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City Gets $1.7 Million Federal Grant For Street Improvements Near Union Station

By JENNA CARLESSO

October 19, 2011

HARTFORD —— The city has received a $1.7 million federal transportation grant to help improve pedestrian access to Union Station.

The grant will pay for improvements to a 1,620-foot stretch of Asylum and Farmington avenues. The upgrades will help create "safer, convenient and attractive routes to the station from surrounding residential, shopping and employment districts," city officials said Wednesday.

"The key to Hartford's future are these types of infrastructure improvements that will link the city together and make Union Station a true transportation hub," U.S. Rep. John Larson said in a statement. "This funding will provide a more seamless link between Union Station and neighborhoods to the West, which will help economic development, enhance pedestrian safety, and increase access to the city's transportation network for residents and commuters alike."

Mayor Pedro Segarra said the grant would create jobs and "begin the enhancement and modernization of a significant portion of our transportation infrastructure."

"Making Hartford a tourism destination has been a major priority for my administration and we are now one step closer to achieving that goal," Segarra said in a statement.

It was unclear when work on the project would begin.

Two other Connecticut cities also received the federal grants. New Haven was given $760,000 to study a proposal to develop a modern streetcar line that would connect three districts — the city's downtown, the Yale-New Haven Medical District, and Union Station.

Bridgeport received $180,000 to conduct a study on transit-oriented development that would benefit the city, as well as Fairfield and Stratford. The municipalities are served by commuter rail service and exploring the possibility of development around transit stations.