The multimodal network will be built on an understanding that maintaining accessibility throughout the region is a superior approach to focusing only on improving vehicular travel time. As such, many recommendations are centered around the region’s core, primarily Hartford and East Hartford, acknowledging accessibility as a core principle of the plan. Central to this vision is an emphasis on inclusive and equitable transportation options that rectify past disparities. The GHMP provides recommendations for diverse, reliable, and safe multimodal transportation choices that simultaneously mitigate transportation’s environmental impact. The Study organized its key recommendations into the following four components: City Link West, City Link East, Founders Gateway, and River Gateway.
Core Component Vision
The culmination of the GHMP vision is the four Core Components which aim to reimagine the way traffic moves through Hartford and the way people experience the city. The components will address geometric deficiencies, improve the efficiency of highway operations, improve connectivity/access to the river, and remove I-84 as physical barrier in downtown Hartford. The implementation of these projects would address structural, operational, and safety needs, reduce the number of ramps in the Study Core, and improve connectivity between neighborhoods and green spaces/parks. Lowering the highway would link neighborhoods currently severed by the highway and create additional developable land while improving rail and bus services that share the corridor.
