The Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study is a key component in the City of Norwich’s efforts to provide streets that are safe and accessible for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit users of all ages and abilities. The Study goals include improvements to livability, mobility, access to essential services, safe routes to the waterfront and Howard T. Brown Park, the Intermodal Transportation Center, the Norwich Marina and other downtown destinations. This will be accomplished through expanded bicycle facilities, sidewalk network improvements, and the reconfiguration of multi-lane, high-speed through streets that currently exist as a barrier between downtown proper and the City’s waterfront area, East, and West Side neighborhoods. The Study will be developed in close coordination with the City of Norwich, SCCOG, and Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT). Throughout the course of the study there will also be multiple opportunities for community input into the process and final study report. These opportunities include two public information meetings, one public input survey, three pop-up meetings during community events, updates to elected officials in the City, and a tactical engagement event.
The tactical engagement event will showcase ways to create safer spaces quickly and inexpensively for people to travel by bike, on foot, on a scooter, by skateboard, or by any other low-impact, low-cost mode of transportation. The objective is to facilitate a physical and visual experience of a possible improvement, based upon proposed alternatives later in the project, and to gather feedback and data on the temporary changes. More information on upcoming events will be posted on the main page of the website and the Get Involved page as meetings and events are scheduled.
It is expected that the Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study will be developed over a 12-month time period. Below is a general schedule that the project will follow with anticipated milestones and meetings:
The Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study is being guided by a Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) made up of staff from SCCOG, the City of Norwich, and CTDOT. These include:
Amanda Kennedy - SCCOG - Executive Director
Jim Butler - SCCOG - Senior Advisor
Nicole Haggerty - SCCOG - Planner II
Kate Rattan - SCCOG - Planner III/Transportation Program Manager
Patrick McLaughlin - City of Norwich - Director of Public Works
Deanna Rhodes - City of Norwich - Director of Planning and Neighborhood Services
Dan Daniska - City of Norwich - City Planner/Wetlands Agent
Brian Long - City of Norwich - City Engineer
John Salomone - City of Norwich - City Manager
Patrick Daley - City of Norwich - Chief of Police
Tracy Montoya - City of Norwich - Fire Chief
Kevin Brown - Norwich Community Development Corporation - Executive Director
Michael Carroll - Southeast Area Transit District - General Manager
Fred Kulakowski - CTDOT - Transportation Supervising Engineer
Marlon Pena - CTDOT - Transportation Planner
Edward Sabourin - CTDOT - Project Engineer
Jake Fusco - CTDOT - Transportation Planner
Project Consultant staff include the following:
Will Britnell - VHB - Senior Transportation Advisor
Charlie Baker - VHB - Senior Traffic Engineer
Dan Amstutz - VHB - Senior Transportation Planner
Eric Tang - VHB - Senior Highway Safety Engineer
Joe Balskus - VHB - Director of Transportation Systems
Will Kresic - VHB - Transportation Engineer
Bridget Moriarty - VN Engineers - Public Involvement
For more information about the project, contact Jim Butler at jbutler@seccog.org.