INFRASTRUCTURE
Shining Time For A New Station Windsor Locks gets a federal grant for new train station
W
ithin weeks of the launch of the Hartford Line, Transportation officials knew it was going to be a success. Windsor Locks is looking to capitalize on that success with a new train station that will bring more focus downtown. To support it, the town was recently rewarded over $17 million in Federal Grants. This has been a goal for both the town and First Selectman Christopher Kervick for many years now, an action plan written in 2016 outlined the benefits of not only the Hartford Line, but Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as a whole. The Windsor Locks station will be moved to the historic downtown area, near the Montgomery Mills apartment complex. Currently the Windsor Locks train station is located south of town in an area that is not easily accessible to the majority of Windsor Locks residents. The goal is to “reinvigorate downtown,” as the action plan lays out, by addressing the lasting impacts of urban renewal, finding a balance between traffic flow and pedestrian/bicycle traffic, and a healthy parking strategy. As with almost many TOD projects, the core principle belief is that younger generations look to work in heavily populated areas with functional transit options. The action plan cites higher property values, increased private development, and a sense of community as the major
benefits they believe will come to Windsor Locks as a result. IN a press release, Governor Lamont said that “up and down the Hartford Line, towns like Windsor Locks have engaged in aggressive planning around the train stations to maximize the economic energy created by investment in the train service.” According to that press release, this was a joint project between the Department of Transportation, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Housing and the Office of Policy and Management, through its Responsible Growth Grant Program, as well as all departments in Windsor Locks. First Selectman Kervick told the Journal Inquirer that he expects the full plan to cost around $65 million, and that it will be Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliant, and that there will be plans to connect the train station to the Canal State Park Trail. With many pieces beginning to fall into place, there’s only the proverbial shovels in the ground stage left before this plan is officially underway. In the state press release, they say that the nearby Montgomery Mills apartment complex will be 100% occupied by Spring 2020, meaning that the train station can’t come soon enough.
INNOVATIVE IDEAS 2020 | CONNECTICUT TOWN & CITY | 31