Major Funding Boost Coming For Hartford Neighborhood
Major Funding Boost Coming For Hartford Neighborhood
Hartford's Washington delegation announced recently a $19 million grant program for improved pedestrian, bicyclist and traffic safety.
HARTFORD, CT — One Hartford neighborhood badly in need of transportation infrastructure help is getting just that — $19 million worth for a program that aims to improve motorist, pedestriab and bicycle safety.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, announced a $19 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant for the City of Hartford’s North Main Street Streetscape and Multimodal Transportation Project.
The U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact.
The funding will support streetscape improvements in Northeast Hartford to make it easier to walk or bike on North Main Street and better connect residents to employment, educational and recreational opportunities, according to a joint announcement from all three.
“Inequitable development policies in the past effectively cut off parts of Hartford from other areas of the city, which has had a tremendously harmful impact on communities in Northeast Hartford. This significant federal funding to revitalize North Main Street will help reverse decades of underinvestment in the city, improve quality of life for its residents and spur more economic development,” said Murphy
Safety also played a role in the grant funding, something the trio claimed would improved once the project is complete.
“Connecticut’s pedestrian deaths are at an all-time high. Too many families have lost relatives and friends. This $19 million investment in one of the most underserved communities will help make critical safety improvements to Hartford’s roads,” said Blumenthal.
“I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law because of the unique opportunity we have to transform our region, including through efforts to reconnect neighborhoods like Hartford’s North End with the rest of the city, which has been a top priority of mine," Larson said.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin called the grant a "huge victory for Hartford."
"This project will make North Main Street more friendly for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers alike, and it will help support our small businesses by making the whole commercial corridor more beautiful and inviting," Bronin said.