Thank you for your interest in the Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study! Public input is important to this project, and there will be many ways to learn about the project and provide your feedback. Public Information meetings, pop-up meetings, and tactical engagement event dates and attendance information will be posted on this page as they are scheduled. Please check back often to see when the next meetings will be. Go to the About the Study page to see a schedule overview for this project.
You may also fill out a form on this page to send in a question or comment, or sign up to receive project updates via email. Project updates will be sent announcing meetings and the posting of new documents to the website.
View the Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study Fact Sheet
Come see us at our tent in Howard T. Brown Park where we will share proposed recommendations for making improvements and changing transportation in downtown Norwich to address speeding, safety, congestion, and mobility for all users in downtown! We will also be walking around downtown providing information on the proposed recommendations to businesses and residents, and answering questions and getting feedback on the recommendations. We look forward to seeing you!
May 7, 2024, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Howard T. Brown Memorial Park
100 Chelsea Harbor Drive (MAP)
The Project Team is partnering with the City of Norwich and the Norwich Community Development Corporation to install a tactical engagement demonstration in downtown Norwich, which will make temporary changes to a part of Main Street to test ideas and gather community feedback on potential improvements that could be implemented from the Mobility Study. Exact day and time are to be determined in coordination with City staff.
May 2024 (Day and time TBD)
For more information on the project, visit https://envisionnorwich360.com/en/projects/tactical-urbanism-1
This Public Information Meeting will provide an opportunity for residents and business owners to learn about proposed recommendations and options for transportation safety improvements and circulation changes for downtown Norwich. Attendees will be able to provide feedback to the Project Team about the recommendations and get questions answered. This feedback will be critical for guiding the final recommendations of the Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Norwich Mobility Study.
June 5, 2024, 5:00-7:00 PM
Norwich City Hall, Room 335
100 Broadway, Norwich, CT (MAP)
Potential alternatives to the traffic circulation and flow through downtown Norwich was presented to the City Council on March 18th. Linked below is the recording of that presentation and the slides from the meeting.
Monday, March 18, 2024
Meeting Resources:
3/18/24 Meeting Recording (YouTube)
3/18/24 Meeting Presentation (PDF, 5.7MB)
View all survey responses (PDF, 0.3MB)
The public survey, which stayed open for responses from mid-August to November 22, 2023, garnered 384 total responses to the survey, with 383 in English and one in Spanish. Seventy-six percent of the respondents live in Norwich, while the remaining quarter represent a variety of other towns in the region. Twenty-nine percent travel through downtown to get to other destinations, while 24% visit downtown to work or study, and another 24% visit downtown for shopping, errands, entertainment, or visiting restaurants. The majority drive through downtown and don’t walk much (64%), another quarter drives into downtown and walks around, 6% use transit downtown, and 5% typically walk or bike downtown. A majority (58%) do not bike in downtown Norwich, and 22% feel it is unsafe or very unsafe to bike in downtown Norwich. Thirty-nine percent feel that walking in Norwich is good or great, and the remaining respondents feel it is average (31%) or poor to very poor (23%).
Q5. What is your level of safety and comfort walking in Downtown Norwich? (choose one)
There are many different concerns people have with getting through the study area. They include unsafe drivers (47%), traffic congestion (41%), lack of parking near their destination (40%), long traffic signal wait times (34%), high speed traffic (26%), conflicts with people walking (16%), and issues with wayfinding (9%).
The survey also asked about how people perceive the Franklin Square Roundabout, which was installed in 2021. Overall, people think the roundabout works well or very well (71%) while 26% believe it does not work well or works very poorly.
Finally, many different areas of downtown were referenced as places where people feel it is unsafe or unappealing to walk or bike in. Areas on Main Street by the Post Office and Court House were mentioned, as well as near City Hall, Washington Square, getting from downtown to the marina/intermodal center, Water Street, and Market Street. Speeding was also brought up as another concern people have, and difficulty using pedestrian crossings.
Q8. If you often drive through the study area, do you experience any problems when driving in Downtown Norwich? (check all that apply)
The meeting provided an opportunity for residents and business owners to learn about the project’s purpose, provide invaluable input for the development of recommendations and allow the public to get in-person answers from the project team.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 - 5:00-7:00 PM
Otis Library Community Room
261 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Norwich, CT (MAP)
Meeting Resources:
10/25/23 Meeting Recording (YouTube)
10/25/23 Meeting Presentation (PDF, 5.5MB)
10/25/23 Meeting Notes (PDF, 0.2MB)
10/25/23 Public Information Meeting Flyer (PDF, 4.0MB)
Pictures from the event:
The Study Team attended this event to provide information on the purpose and scope of the study and take feedback on mobility issues in the downtown Norwich area. Thank you to all who participated! More information about the event »
September 19, 2023 - 5:00-8:00 PM
Chelsea Parade
Norwich, CT (MAP)
Pictures from the event:
The Study Team attended this event to provide information on the purpose and scope of the study and take feedback on mobility issues in the downtown Norwich area. We got a lot of great feedback at this event. Thank you for dropping by!
August 23, 2023 - 6:00-8:00 PM
Howard T. Brown Memorial Park
100 Chelsea Harbor Drive (MAP)
8/23/2023 Event Handout (PDF, 1.3MB)
Pictures from the event:
