City of New Haven, Town of Hamden
Two municipalities come together to develop the public realm along a shared road. Through promoting CONNECTIONS AT ALL LEVELS, Dixwell Avenue - the Connecting Boulevard which bridges the two municipalities - becomes the shared grain that enlivens both New Haven's Newhallville and Hamden's Highwood neighborhoods. The vision for each municipality's public realm reflects specific cultural and historic references. In developing this grain and chosen 'cross-grains', deeper connections to each neighborhood create a whole which connects community members to thriving neighborhood commercial centers, high quality natural resources, recreational use sites, and educational facilities.
GOALS
1. IMPROVE THE PUBLIC REALM: Redesign commercial cores to emphasize pedestrian safety and sense of place, integrate the forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit Route, slow automobile traffic, and create a consistent spatial street wall.
2. SENSE OF PLACE: Create an improved sense of place by densifying the street through mixed-use housing, commercial opportunities, and public realm placemaking elements along Dixwell Avenue, moving the street toward both “Connecting Boulevard” and “Main Streets” typologies along Dixwell in the noted areas.
3. LINK COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL AND RECREATIONAL AMENITIES: Link Hamden and New Haven neighborhoods to the Farmington Canal Trail and to amenities through a series of “cross grains”.
PRIORITIES
1. PUBLIC REALM LIGHTING: Install dark-sky compliant lighting along the Farmington Canal from lower Newhallville into the Town of Hamden.
2. INTEGRATE WITH THE BRT: Define common nodes and bus stops along Dixwell Avenue.
3. CROSS-GRAIN STREET IMPROVEMENTS: Implement Complete Streets and identified connection strategies.
4. CHANGE GOODRICH INTO A TWO-WAY STREET: Include parking on both sides of Goodrich and two-way travel to bolster the “Main Street” commercial district and connect to the Albertus Magnus campus.
5. DENSIFY CORRIDOR AND GATEWAY CREATION: Develop the identified igniter lots.
6. EXTEND PLACEMAKING AND BRANDING ELEMENTS: Bolster placemaking along cross-grains to emphasize connections to the developing districts.
7. CREATE TRAILS SYSTEMS: Add to the existing trails fabric of Beaver Pond Park, Cherry Ann Street Park and create overlook nodes for the community to utilize.
8. REMEDIATE 6 LAKES PARK SITE: A longer-term vision of creating a rich recreational resource to define the northern edge of Dixwell Avenue.
EXPLORE ADDITIONAL NCDS PROJECTS:
Hill South Placemaking & Development - Newhallville: Canal Market - Neighborhood Sensitive Infill Developments - Enriching an Unutilized Underpass
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