Transportation & Circulation
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Chapter 8 One City, One Plan Transportation & Circulation KEY TOPICS Travel Patterns Roadways Bus Transit Railway Airports Pedestrian & Bicycle Environment Comprehensive Transportation Planning Efforts Goals & Objectives Adopted June 3, 2010 One City, One Plan– POCD 2020 8- 2 Introduction Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), Transportation & Circulation Connecticut Department of Environmental Transportation plays a critical role in One City, Protection, Natural Resources Conservation One Plan. Transportation themes thread through Service, Capitol Region Council of Governments, the goals of the plan to promote livable and sus- CT Transit and others. The challenge for the next tainable neighborhoods, enhance mobility ten years is to incorporate these planning efforts through transit, pedestrian and bike systems city- and ideas into one comprehensive strategy for wide and by advancing downtown’s role as the the city. One such component included in this regions center for commerce, culture and city plan is called The Hartford Transportations Path- living. Further, the proposed railway and pedes- way Strategy which incorporates the plans in trian plans promote and encourage the integra- and around Union Station into one strategy. tion of sustainable practice in and around the city. Studies and initiatives examined as background in the preparation of this section include: A safe, efficient, flexible and economically viable Capitol Ave with Capitol Building in Background transportation system is essential to ensure that Hartford Traffic Control System Upgrades the City of Hartford can continue to grow and Hartford 2010 prosper. This system, comprised of a surface Hartford I-84 Viaduct Study (HUB of transportation network of highways, streets, Hartford) walkways, greenways, bikeways, and mass tran- ConnDOT 2007 Master Plan sit, and proximity to Bradley International Air- New Britain– Hartford Busway Project port is the basis for its expanding role. Northwest Corridor Study New Haven– Harford—Springfield (NHHS) One of Hartford’s major goals for its transporta- Commuter Rail project tion system is to reduce reliance on automo- East Coast Greenway Plan and Bicycle Plan biles. This entails working across many different Capitol Region Council of Government spheres to make it enjoyable, more convenient (CRCOG) Regional Pedestrian & Bicycle Plan and less expensive to use other modes of trans- Capitol Region Council of Government portation besides private cars for a variety of (CRCOG) Regional Plan of Conservation trips. Housing, urban design, transit, economic and Development development, and parking policy all play a role in Downtown Circulation Study accomplishing this goal. Union Station Planning Project Traffic Calming Studies State House Square This plan draws from the work of previous Streetscape Projects studies by the City of Hartford, Connecticut 8- 3 One City, One Plan– POCD 2020 Travel Patterns workforce works in either Hartford or an adja- TABLE VIII-1 cent municipality. Fewer than 7% of Hartford Journey to Work- Destination of Hartford Resident Journey to Work, 2000 Hartford’s transportation system is used by its resident workers commute out of Hartford Workers Destination of Hartford Resident Workers residents, workers, and visitors every single day County for work. Many employed residents of Hartford 18,252 44.5% of the year. Travel patterns vary according to the Hartford are likely to have short commuting 7 Adjacent Towns (detailed type of trip being taken, the time of day, the time distances to and from their workplace. Other distribution below) 10,986 26.8% of year (seasonal variations), and the mode being Bloomfield 1,395 3.4% important employment destinations for Hartford East Hartford 1,928 4.7% used. For example, an individual may carpool to workers include West Hartford (3,415 workers), Newington 1,462 3.6% work during the weekdays, drive alone to the East Hartford (1,928 workers), Newington (1,462 South Windsor 605 1.5% grocery store in the evening, walk with the kids to workers), and Bloomfield (1,395 workers). West Hartford 3,415 8.3% the park on the weekend, and take the bus to Wethersfield 879 2.1% dinner and a movie Downtown on Saturday night. According to Census data, an estimated 88,617 Windsor 1,302 3.2% Understanding the public’s purposes and prefer- workers commute into Hartford for employment Balance of Hartford County 9,172 22.4% Balance of CT 2,107 5.1% ences for travel helps to shape the kind of system daily, in addition to the 18,252 workers Massachusetts 164 0.4% that works best for Hartford. mentioned previously who both reside and work Other Out of State 328 0.8% within the City. Commuters into Hartford come Journey to Work TOTAL TABLE VIII-2 41,009 from a wider range of communities than are Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; compiled by HMA. represented as destinations for Hartford Journey to Work, 2000 The most well-studied travel pattern is the “Journey JourneyOrigin to Work of- Commuters Origin of Commuters into Hartford into Hartford resident workers; while fewer than 7% of to Work,” for which data is provided by the United Hartford 18,252 17.1% Hartford workers left the county, over 27% of States Census Bureau. Analysis of this data helps us 7 Adjacent Towns (detailed commuters into Hartford came from outside distribution below) 28,735 26.9% to understand the general traffic flows into and out Hartford county. A substantial percentage of Bloomfield 2,730 2.6% of Hartford’s communities generated by daily trips commuters into Hartford came from West East Hartford 4,859 4.5% to and from the workplace. Newington 3,342 3.1% Hartford (7.6%), Manchester (4.6%), East Hart- South Windsor 2,619 2.5% According to the 2000 Census, the City of ford (4.5%, Wethersfield (3.3%), and Winsor West Hartford 8,116 7.6% Hartford has an estimated 41,009 resident work- (3.3%). The accompanying table shows a sum- Wethersfield 3,576 3.3% ers, of whom 18,252 (44.5%) are employed mary of the origin of commuters into Hartford. Windsor 3,493 3.3% within the City itself. The remaining 22,757 Balance of Hartford County 30,905 28.9% Seventy-three percent of Hartford workers Balance of CT 24,572 23.0% workers (55.5%) commute to jobs outside of commute to and from work by car. In fact, of Massachusetts 3,290 3.1% Hartford. Hartford residents are somewhat the 29,830 residents who commute by car, over Other Out of State 1,115 1.0% reliant upon jobs within the City itself for 78% drive alone. Over 7,600 (16.4%) of Hartford TOTAL 106,869 employment, as well as in the metropolitan area workers commute to work by public transporta- Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; compiled by HMA. in general. In fact, 71.3% of Hartford’s resident tion and an additional 2,374 (5.8%) walk to 8- 4 work. According to the CRCOG Transportation cles as well as people traveling by foot. Various Transportation & Circulation Plan for 2035, nearly 8% of all Hartford workers roadways have different purposes, and as such are currently commute by bus. Hartford workers in the designed and operated differently. City’s Central Business District (CBD) rely heavily on bus transportation, with 14.4% of all workers in the Roadways have different owners and thus are CBD commuting by bus. subject to different regulations. According to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, as of These figures indicate that single occupancy 2006, the City of Hartford was served by 225.9 vehicles are the preferred method of transporta- miles of public roads, 91.5% percent of which tion to and from work for the vast majority of are City roads (206.6 miles) and the balance of Hartford’s workers. Less expensive, more envi- which (8.5%) are State Roads. City roads must ronmentally sound methods of transportation be designed to City standards, and are main- such as taking the bus, walking, or riding a bicycle tained by the City, whereas State roads follow remain less attractive to workers, perhaps due to state standards of design and maintenance. a lower level of convenience, an increased com- I-84 is one of Hartford’s two Principal Arterial- mitment of time and effort, or real and perceived Functional Classification of Roadways Interstate roadways. safety issues. Roadways are further classified based on traffic volumes, accessibility and function. Functional Roadways Functional Classification Systems classification is important because it determines The City of Hartford serves as a transportation how a roadway is designed, including design Arterial– Provides the highest level of service hub between Boston and New York. It is well posi- speed, lane width, shoulder width, and median at the greatest speed for the longest uninter- rupted distance, with some degree of access tioned from a surface transportation standpoint design, among other things. Road functions can control. as the convergence of many interstate and state change over time as land use changes, so it is routes, including I-91 and I-84 and Connecticut important to reclassify roadways when necessary Collector– Provides a less highly developed to ensure that they function property in their routes 4, 5 and 15. These roadways serve those level of service at a lower speed for shorter current environments. It should be noted that traveling within, to and from, and through Hartford. distances by collecting traffic from local roads roadways classification is based on and geared and connecting them with arterials. In addition to these larger roadways, Hartford is toward motorized vehicular use of the roadway, greatly impacted by the arrangement of its and does not take into account non-motorized Local– Consists of all roads not defined as smaller streets. The loose gridiron arrangement and pedestrian usage. arterials or collectors; primarily provides access of the majority of Hartford’s streets provides a to land with little or no through movement.