bills cannot be determined until the Grand List is finalized and a new mill rate is adopted in May 2012.

From Elizabeth Benton, Communications Director, City of New Haven (203) 946-7660 (office) (203) 675-8291 (cell)

Stand in Support of Safe Streets: Board Committee Calls for Safer Streets at Route 34

2011-10-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Original Post, 10/12/11: Below are two urgent action items from David Streever regarding tomorrow's meeting of the City of New Haven Board of Aldermen. We apologize for any cross-postings. Link to the resolution under consideration: http://blog.tstc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/route34resolution.pdf

1. Stand in support of safe streets!

5 pm, in front of city hall, this Thursday, October 13th. The Community Development Committee will meet tomorrow night at 5:30pm in City Hall (165 Church Street) to deliberate on the resolution asking the city to design the new Route 34 project to knit the city together and improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.

There will be NO testimony at the meeting. We would like to show up just to show support for the resolution. The meeting will be short, and we will simply be standing in the background (with signs) to show the committee how many citizens care about this. Please come to City Hall AT FIVE PM! on Thursday.

2. A 30 second phone call can shape history!

As soon as possible, please call the following alderpersons on the Community Development Committee to highlight how important it is to make the project more pedestrian and bicycle friendly: Marcus Paca: 203-507-7892, Greg Morehead: 203-507-7766, Arlene DePino: 203-467-9306

This project has the potential to completely reshape our city--for good or for ill--for the next 60 years. Not sure what to say? The crucial thing is to share your experiences with dangerous traffic, and how scary it can be to get from point A to B especially around Route 34. Remind them that the plan as stands calls for WIDENING the highway.

In spite of the advocacy of thousands of residents since 2006, this project may not be built in a way that is consistent with the city and state's award-winning 2008 and 2009 "complete streets" laws. For example, some pedestrian crossing distances may be significantly widened in areas that are already perceived by many local residents and workers as "death zones," and bicycle infrastructure may be limited or nonexistent in areas. According to the City, many if not most of the "Stage 2 bike/pedestrian" improvements are planned to be left to a future phase of work that is currently unfunded and may not happen.

Tell them that you agree with the spirit of the resolution, which makes no demands, but merely urges the city to design the road in a way that will increase safety. If you have extra time please also contact other local elected officials, work colleagues, or leaders within your community.

Background

Thursday's Board of Aldermen agenda: http://legsvcs.cityofnewhaven.com/meetings/2011/10/1553_A_Community_Development_Committee_11-10-13_Agenda.pdf

Some coverage of the resolution:
+ http://blog.tstc.org/2011/09/06/new-haveners-worry-route-34-removal-will-be-less-than-transformative/
+http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/contentious_meeting/

--

Update 10/20/11: The resolution mentioned above passed the Board of Aldermen's Community Development Committee by a vote of 4-3, and now goes to the full board. Congratulations to the sponsors and everyone who lobbied for this! Whether or not the resolution in its current form passes the Board, a significant victory has been achieved and our coalitions have brought increased local and national attention to the project.

Press Coverage:
+ Atlantic Cities, October 20, 2011: In New Haven, Debating the Best Road Forward http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/10/new-haven-debating-the-best-road-forward/328/
+ New Haven Register, October 14, 2011: New Haven aldermanic committee OKs Route 34 redevelopment resolution http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/10/14/news/new_haven/doc4e97a8ee5e411510221999.txt
+ New Haven Independent, October 14, 2011: Panel Urges Downtown Crossing Re-do http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/split_panel_urges_downtown_crossing_re-do/
+ Yale Daily News, October 14, 2011: Pro-bike resolution passes http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/oct/14/pro-bike-resolution-passes/
+ Congress for the New Urbanism, November 4, 2011: News from New Haven on the Oak Street Connector (Route 34) http://www.cnu.org/cnu-salons/2011/11/news-new-haven-oak-street-connector-route-34

Register Now for 2nd Annual CT Bike Walk Summit, November 12 in New Haven

2011-10-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Following on the resounding success of last year's statewide bike walk summit, Bike Walk CT is holding the second statewide summit, "Creating Bike and Walk Friendly Places." The conference begins at 8:45 a.m., November 12 at Yale University's Kroon Hall and includes a strong focus on New Haven's walkability and "complete streets" efforts. Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, will lead off the program with his presentation "What's a Bike Friendly America?" Go to www.ctbikewalksummit.org for the full schedule of events and to register. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Bike Walk CT is pleased to be hosted by Yale and to be working with Elm City Cycling to make this event inspiring, energizing and educational. The schedule of conference events wraps up at 2:30, but attendees will continue with a tour of some of New Haven's new "complete streets" and post-event networking

Message about tomorrow's New Haven Park(ing) Day

2011-09-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

A message from Holly Parker regarding International Park[ing] Day:

Just in case you haven’t had enough socializing with sustainable transpo-fanatics by the end of tomorrow's bike breakfast (7:30AM to 9:30AM at Pitkin Plaza in downtown New Haven), extend your morning’s sojourn from productive work and visit some Parking Day installations!

Yale Transportation Options will have a space on Church Street in front of City Hall (living room in a parking space), and Architecture for Humanity will have a couple of spaces on Broadway near York where they will feature gardening and games, as well as advertising their design competition for a piece of park furniture with such functions as a picnic table, a trash/recycling receptacle, and a hopefully a bike rack.

We will be setting up between 9am and 10am and will be there until 4pm with coffee, juice, games, and a pleasant place to sit and think world-saving thoughts.

New Haven has in recent years had one of the highest numbers of parking day installations per capita in the world. The image above is from a 2009 park(ing) day in New Haven, which we featured in an article. The New Haven Independent highlighted New Haven's Park(ing) Day festivities in a 2008 story.

ParkFEST Design Competition Open

2011-09-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

The goal of this competition, sponsored by Architecture for Humanity, is to design new prototypes for urban park furniture including a picnic table, trashcan, and bicycle rack that are either separate elements or a single hybrid design element. These prototypes are intended to be installed along the waterfront of Long Wharf Park in the City of New Haven, CT for use by persons patronizing the food trucks that frequent that park. The designs are considered a test for the city and if ultimately successful, could be built and used throughout the city park system. Designs shall be sustainable, affordable, durable, and easy to construct. See http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/parkfest for details. Submissions are due October 8, 2011.

Update 12/5/2011: Winners have been announced and can be downloaded at http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/parkfest.

First Prize: Sean Evelich & Josh Sikora, U. of Bridgeport, CT

Second Prize: Chung Raeha, U. of Bridgeport, CT

Commendation: Ted Esselstyn, Higganum, CT

Envisioning Downtown Crossing: A Community Conversation and Workshop, July 30-31

2011-07-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars!

Envisioning Downtown Crossing: A Community Conversation and Workshop
July 30 -31, 9AM - 5PM, at the Bourse, 839 Chapel Street

Who's invited?

Anyone who works in New Haven.
Anyone who lives in New Haven.
Anyone who works for New Haven.
Anyone who loves New Haven.

What will be discussed?

Neighborhoods, Downtown, Green space, Urban Design, Transportation & Traffic, Safe Streets, Bicycling, Air Quality, Housing, & Economic Development and Opportunity

The Downtown Crossing project presents profound opportunities to reshape the city and revitalize its economy. Its potential impact makes it the largest and most important project in the City in a generation. The opportunity to use $60 million in public funds to repair the damage done to the core of the city by an idealistic but misguided highway to nowhere has generated intense public interest and many proposals for its design. The project has also generated an vibrant community discussion about the direction of the current plan,* with many groups and individuals expressing strong interest in holding a community-based workshop to explore solutions to some of the issues that have been raised.

Here is your chance!

The New Haven Urban Design League, working with neighborhood groups, and members of the Yale Traffic Safety Group, the Downtown Wooster Square Management Team, the Environmental Justice Network, Elm City Cycling, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and others, is planning to hold a two-day discuss/design/sketch workshop on Downtown Crossing, which will be open to the public. The goal is to give a visual form to many of the ideas that have arisen during the City's public meetings to present their Downtown Crossing plans, and also to additional ideas that emerge from participants during the two-day workshop. We will also help the public visualize the effect of different ideas for Downtown Crossing on future downtown development, the surrounding neighborhoods, the planned development of Route 34 West, and connectivity to Union Station.

A nationally acclaimed team of urban planners, architects and transportation engineers -many of them living in, or near New Haven - are volunteering their time to work with all the Downtown Crossing stakeholders to explore ideas and create specific plans to strengthen the project's design, safety, environmental, and economic performance.

Your participation is essential.

By creating plans and ideas through an open, professionally-facilitated, consensus-driven process, the Workshop will produce insightful, serious and feasible concepts for the project, and increase the likelihood of a popular and successful project being built.

--

Louis Mangini, of Representative Rosa DeLauro's office, has kindly offered to give opening remarks at the workshop. We have had good discussions with him about ways to improve not only the plan, but also the planning process through design charrettes. This workshop will help us refresh our thinking on the city's future development, broaden our understanding of its possibilities, create new strategic partnerships, and enrich our civic structure.

Contact person:

Anstress Farwell, President
New Haven Urban Design League
129 Church Street Suite 419
New Haven, CT 06510

$20 Nonstop New Haven <--> Boston (and UCONN!) Bus Fares Now Available: Thanks SeeClickFix!

2011-07-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Original Post 10/1/09: Transport Azumah has released its preliminary schedule for the new direct bus service here, and it looks like tickets have already gone on sale. The service begins on Friday, November 20th, with a round-trip, 1-2 bus/day Friday through Sunday schedule that we think is likely to be expanded to meet demand. Tickets are generally $20 including all booking fees, but some may be found for as low as $1. The buses connect the Yale Campus and Downtown New Haven to Downtown Boston and vice versa.

For additional background on how the community rallied to bring new bus service to the city, see this post at Cap'n Transit and this post at the SeeClickFix Blog. The latter discusses how to effectively and immediately lobby for transportation improvements through social networking, community organizing, media and legislative strategies. If you can think of other things that can be "fixed," discuss here or simply head over to SeeClickFix and post them.

Click here for the original issue report on SCF, which was reported by Ben Berkowitz and promoted by TGWNN, Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team, Downtown Aldermanic candidate Mike Jones and Dixwell Alderman Greg Morehead, and others. Over 250 people voted to "fix" the issue. The Board of Aldermen passed unanimous legislation as a direct result and, according to officials within the Economic Development Office, the city then lobbied bus operators for a new service.

Unlike Amtrak and many other commercial bus services, these buses will allow bicycles to be taken aboard -- a key consideration for many New Haveners. According to Cap'n Transit:

Azumah writes, "We will be able to take unboxed bicycles as long as they are tagged with the owner's name and contact phone." That is a huge improvement over the current options for travel in this area.

They are also more affordable and faster than any of the current competitors. Click here for DNH's earlier thread on the "Bolt Bus Rally" which discusses the issue in more depth.

Update 10/5/09: Service will also connect from New Haven to Philadelphia. (Note: This service no longer seems to exist).

Update 12/22/09: Transport Azumah service seems to have been canceled, for no apparent reason.

Update 10/4/2010: According to Transport Azumah's post on SeeClickFix, service to Boston has been instituted again, on a trial basis. The bus runs on a Friday through Sunday schedule:

"Service began on the New Haven CT - Boston MA route on Friday, September 24, 2010. TransportAzumah carried 13 passengers this weekend on the service. The website to book seats is http://www.NewHavenToBostonBus.com. The vehicles used will be a bus or van, depending on the number of bookings. There are currently two stops available: New Haven-State Street Station and Elm Street just south of College Street at the bus shelters. The pickup in Boston is across the street from 290 Congress Street. The fare is $25 each way. More service will be added if the initial scheduled trip performs well."

Update 2/7/2011: According to a post on TransportAzumah's Facebook page, New Haven to Boston service resumed in February after a brief lull. A stop has been added at the University of Connecticut, at I-84 Exit 68. From there, UCONN students can easily get to Boston or New Haven. The latest schedule may be found on the NewHaventoBostonBus website.

Update 3/24/2011: According to a post on Facebook, New Haven to Boston service is "Suspended until September 2011."

Update 7/15/2011: This story continues to develop! Megabus recently announced a New Haven to Boston route, with many daily departures, beginning August 17th this year. See coverage in the New Haven Register and Hartford Courant. There's a promotional rate with free or low cost ($1) tickets to help kick off the new service. (8/17/11): The New Haven Independent covers the inaugural trip in an article, here: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/bus_service_begins/

Petition to Protect the Ninth Square; Building Rehabilitations Approved

2011-07-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Original Post 7/19/08: The online version of the petition may be viewed by clicking here. See here for a background post about the buildings, including multiple photographs. A rally at the site was held on Friday, July 18th, at which approximately 50 paper signatures were collected.

Update 7/22/08: An article in today's New Haven Register claims that the current building owner, David Nyberg, has no plans to demolish the buildings, even though the structural engineer who analyzed them recommended tearing down a large rear section:

An engineer who analyzed the condition of historic industrial buildings on Crown Street six months ago recommended a rear portion be demolished, but the owner Monday said he has no intention of taking that action.... Nyberg owns the two structures and a third adjacent building on the Crown Street block that extends from State Street to Orange Street and has site plan approval to build 110-apartments in the three 19th and early-20th century buildings, plus one new building.

“I think there is a better way,” Nyberg said Monday.... “No question about it, we are not taking anything down.” Nyberg Monday said the building facades will be restored to their original condition, and he was more confident than ever that work can restart by Sept. 1.

Update 8/28/08: The petition has been delivered to City Hall with over 600 signatures (online and print).

Update 11/7/08: Two months have gone by and work has not yet started on the buildings. These historic treasures continue to sit vacant and exposed to the elements.

Update 12/8/08: According to the New Haven Register, renovation work on these critically important historic buildings will begin this week.

Update 5/2/09: Business New Haven reports that work on the buildings is continuing, under new ownership:

In late January PMC Property Group began about six months of structural reconstruction work on two historic buildings at 26-28 and 30-36 Crown. New floors, new beams, new columns and new stairways are being installed.PMC owns the buildings, has a permit for interior demolition at 40 Crown Street, and is working on final plans for the properties, according to city building official Andy Rizzo."David Nyberg is no longer associated with this project," Rizzo adds.

Update 12/16/10: The New Haven Independent reports that the city has approved the rehabilitation of these buildings into 65 new apartments. A large amount of work on the exterior and interior has already been completed over the past year. Excerpt:

The Crown Street buildings, which have stood vacant for years, are listed on the Connecticut Historical Commission’s Historic Resources Inventory, which describes one of them as “an important part of what remains of this late 19th-c. block of lower Crown St.” The earliest known tenants, according to the commission, include the Kahn, Wertheimer, and Smith Clothing Store and Tuttle Color Printing, both of which were in the building as of at least 1913.

Part of the building will return to commercial space as part of the revitalization, which is planned by PMC Property Management, a nationwide company based in Philadelphia. Doug Hitchner (at left in photo below), representing PMC, appeared before the BZA on Tuesday with local attorney Marjorie Shansky (at right). Local developer David Nyberg used to be associated with the team and the building, too.

That end of Crown Street has been reborn as a “new urbanist” jewel in recent years. Its landmarks, housed in preserved and retrofitted bulidings, include cafe nine, the Firehouse jazz club and studio and bar, Skappo Italian Wine Bar, Gray Organschi Architecture, and right across Orange Street, Artspace.

Update 7/14/11: The rehabilitated building has opened and is now leasing. The organizers of the initial petition drive to save the building held a rally yesterday to celebrate their success. See the New Haven Independent's story here for coverage and photographs of the rehabilitated interiors and exteriors.

91 Church Street Saved: Development to Proceed

2011-06-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Original Post, 4/14/08: The New Haven Register reports today on plans to resurrect the fire-damaged building at 91 Church Street.

The photos at left were taken December 17th, a few days after the fire ravaged the interior of the block (click on them for a close-up). For more information on potential ideas for how to rebuild that section, also see this New Haven Independent article on George Knight's presentation to Wine Dine Design.

Knight: Blaze New Street Through Ashes
"The plan for 91 Church St., only a portion of which escaped the wrecking ball following the Dec. 12 blaze, is in its formative stages, but owner Paul Denz has indicated he is committed to renovating what’s left."

"He has some rough architectural drawings to overhaul the space for two retail businesses, one at street level and the other in the basement, and about four apartments on the upper floors."

"Scott Healy, executive director of the New Haven Downtown [Town Green] Special Services District, which promotes the area’s image and business community, said that section of Church Street, with retail on both sides, is key to the city’s vitality."

Aside from its effect on retail continuity, retaining this building is important because it is a key part of the street wall along Church Street, which creates a sense of security and enclosure - an urban "living room." The Church Street corridor is a major gateway into Downtown New Haven.

The property, which prior to the fire contained a retail operation on the first floor and a beautiful abandoned ballroom on the second floor, is threatened not just because of the cost of renovation, but also because it would be a potentially convenient place to create an access lane for deliveries into the center of the block, which will most likely be rebuilt in the near future.

Update 3/10/09: The site owner is apparently preparing to rebuild the structure on Church Street, and convert part of the remainder of the site into a "temporary" parking lot. According to an article in the New Haven Register on February 16, a floor will be added to the top of the existing building at 91 Church:

Denz said architectural drawings are complete and ready for review by city departments. While permits for that phase of the project, which will cost about $1 million, have not been pulled yet, Denz does have a building permit to complete an initial phase — closing in the rear of the 91 Church St. building, the rear of which was ripped down during demolition. That work was expected to cost $175,000. Denz said that work should start in the next month or two.

As the presenters and attendees of last spring's Wine Dine Design presentation (linked to above) suggested, there would many concerns about converting the remainder of the land into a temporary parking lot. Any new curb cuts required for the interim lot could have a significant negative impact on a dense pedestrian district. Gap-toothed parking lots, which are already far too prevalent within Downtown New Haven, also tend to reduce land values, reduce 24-hour activity, have a negative impact on retail, increase area traffic speeds, and impact safety. Given current economic realities, the new lot may not get developed for a long period of time, even though it sits across from the 360 State Street development. According to the City's development czar, Kelly Murphy:

“The interim parking I hope is interim. In the short term, I understand. I hope in the long term, in the medium term, that it’s not going to be a parking lot forever. It’s not the best use for a downtown site, especially on a block so close to a major development project."

Update 6/17/2011: According to reporting in the New Haven Independent, the City and developer have settled legal issues related to the 91 Church Street structure. Preservation of the historic exterior, and interior development of apartments and commercial space will now begin.

The parking lot will remain as surface parking for the foreseeable future, opening possibilities that it can be partially converted into a new street (the yellow-shaded area in the aerial photo above shows where). Returning to the smaller blocks that were once prevalent in the area would dramatically raise real estate values and promote walkability.

A Critique and Alternate Proposal for Route 34

2011-05-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Hopkins, Contributing Writer

This special report reviews the history and origins of Route 34, an urban renewal-era highway project that divides the City of New Haven. We look at current proposals for its redevelopment and offer an alternative.

Click on the image above to enlarge it and view the alternate concept, which is described in detail below.

Cornerstone of Civic Improvement: History of Route 34

In the early 1900s in New Haven, George Dudley Seymour and other civic leaders commissioned a study on the problems and possible solutions for New Haven, at the time a rapidly-growing industrial powerhouse and largest city in Connecticut. Following the national City Beautiful Movement, a leading architect and landscape architect were selected to complete the report. In 1910, Frederick Law Olmsted and Cass Gilbert released the Report of the New Haven Civic Improvement Commission. The report was well received in the urban design community, but was mostly ignored under the Republican leadership in City Hall, though some provisions were eventually implemented.

The Report predicted increases in population and accompany traffic, which were fairly accurate considering the population growth that occurred in Greater New Haven over the next 50 years and the demand on city streets that resulted from that growth. The Report also contained nearly 100 suggestions for improvements, upgrades and projects for the city to pursue.

Among Olmsted and Gilbert's suggestions was a detailed plan for a boulevard and plazas connecting the Green to the Train Station through the Oak Street neighborhood - a plan that, in some ways, may be considered an early predecessor of the Route 34 project. The project would involve acquiring private land and demolishing properties for the creation of a wide public right-of-way that would be lined with high-value new properties. Other suggestions included expanded rail facilities, expanded trolley service and property line setback enforcement to allow for the widening of thoroughfares to meet future demand.

Without the implementation of these suggestions, rapid industrial growth continued and many of the problems outlined in the 1910 Report got worse, such as back alley tenements, traffic, and development of valuable open spaces. By the 1920s, traffic moving between Boston and New York was highly congested in the center of the city where old streets had great difficulty circulating large numbers of cars.

In 1937, a traffic study was released that showed traffic demand on various streets, most notably along Water Street and Tomlinson Bridge. Road building projects such as the Parkway system under the New Deal opened up rural land for large lot development of upper class housing, which further raised demand on city streets. With a clear pattern of automobile suburbs popping up, by the 40s it became obvious that the city streets - as they existed - would not work for a new living arrangement. Plans emerged for highways around the periphery of the city to supplement the parkway network, but with the election of Richard Lee into the Mayor's Office and the passing of the National Highway Act in 1956, those plans changed.

Following the Highway Act, work began on building two Interstate highways through the city to ease travel between Hartford, Boston and New York as well as induce suburban shoppers to come downtown. At the same time, another State funded highway was planned to connect the Naugatuck Valley to downtown New Haven - a highway that became known as Route 34. A housing study completed by HANH provided the excuse necessary to condemn vast swaths of homes and businesses for demolition and replacement. A large area of land was cleared for the highway, but only the eastern half, from I-95/I-91 up to York Street/Air Rights Garage, was actually built.

By the 1970s, funding for the Oak Street Connector had run dry after the neighborhood was demolished and the entire length of highway was never completed. In the 1980s North Frontage Road was extended to the Boulevard, which was simultaneously going under ConnDOT "improvement" projects that dramatically widened the road.

The construction of the Pfizer and Lot E buildings in the 2000s ensured that the highway could never be continued beyond the Air Rights Garage. By this point, and to this day, the City of New Haven has been looking into developing the western part of Route 34 with biomedical facilities and housing.

City Proposal for Route 34 East: "Downtown Crossing"

Rebuilding the eastern half of Route 34 has presented more challenges than the western half, not the least being the presence of an existing, "trenched" (below grade) highway segment that will have to be removed, covered or rebuilt. Following several failed attempts to "cover" the eastern half of the highway from Air Rights Garage to I-95 with buildings such as mega-shopping malls, City Hall has moved to create a more realistic development strategy for that area as well. The segment has been renamed "Downtown Crossing" in respect to its nature as a key crossing point between the Downtown core, the medical and hospital complex, and train station.

In 2007, the Future of Route 34 Corridor Study was released, which analyzed traffic and possible road configurations and development parcels for the area. The Study provided several alternative design possibilities for at-grade streets that could carry the highway traffic and also open up space for development lots (Future of Route 34, pgs.48-58).

The option that called for the widening of North and South Frontage Roads and the elimination of the suppressed highway (Future, pgs.66-68) was expanded on by the city and presented to the public through a series of meetings and presentations. The plan has remained quite similar over the years - from the 2008 New Haven Future Framework (pgs.13-21) document to the most recent public presentation on February 15, 2011.

While the city has not officially submitted a final design concept, the fact that the plan has changed so little since 2007 leads one to believe that the city prefers a certain plan. A more recent traffic study with future demand projections was recently completed and will be used by the city to determine the number of lanes required under typical traffic planning standards for their preferred design concept. An upcoming meeting in June 2011 will reveal the results of this new traffic study and the potential impact it will have to the previous designs that the city has presented to the public.

The plans thus far (left) have called for the replacement of the suppressed highway with underground parking access roads, widened North and South Frontage Roads, on-street bike lanes, convertible parking lanes, and large development blocks for medical-related facilities, office, retail and residential buildings, and perhaps facilities for the new Gateway Campus. Sections of the roadway may be as wide as 5 travel lanes going one-way and there will be no curb bump outs because there is no dedicated on street parking.

On-street bike lanes are unlikely to work on the proposed road system because it is generally very unpleasant for even experienced cyclists to travel with cars when there is more than one lane moving in the same direction. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that less experienced or agile riders like children and the elderly will be able to use the street.

Another issue will be how entries and exits for the underground garages will be resolved. Gaps in the urban fabric can decrease pedestrian use and lead to low desirability for commercial retail thereby yielding lower revenue for the city. However, negative impacts of a continuous and active street facade can be mitigated by narrowing the entry and exit points.

The lack of dedicated on-street parking also brings high speed vehicles closer to pedestrians, which increases the sense of risk posed to pedestrians on the sidewalk. On-street parking also is conducive to spontaneous, opportunistic shopping while providing that necessary pedestrian and outdoor seating buffer. These problems can be addressed with changes like narrower travel lanes, wider sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus-only lanes, and design details that help orient people and create a sense of place.

If transit, biking and walking become more viable transportation options in the city, there is also a chance that travel lanes can be turned into dedicated parking spots with curb bump outs or sidewalks can be widened because there is a lot of flexibility with wide streets for later adaptation. Other public suggestions for "Downtown Crossing" have included continuing the highway under a decked-over development area, which would allow for narrower surface streets, but would also create undesirable conditions - worse than the garage exits and entrances - where the highway ramps surfaced.

Additional plans for narrower streets with parking and bike infrastructure have also been presented, but it is unclear whether or not a 2 or 3 lane street could carry the 3,000 vehicles per hour (Future, p.41) that travel on each of the North and South Frontage Roads at peak times. A vision like that could eventually be reality, but it seems that the traffic demand is too high currently; especially without adequate alternative transportation infrastructure in place to allow for the street grid to successfully absorb the spill-over traffic.

Fundamentally, short blocks in the downtown make sense and fit in with the circulation pattern that exists North of George Street. However, the largest problem with the City's current proposal is not in the Eastern section of the plan, but what occurs to the West of the Air Rights Garage.

Current City Plans for Route 34 West

South Frontage Road turns into Legion Avenue on the western section of Route 34, while South Frontage rips through the West River and Dwight neighborhoods by bisecting streets, and creating a dangerous speedway that is difficult to cross in order to access the open green space. The city's preferred MDP plan (at left, click to enlarge) for Route 34 west calls for two, one-way streets each with 2-3 travel lanes and turning lanes. Pedestrians will be expected to walk next to high-speed cars. This plan has been rejected by the public, and put on development hold for the time being.

An alternative plan, designed by Yale Urban Design Workshop (YUDW) has emerged from the community that calls for the creation of a two-way roadway for Legion Avenue so that the divided West River neighborhood can be sewn back together with itself and the Hill.

The plan, west of Orchard Street, is quite fitting for the neighborhood as it provides through traffic's needs without sacrificing a pleasant space for the residents. However, east of Orchard, the roadways must maneuver to create a two-way street by bisecting a long block. This is done because the plan assumes that North Frontage Road will continue past Howe Street.

Putting Civic Improvement First: A Proposal for a Stronger Urban Place

The multi-billion dollar investments for I-95 in New Haven raise serious questions as to whether or not the city and State can afford to continue a car-dependent pattern of suburban growth. It likely is not possible to continue widening roadways, especially in the downtown where property is very expensive. A new living arrangement must begin to emerge in order to allow the city's infrastructure to meet the diverse demands of the public. The era of demolishing large swaths of neighborhoods to be replaced with car infrastructure is over and our planning standards should begin to reflect this.

With that in mind, there is another option, which builds upon the idea of a two-way Legion Avenue that continues beyond Orchard Street to the east all the way to the highway bridge over State Street. Under this proposal, the Hill, West River and Dwight neighborhoods would once again be connected with ample new development lots lining Legion Avenue and many side streets. Near the existing Air Rights Garage, South Frontage Road (Oak Street) would also be widened to accommodate two-way travel and dedicated on-street parking with curb bump outs. A cycle track running parallel to these streets could be created on the sidewalks.

East of Howe, access lanes for parking, biking and local traffic would be created in order to allow a multiway boulevard. The advantages of a boulevard are that it separates local traffic from through traffic, while also not sacrificing the quality of the pedestrian realm or the functionality of the central roadway. A right of way of at least 70 feet is required for a 7 lane two-way street with a central median/turning lane. An additional 16 feet would allow for on-street parking, or 25 feet would allow for access lanes of a multiway boulevard.

Air Rights garage would need to be demolished in order to make this section of the proposed Avenue or Boulevard possible. The displaced parking spaces can be relocated largely underground throughout Route 34 west (a feature that the City has already included within its plan, in part due to the need to preserve an access route for trucks to reach the Hospital's loading docks without using surface streets). They can also be provided on-street, and in new developments that incorporate garage parking into mixed-use projects.

Temporarily, the proposed two-way road could split before Air Rights Garage and reconnect passed it until funding is secured for the demolition (see Route 34 Corridor Study p. 54 and the preferred neighborhood plan for Route 34 West by Yale Urban Design Workshop).

The structure for the underground parking garages can also extend beyond the building line to help support the sidewalk and roadway so that less dirt infill is required to make up for the larger right of way of South Frontage Road. In this scenario, it would also make sense for the the facade of buildings above the ground level to project over the sidewalk creating an arcade because trees would not be able to grow in the limited space provided if the underground parking extends under the sidewalk.

Legion Avenue would become a 5 lane two-way street with a central median/turning lane and on-street parking with the cycle track continuing to the Ella Grasso Boulevard. The Boulevard would benefit from a redesign that incorporates a central median, cycle track, narrower travel lanes and the removal of highway-grade geometries and metal guard rails.

North Frontage Road west of Howe can be removed and east of Howe, it can be turned into a narrow alley way for underground parking access and truck drop-offs. It is important that transit also be incorporated in to any plan that is accepted because of the enormous space-saving, traffic relief, health and storage benefits that result from transit use. Eventually travel lanes can be turned into bus-only or trolley lanes.

This new proposal also calls for the creation of usable public spaces in the form of a park and a square enclosed by mixed-use buildings and houses. It will also be important to incorporate civic buildings into the area for residents as well as public buildings for community meetings. The entry into the neighborhood from the west should be greeted with a large public or civic building - church, school, etc - surrounded by green space. This would bridge the naturalistic boulevard with the more urban neighborhoods.

Legion Avenue should be lined by residences as well as corner stores, and other shop fronts especially closer towards downtown. There should also be a job center in the neighborhood for existing residents as well as employment for future residents. The area east of Air Rights garage should be developed with courtyard buildings that incorporate offices, retail and various residential units in order to provide families with private open space while maintaining a downtown scale of street frontages.

In the 2007 Route 34 Corridor Study, a multiway boulevard was proposed (pgs.55-57) but it had an enormous scale that was unnecessary and the design of it was quite ineffective. A much smaller multiway boulevard or avenue would work well in this area of the city to move through traffic while not creating a hostile pedestrian environment.

Conclusion: Learning from San Francisco's Boulevardization Project

In the city's public presentations, an image of Octavio Boulevard in San Francisco has been used to show design inspiration. Octavio Boulevard is a multiway boulevard designed by Allan Jacobs to replace a torn-down elevated freeway. It has human-scale proportions and moves through traffic efficiently.

In The Boulevard Book, the author explains how the Jacobs design firm butted heads with the planning department of San Francisco who were weary of access lanes, narrow travel lanes, parking and the idea of not having a freeway (Boulevard Book, pgs.238-243). The public supported an at-grade design, which was able to incorporate new development lots left over from the unneeded width of the previous freeway right-of-way. Even against the opposition of conventional planning wisdom, the design for a modest, but authentic boulevard (images of which planners in New Haven have used in public presentations as examples of good design) was created with the support of an involved public and informed design team.

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Bibliography

Cecil Group, Inc. Route 34 West Municipal Development Plan: Draft Plan Concept (March 5, 2008)

Clough Harbour & Associates LLP. Future of Route 34 Corridor Study (October, 2007)

Connecticut's Aerial Surveys. Connecticut State Library website

Dana, Arnold Guyot. New Haven's Problems: Whither the City? All Cities? (N.p. New Haven, 1937)
as sourced from...
Rae, Douglas. City: Urbanism and Its End (Yale University Press-New Haven, 2003)

Economic Development City of New Haven. Route 34 East New Haven Downtown Crossing Public Meeting (November 16, 2010)

Gilbert, Cass and Olmsted, Frederick Law. Report of the New Haven Civic Improvement Commission (New Haven, December, 1910)

Jacobs, Allan; MacDonald, Elizabeth; and Rofe, Yodan. The Boulevard Book: History, Evolution, Design of Mulitway Boulevards (MIT-Cambridge, 2002)

Langdon, Philip. 'Cycle tracks' in cities could save bicyclists lives New Urban News (May 4, 2011)

Lusk, Anne. Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street (February 9, 2011)

New Haven City Plan. Future Framework (September 25, 2008)

New Haven City Plan. Plans and Projects City of New Haven website

Redevelopment Agency City of New Haven. Dwight Renewal and Redevelopment Plan (August, 1966)

Route 34 East New Haven Downtown Crossing website

Final Plans Released for Yale's New $600 Million Residential Colleges

2011-05-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

A PDF with RAMSA's detailed drawings and images is now available from Yale's New Residential Colleges website. Click here to download the file (please contact us if the link is broken).

An excerpted view of Prospect Street, the campus's main artery, is shown here. Yale's plans for this street appear to include some significant traffic calming measures. As New Haven Safe Streets has detailed to some extent, major concerns have been raised about the appropriateness of surrounding streets and sidewalks to handle even more pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The new Yale business school campus, under construction two blocks away, will also add traffic. A specific example of a street concern located directly in front of the new colleges is the issue, "Icy, poorly engineered Trumbull Street Bridge / Prospect Intersection will lead to numerous injuries and deaths." The types of improvements shown in RAMSA's drawings for Prospect Street, combined with improved access to the Farmington Canal Greenway (which runs from Northampton, Massachusetts, southbound all the way to this site and then creates a below-grade trench that crosses much of downtown New Haven and eventually leads to the waterfront) are a good first step at improving the livability and walkability of this area.

In addition to physical street improvements, future construction on the blocks surrounding the new residential colleges will hopefully provide additional mixed-use buildings that encourage pedestrian traffic at all hours. There are quite a few sites in the immediate area which Yale is reserving for other types of developments, including a large parcel at the corner of Prospect and Sachem where a historic home was demolished.

The College designs have already been approved by the City of New Haven. Once built, they will create millions of dollars in direct and indirect revenue to the city, as well as hundreds of new jobs. Click here for some background on the residential college system.

For extensive background on the development of this plan, and previous controversies related to it, please see Design New Haven's detailed blog posts here, here, and here.

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven Threatened with Closing

2011-05-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today's New Haven Register carries an article on the State's proposal to close the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, located in New Haven near Science Park.

According to local advocates, closing the Ag Station would be a real blow to public health and agricultural security, and to the state's economy as a whole. As Nancy Alderman of Environment and Human Health, Inc. writes:

The Ag Station is the only entity in the state that tests for West Nile Virus and all forms of mosquito bourne encephalitis diseases. They also do tick management - and heavens knows we are loaded with tick bourne diseases in this state.

They are the only entity that tests our imported food for levels of pesticides. The Ag Station found tooth paste laced with anti-freeze last year and sounded the alarm. They are the only inspectors and certifiers for farmers' produce -- and without them --- farmers will not be able to export their products out of state. That will cost the farmers and the state.

Shutting down the Ag Station will have serious ramifications for health in this state.

Here is what people can do:

Please consider writing to your representatives, the governor, and the Ben Barnes of the State Office of Planning and Management (OPM) who proposed closing the station:

Ben.Barnes@ct.gov.

governor.malloy@ct.gov

To find your Senator or Representative, see:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

Two documents which stress the accomplishments and value of the Experiment Station have been posted on the CT chapter of the Northeast Organic Farmer's Association. They can be found here and here. The Ag station is also an important part of New Haven's cultural landscape -- it is within the Ronan-Edgehill National Register District.

Serious Traffic Safety Issues Near Downtown New Haven and the Yale Campus

2011-04-01T09:47:00.001-07:00

An update from New Haven Safe Streets on the status of traffic issues in Downtown New Haven:

"The reports below are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many serious traffic safety concerns that have been documented near the Yale Campus and within Downtown New Haven. These ongoing problems would not be tolerated in other cities. Please vote on these and forward to other residents if you are concerned with them.

"If we all speak up about these issues, we can help make New Haven a healthier, safer and more economically vibrant place. Safer streets have been proven to support many times more more jobs and taxes, and encourage residents to rely on less costly forms of transportation like walking, biking and mass transit.

"Feel free to reply to this email and note other "problem" intersections around the city if you are aware of them. Please also consider working with your neighbors to submit a New Haven "complete streets" request form, available at http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/completestreets.asp and make sure that your matter gets on the public record."

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Dangerous Crossing (Whitney & Audubon)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/6884-dangerous-crossing

Drivers Ignoring the Crosswalk (Wall & College)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/429-drivers-ignoring-the-crosswalk

Elm Street cycle track needed
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/15932-elm-street-cycle-track

In-road Pedestrian Sign Needed and Vehicles fail to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk (Temple & Wall issues, 2)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/7485-in-road-pedestrian-sign-needed
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/45646-vehicles-fail-to-stop-for-pedestrians-in-the-crosswalk

Speeding and red light running at rush hour: Redesign and enforcement needed (Park & Chapel)
http://www.seeclickfix.com/issues/25843

Mid Block Crosswalk (Elm Street near High)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/1445-mid-block-crosswalk

Stop Sign Needed at Dangerous Crosswalk (Wall and York)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/1648-stop-sign-needed-at-dangerous-crosswalk

Very Dangerous Intersection (Elm and York)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/708-very-dangerous-intersection

Additional Stop Sign Needed (Sachem and Winchester)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/2923-there-should-be-an-additional-stop-sign-here

Need Pedestrian Signals (Edwards and Prospect)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/559-need-ped-signals-here

Speeding & Traffic Violations (Grove and Temple)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/47667-speeding-and-traffic-violations

Need Pedestrian Signals (Sachem and Prospect)
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/2080-need-pedestrian-signals

Census 2010: New Haven Has Fastest Growth Rate Among Major Northeastern U.S. Cities (Updated)

2011-03-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today, the Census Bureau began releasing local-level Connecticut data from the 2010 Census. You may refer to the DataHaven Knowledge Center for a file showing the population growth in Connecticut's counties and largest cities. DataHaven also has a number of resources related to the 2010 Census, including more documents and interactive map-based visualizations, on this page (a newer web browser may be required to see the maps). Visualizations by race and ethnic group for Connecticut Census data can be seen here.

New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, including Stamford. In terms of overall numbers, New Haven added 6,153 persons, more than any other town or city within the State of Connecticut.

Additional information, and data visualizations, will be posted at DataHaven as they are released by the Census Bureau over the coming hours. DataHaven encourages organizations, agencies and citizens located within the Greater New Haven and Valley Region to contact them if they need assistance with using 2010 or other recent data from the Census Bureau.

Like the State of Connecticut and the nation as a whole, New Haven's growth was heavily the result of a large increase in the population of Hispanic/Latino origin - now representing 27% of the city's population, up from 21% in 2000. The New Haven Independent reports on the demographic changes in an article posted here.

Given that a number of other cities in the United States that are heavily dependent on the medical and educational sectors, such as St. Louis and Pittsburgh, have lost nearly 10% or more of their populations over the past 10 years (with Cleveland down 17%, and Detroit losing an astonishing 25% of its population), the relative stability of most parts of Connecticut's cities will likely be met with applause.

A presentation by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which you can view here, recently discussed the lessons that cities such as Hartford and Springfield can learn from so-called "resurgent cities" such as New Haven, Grand Rapids and Jersey City. (There's also a podcast available from a similar talk by the FRB at Community Intersections).

Update 3/24/11: Census data released at 2 P.M. today reveals that, between 2000 and 2010, New Haven also had the highest growth rate among major Northeast cities (if defined as NY, NJ and New England).

Cities of over 100,000 population in the Northeast: Growth Rate, 2000 to 2010 Census

New Haven CT +5.0%

Worcester MA +4.9%

Boston MA +4.8%

Stamford CT +4.7%

Cambridge MA +3.8%

Elizabeth NJ +3.7%

Bridgeport CT +3.4%

Jersey City NJ +3.1%

Waterbury CT +2.9%

Hartford CT +2.6%

Manchester NH +2.4%

New York City NY +2.1%

Lowell MA +1.3%

Newark NJ +1.3%

Springfield MA +0.6%

Yonkers NY -0.1%

Syracuse NY -1.5%

Paterson NJ -2.0%

Rochester NY -4.2%

Buffalo NY -10.7%

Within the broader region, Allentown (population 118,032) is the only major city with a growth rate higher than New Haven's. Philadelphia grew by 0.6%, the first time that city has grown since 1950, while Pittsburgh declined by 8.6%. Baltimore declined in population by 4.6%. Regarding these figures, the Hartford Courant's Rick Green writes, "If the population doesn't grow, the economy won't come back."

Nationally, even as many cities continue to lose population as sprawl expands at the fastest rate in U.S. history, many downtowns have seen revitalization, according to a Transport Politic analysis. As expected, Washington DC was one of the fastest-growing major cities, up 5.2% (adding nearly 30,000 new residents). But Chicago dropped 6.9%, St. Louis dropped 8.3%, and, as mentioned above, cities such as Cleveland and Detroit saw precipitous declines that were almost unimaginable and will be challenged in court. On the West Coast, LA and San Francisco grew by 2.6% and 3.7%, respectively. Several of the largest cities in Texas and Florida saw double digit gains in population, but those cities are not necessarily as comparable because they cover much larger land areas, including most suburban districts.

2011 New Haven Cherry Blossom Festival

2011-03-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Original Post, 4/18/08: Check out this page at Info New Haven for details on the 35th annual festival, which draws crowds to marvel at the best-maintained and one of the oldest major collections of Yoshino cherry trees on the East Coast.

When the cherries are at peak bloom -- most likely next week -- be sure to walk down Hughes Place, at the north end of Wooster Square Park (see photo at left & click to enlarge).

Update, 4/7/09: The Spring 2009 New Haven Cherry Blossom Festival in Wooster Square will take place on Sunday, April 19th, from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 26th is a rain date.

Update, 3/18/11: The 38th annual Cherry Blossom Festival will take place on Sunday, April 10 (rain date: April 17), from Noon to 5:00 p.m. at Wooster Square Park. Sponsors include Seabury Realty, New Alliance Bank, the City of New Haven Mayor's Community Grants Program, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Webster Bank, Elm Street Iovanne Funeral Home, St. Andrew Apostle Society, St. Andrew Ladies Society, and Goodcopy Printing Center.