The first major piece of Hartford’s iQuilt Plan has broken ground. A road diet has given shape to Bushnell Park North, a pedestrian promenade lining the northern edge of Bushnell Park.
Slideshow of progress images here
Read MoreSuisman Urban Design and its client, the iQuilt Partnership and the City of Hartford, have received the Award of Excellence from the Connecticut Main Street Center. The award was given to Suisman’s iQuilt urban design plan for downtown Hartford, in the category of Public Space Master Plan. Suisman has been progressively designing and supporting the implementation of the comprehensive plan since 2008. “Connecticut’s city centers are critical drivers of commerce and competitiveness,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “I applaud the 2013 award winners for their efforts to make Connecticut’s downtowns thrive.”
Read MoreThe iQuilt Partnership has won a highly competitive placemaking grant from the State of Connecticut’s “Arts Catalyze Placemaking” (ACP) Program. Suisman Urban Design will lead development of iNSIDE/OUT, the iQuilt’s project focusing on a collection of beta sites that will demonstrate a wide variety of ways to externalize Hartford’s cultural assets. Pilot projects will be sited in different parts of downtown, notably along Church Street, which is home to Christ Cathedral, Capital Community College, and the Hartford Stage Company.
Read Morehe CARSuisman Urban Design’s work in Hartford has been included in a new book offering a refreshingly multifaceted view of the combined future of cars, streets and policy: “The Car in 2035: Mobility Planning for the Near Future.” Essays and images present the car as both a challenge and benefit to our neighborhoods, cities, and suburbs. A lively mix of auto industry experts, planners, designers, artists, researchers, and architects contemplates how we will adapt our cars and their context so we can continue to enjoy the freedom and benefits of individual mobility in the future.
Read MoreBy Kenneth R. Gosselin – The Hartford Courant
Construction is expected to begin next spring on three areas crucial to the iQuilt plan — State House Square, Gold Street and Union Station — a first major step in making the city’s center more easily navigated by pedestrians, cyclists and those who ride the bus. City officials and urban design consultants unveiled the latest plans Wednesday under iQuilt, a vision for making the city more walkable and capitalizing on its arts and cultural assets as well as Bushnell Park and the Connecticut River. The first phase, expected to cost $23 million, includes sweeping changes in how buses crisscross downtown and the way the central business district handles bus traffic from CTfastrak, the New Britain-Hartford busway now under construction.
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Envisionfest debuted yesterday and is Connecticut’s Capital City Festival featuring over 100 events, activities, and performances. Every aspect of this free event showcases Hartford’s abundance of innovative history, arts, and extraordinary cultural wealth, allowing a unique opportunity for people of all ages to discover and celebrate the capital city. Hundreds of live entertainment and hands-on activities stimulate the senses; from free live musical entertainment and dramatic performances on six stages, to free admission to more than eight museums, landmark building tours, and lawn games in Bushnell Park.
Each step taken or pedal pushed has visitors making new discoveries throughout Hartford and provides an opportunity to experience the ongoing transformation by the iQuilt Plan. All Envisionfest activities take place along the GreenWalk and the new routes connecting the State Capitol, historic Bushnell Park, downtown streets, and Constitution Plaza. Visitors are introduced to how the city and scenic riverfront are alive with music, art and science – not just on the date of Envisionfest – but every day in Hartford.
The reality of the iQuilt Plan will improve the livability, sustainability, and economic vitality of Downtown Hartford. Envisionfest Hartford is an event that brings more than 15,000 people to explore the current and future assets of this vibrant urban center.
Read MoreJust in time for the first EnvisionFest, Hartford’s Downtown Wayfinding system – a critical part of the iQuilt Plan – has been completed. It is the first physical iQuilt project to be implemented. Installed at approximately 45 Central Business District and Capitol area intersections and consisting of over 266 “Pedhead” signs and 135 “MiniMaps,” the system provides directions and estimated time on foot to the city’s cultural, civic, historic, and entertainment resources. This downtown-wide project was preceded by two pilot installations which also included transit stop signs, street name signs, and district banners. The wayfinding system’s core innovation is its use of existing pedestrian signal boxes for the mounting of 90% of the signage, reducing the project’s cost by half. All destinations are indicated with directional arrows and distance in minutes on foot which encourages walking and ultimately promotes a greener city and healthier residents and visitors.
Read MoreThe Courant editorial board encourages everyone to think about filling empty buildings downtown as a key goal of the iQuilt Plan. Buildings Are Major Piece of Hartford Revival
Read MoreEight wayfinding signs have been installed at the intersection of Trumbull St. and Asylum St. The signs are there to promote walking in Downtown Hartford by letting pedestrians know where and how far away many civic and cultural landmarks are located. The signs are mounted on the backs of the “walk/don’t walk” signals (also known as “pedheads”), which is where pedestrians most need information about the locations of key destinations in oder to chose their walking route. These signs are still in the testing phases, and we are constantly improving them based on the feedback of the community.
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