Officials Present A Whole New Downtown

It's really happening.

That was the one point nearly all of Thursday night's speakers tried to drive home as they presented plans for a dramatic overhaul of Meriden's downtown at Lincoln Middle School Thursday night.

After decades of plans, studies, and projections it appears that construction will begin on a major group of downtown projects throughout the next few years – some as early as this month – city officials say. In the next year alone officials plan to demolish Factory H, start projects on bridges on Columbus and Cook Avenues, begin work on turning the city's HUB site into a sophisticated park, and launch the second phase of the Linear Trail – extending it to Platt High School.

"Life is always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act," said City Manager Lawrence Kendzior, opening the public meeting with a quote by author Paulo Coelho. "You all know that here in Meriden we’ve been waiting a very long time. I think when you hear all these presentations – you’ll agree that the right moment has come."

was organized by city officials in an effort to show residents the evolving plans for coming projects and get their input before plans are finalized and ground is broken. Presented by the city's engineering, environmental and architectural consultants, some plans were new to the audience, others were updates of well-known projects.

The proposed projects are all located in the city's Transit Oriented District, which comprises the half-mile radius around the current train station. Many projects have already received or been promised partial or full funding from state or federal grants and legislation – which officials hope will draw in private developers as well.

The New Haven to Springfield high speed rail remains on track to be completed in 2016, according to CONNDOT project manager John Bernick, who briefed the audience on the new line that will have a stop in Meriden.

CONNDOT has received $40 million from the federal government and $20 million from the state to complete the first phase of the project, which is to lay a second set of rail tracks over the 10.2 miles between Meriden and Newington. Those at CONNDOT eventually envision that up to 25 roundtrip trains per day would stop in town - with a 30-minute wait for riders during peak times. [A full PDF of all the night's presentations is included above right.] Design is set to be completed in 2014.

A new train means a new station for Meriden. The city is looking at creating an "Intermodal Station" that would include a parking garage, an adjoining bus lane with bus parking and a raised pedestrian bridge so that riders could reach either side of the tracks from Colony Street or State Street, according to Margarita Iglesia of engineering firm Parsons Brinkerhoff.

In their schematics, the firm provided a few different ideas of where a new station would go – one plan switches the station, currently on State Street, to Colony Street. The city is hoping to interest a private developer in building a station that would provide an entryway for trains and include commercial space for restaurants and retail stores, according to Economic Development Director Peggy Brennan.

Consultants are proposing turning Pratt Street from I-691 to East Main into a tree-lined gateway into downtown, with a landscaped median, trees on both sides of the road, street parking and a bike way, said Doron Dagan of Luchs Engineering, whose own offices are located in Meriden's former Post Office.

Dagan also discussed the city's plan to return two-way traffic to East and West Main and Hanover Streets, and remove bumpouts. Having four access points to the train will split the traffic volume causing shorter lines at train gates – mitigating some of the issues that may arise when the amount of trains in Meriden increases with the high speed rail, according to Dagan.

That's good news for many downtown business owners who have petitioned the city to make traffic two way in front of their shops - saying two way traffic will slow people down so they can shop, and also not be concerned with being hit by a speeding car.

"It's too fast. There’s no way you can stop and see anything," Jay Delaney, owner of Cassidy's Diner on West Main said of potential customers driving down his street. He came to the meeting to discuss this issue. Delaney said people have told him "By the time I realized you were open – I was down the street. They didn't want to turn around. These lights are so long – to get around the block it takes 20 minutes."

Allan Hodges of Parsons Brinkerhoff, who is performing a marketing study on the transit district says the town should focus its initial efforts on being a place of "origin" - not a place of "destination." If the city can attract young professionals to live in mixed-use developments in the city center through its location and character, the businesses will follow.

"When dirt starts flying at the HUB site next year, I think people are going to start getting the idea that something really is happening here," Hodges said.

The final project presented is what many believe will be the crown jewel of Downtown - a 14.4-acre park on the HUB site between State and Pratt Streets.

The most recent plan shows an uncovered Harbor Brook running through the park with a pedestrian bridge over it, a depressed grass amphitheatre that will double as a space to hold floodwater, a great lawn, and several landscaped entry points.

According to City Manager Lawrence Kendzior, design for the HUB is about 60 percent complete, and he's hoping it will be finished by spring so that the city may break ground next year on the project.

For those who missed Thursday's meeting but would like a chance to review and comment on Meriden's short and longer-range projects, the city will be hosting similar events on a smaller scale, with Neighborhood Associations and other groups, Kendzior said.

It will also be launching the website www.meridentod.com at the end of November, carrying explanations of projects and a chance to comment.

"As we move from planning and designing and thinking to doing we want as much input from the community," Kendzior said.