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Downtown's Big Problems

grock

By grock
in Greater Hartford

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paul514 Unincorporated Area

paul514

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I definately agree with wider and better quality sidewalks. I just got back from Vancouver this week and what I really noticed was how wide the sidewalks were, usually 10 to 15 ft wide downtown and on major commercial arteries. In contrast the roads were not as wide with most being 4 lanes, 2 in either direction with only two for driving and two for parallel parking. From a pedestrian point of view I found this great. It also offers restaurants and coffe shops to put tables and chairs so that one can dine outside in nicer weather (even Denny's has it there). In September I happened to be downtown with a friend and she and I decided to eat at Tapas on Ann St. We ate outdoors, the food was good but it the tables and chairs were on a crooked sidewalk that really wasn't great for that sort of atmosphere.

I above all think that downtown's greatest problem is the lack of shopping. I've said it before and I'll say it again they need to attract the right sort of shops that appeal to young urbanites. Urban Outfitters, etc. Furniture stores like Roche Bobois, etc.

I've travelled to many cities, some which attract a great deal of tourism on shopping and nightlife alone. That's what downtown Hartford should be aiming for. Get great shopping, restaurants and nightlife and people will actually come to Hartford. Imagine Hartford being able to attract a good number of stores that are only available in New York or Boston. With a good number of them young people from the suburbs will flock to the city to shop, eat and stroll in Bushnell Park.

What we need to do is look at cities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand which have been able to rank among the most livable in the world and make themselves destionations without really having much to offer in the way of historical sites.

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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Needs to grow? Hartford is losing population and so is the Hartford area for that matter. If we can't be a picturesque New England city, we CERTAINLY aren't going to become a growing concrete behemoth like Atlanta.

Work with what you have. Hartford needs this advice more than anything. New England cities have stopped growing, perhaps European cities which also have stopped growing but are still healthy are better examples for Hartford. The southern cowboy mentality will only continue destroying this city.

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Luca Brasi Hamlet

Luca Brasi

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I've travelled to many cities, some which attract a great deal of tourism on shopping and nightlife alone. That's what downtown Hartford should be aiming for. Get great shopping, restaurants and nightlife and people will actually come to Hartford. Imagine Hartford being able to attract a good number of stores that are only available in New York or Boston. With a good number of them young people from the suburbs will flock to the city to shop, eat and stroll in Bushnell Park.
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beerbeer Burg

beerbeer

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Obviously depends when you go. I went to the city on a Friday in September and it was very lively. I might get back over Thanksgiving and assume it would be slow.

A co-worker (our office is in DC) just went to the Connecticut Association of Broadcasters meeting at the Convention Center and she thought there was a lot to do in the "litttle city." I asked her about the CCC and she thought it was "nice." In a couple of years when Front Street is up and running there it should be very nice, LOL.

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blink55184 Whistle-Stop

blink55184

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You must've gone at some dead times. I'm here all the time and even on weekends there is a noticable difference now when compared to say 1 or 2 years ago in my opinion. So maybe it's just a matter of perception. I have recently begun to see signs of residential life Downtown such as people walking dogs, jogging, etc. that I can't really recall ever seeing in Downtown Hartford before.
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mikel Hamlet

mikel

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What's your problem man? Are you trying to start an arguement with me in every thread. Doesn't seem as bad as you make it out to be. Could it use more foot traffic? Sure!!!I was downtown after a Wolfpack game and the restuarants seemed pretty busy. Like HartfordTycoon said, it depends on the time of day. I also agree with the other poster about getting more shopping downtown.
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drc72 Burg

drc72

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Let's get something straight here. I've been downtown constantly since the late 90's. And there has not been any such "rise" in foot traffic. It's only gotten worse.

And this isn't to say it won't ever improve. But since the HCC closed down all the stores, foot traffic decreased terribly, and there hasn't been a noticeable increase. To be honest, downtown seems slower lately than it ever has.

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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It seemed a lot a slower to me during the late 90's. Not to say it can't use more foot traffic, because it definitely can use more. I'm downtown all the time and it seems to be picking up. Adding more shopping would definitely bring in a lot more people. Maybe with the new grocery store, things will pick up.
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SOCOM Hamlet

SOCOM

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I'm perplexed, as many of you seem to be, with the insinuation that foot traffic has decreased since the late 90's. I used to go downtown all the time in the mid to late 90's...sometimes I could walk from Trumbull St all the way down to the river and not see a soul. While we have tons of work to do (where do blink and mikel get the idea that we think Hartford doesn't have problems?), today everytime I'm downtown I bump into quite a few people.

However, if foot traffic has decreased over the past year or two, there is actually a simple explination for that - construction. Construction, for obvious reasons, deters people from walking the sidewalks, and that's essentially what's going on right now while Hartford is in a transition phase. Sometimes things have to get a little bit worse for a time before they get better. A year or two from now when a lot of the construction projects will either be completed or wrapping up, there will be a noticeable difference that even the most pessimistic person won't be able to ignore anymore.

There is a lot of still ye to be done, mostly in terms of traffic calming measures and pedestrian improvments, but these things are also on the drawing boards. Why anyone would look down upon this time in Hartford's future is baffling. For every step we take back, we are taking two or three forward.

I got off the Columbus Blvd exit on I91 south this afternoon and came to the red light at the intersection of Columbus and Arch. Looking up at the city's skyline from that vantage point is truly breathtaking - it looks like a hollywood movie set, and to think that a few years from now that area could be one of the hottest in metro Hartford is very exciting.

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