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September 25, 2024

West Hartford chooses final plan for center infrastructure update

Contributed An artist's rendering of traffic safety bollards proposed for LaSalle Road in West Hartford as part of the town's infrastructure improvement plan.
Contributed
Contributed
By David Krechevsky

After years of discussion and revisions, West Hartford has finalized plans for updating LaSalle Road and Farmington Avenue, two key streets in its town center.

The final plan was presented this week to the town council’s Community Planning and Economic Development Committee by Town Manager Rick Ledwith and Travis Ewen, a senior associate and landscape architect with Stantec, the Hartford-based engineering consultant hired by the town in 2022 to develop the plan.

The final plan needs no additional approvals from town boards or commissions, Ledwith said.

He noted that discussions for the project began in 2021 and that the town council has since set aside about $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to cover its costs.

The town intends to put the project out to bid in October, Ledwith said, due to requirements included with the ARPA funding. 

“We do need to have the funds appropriated and contracted by Dec. 31 of this year, “ he said. “Then we have two more years to expend those funds. We do need to move quickly to hire a construction manager and construction company to complete this project.”

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.

The town and Stantec conducted several public outreach sessions on the project, which redesigns the two streets in the center to update their infrastructure while also improving safety for vehicles and pedestrians. 

The town had narrowed it down to two proposals. The first would have changed parking in the center to primarily parallel parking, significantly reducing the number of on-street spaces, while the second retains most of the existing “pull-in” parking spaces.

Ledwith told the committee that business owners objected to the significant loss of street spaces, which led to the decision to reject the parallel parking plan. He also noted that construction, which will be done in phases to reduce the impact on businesses, will be completed faster if most of the existing parking is unchanged. Each phase under the final plan will take four to six weeks, he said.

The final plan does reduce on-street parking by 18 spaces on LaSalle Road, but adds three spaces on Farmington Avenue. 

The plan includes widening sidewalks on both streets — by 5 feet on Farmington Avenue and by 15 to 20 feet on LaSalle Road — which will allow restaurants to expand outdoor dining while also reducing the distances for crosswalks.

Raised crosswalks on both streets, and crosswalk bump outs on LaSalle, are intended to reduce traffic speeds. Sidewalks, crosswalks and parking will all also be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The plan includes a proposal for “traffic security bollards,” or thick posts, that would be used to close off LaSalle Road to vehicle traffic during special events. Ledwith said the bollards could be installed and removed by town employees as needed or constructed as an automated system.

The plan also suggests installing mobility hubs, “where people can connect to different forms of transportation” that can include covered bicycle racks, e-bike sharing and charging stations, and improved bus shelters, Ledwith said. The plan places the hubs in a parking lot on Arapahoe Road, which intersects with LaSalle, and beside Chase Bank on Farmington Avenue, near the intersection with North and South Main streets.

The Arapahoe Road parking lot also will have designated parking for drivers who work for Grubhub, Uber Eats and other food delivery services. Drivers for these services will be required to use only those designated spaces, Ledwith said.

“I feel strongly that this plan reflects our commitment to preserving what makes West Hartford special, while embracing new ideas for the future that we’re really excited about,” he said.

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