22/05/2024
The DOT and Route 9. Ten Questions. Question #8.
(photo: Main Street Middletown, Amato’s Middletown, Amatos - New Britain and aftermath of Amato’s fire, New Britain)
I have several questions/concerns about the current plan to remove traffic signals from Rte 9 being offered up by the DOT. In the next several days, I'll post ten of them here.
There's a community meeting with the Common Council on Thursday May 23, 6:00 PM in Council Chambers to discuss the plans. Despite requests from the Common Council, Senator Matt Lesser State Representative Brandon Chafee, the DOT has refused to attend the meeting.
QUESTION 7: Will the proposed change for Rte 9 hurt Middletown’s Main Street?
According to DOT engineer Stephan Hall in his DOT presentation of April 30, the proposed changes can only move forward if they don’t violate these stated constraints: “The proposed design changes cannot cause regular backups onto Rte 9 or cause adverse affects (sic) to Main Street and the downtown roadway network.”
As I see it, the DOT should pack their charts and head back to the Berlin Turnpike drawing boards just based on that statement alone.
Will Rte 9 changes, as proposed, hurt Main Street and the downtown road network?
In their own plans the DOT intends to send thousands more cars and trucks daily down deKoven Drive and the South end of Main Street. That, in and of itself, will increase congestion, pollution, noise and danger to pedestrians and bikers.
What they don’t readily admit, and what is likely to happen, is that hundreds of vehicles (and their GPS systems) will also search for shorter, quicker routes on Church Street, William St, High Street, South Main Street, Broad Street, Pearl Street, Grand Street, Court Street, Liberty Street, Green Street - you know, our “downtown roadway network.”
What’s more, the four years of construction, and the eventual flood of vehicles on Main, attempting to make lefts on Washington, College and Court Streets will likely cause congestion on a regular basis.
To be fair, the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce has spoken to and gotten support from some downtown Middletown merchants and businesspeople who feel the sheer increase in traffic will be good for business. Or they have accepted the DOT explanation that with the redesign, traffic flow on Main Street will actually move more smoothly, despite the incredible incredible increase in number of cars and trucks trying to get through town as quickly as possible. Somehow, miraculously, the DOT says, congestion will decrease.
But others have their doubts and worry that the congestion will discourage shoppers and diners, and that parking, which is already an issue, will become even more difficult with a steady stream of traffic congestion
AMATO’S - A CAUTIONARY TALE
Diane Gervais, owner of Middletown’s Toy and Hobby in Middletown has seen it all.
The family’s business, founded by her father, Vinnie Amato, has survived fires, floods, redevelopment, the growth of malls, an international pandemic and the rise of web-based retail.
Amato’s, on Main Street Middletown, is an anchor retailer on Main Street, is proud of what she, her staff and her store have accomplished.
But she’s worried that the Middletown store might be at risk at the hands of a foe that dealt a fatal blow to another of the family’s anchor stores - Amato’s in New Britain.
That foe - the CT DOT.
The New Britain store, owned by Gervais’ brother, finally closed in 2022 after years of declining business when downtown New Britain was not able to bounce back after decades of redevelopment, the above-mentioned fires and floods in the store, and what Gervais, her brother and her father felt was a fatal decision to believe the promises of the CT DOT.
The DOT came to New Britain and promised increased business and plentiful downtown access when they met with city leaders. They succeeded in selling their vision and built five and six lanes of freeway, and a sprawling highway exchange (ironically, Rte 9, and Rte 72) in a concrete canyon that ran directly through the heart of downtown New Britain.
What everyone knows, and can still see, is that the highway divided and decimated downtown New Britain, which is still suffering, and attempting to bring back what was once a thriving downtown (I know, because I grew up there).
One friend told me recently: "I've driven through New Britain on the highway hundreds of time, and I don't even know what the city looks like."
Of course there were many factors that caused a struggling city to falter, but chief among them is a highway that didn’t live up to promises.
And New Britain is not the only city torn apart by DOT. All you need do is visit Meriden, Waterbury, Norwich, Bristol and Bridgeport and other CT cities where freeways have literally wiped-out neighborhoods, and have had devastating long-lasting half-life of economic turmoil.
So, Gervais is justified in her worry. And with her retail and life experience, we ought to seek out her opinions.
While the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce has gotten important input from Middletown and Middlesex County businesses, it’s important that we take the further step of an in-depth survey and analysis of Main Street, and of businesses that exist on our downtown network of streets.
We need to understand, honestly assess, what four years of adjacent highway construction, and a monumental increase in traffic will do to the commerce, character, safety and aesthetics of our Main Street. Downtown Middletown is our showcase, our economic engine and our tax base.
Matthew LesserKai Nikki BeltonState Senator Jan Hochadel
