I'm hoping this is helpful for folks who haven't had a chance to digest the latest plan for Route 9. There are online maps, there have been video presentations. But just in case a plain old description helps, that's what I've written below.
In the meantime, the Common Council meets tonight to vote (UPDATE: VOTED YES UNANIMOUSLY) on asking the DOT to pause and consider community concerns about the plan, which were raised during two hours public commentary on May 23rd.
Also, if you would like to submit comments in writing to the DOT, they have moved the deadline to tomorrow, Friday, May 31st. Send your thoughts by email to DOT.Rte9Middletown@ct.gov and please cc Mayor Florsheim at mayor@middletownct.gov and gene.nocera@middletownct.gov.
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And now, a description of the plan, using local reference points, with my commentary included:
From Route 9 North, if you are coming from Higganum:
The plan eliminates both lights on Route 9 North, meaning no left turns either to the Portland Bridge/Hartford Avenue or to Washington Street/Route 66. It creates a new Rt9N exit about a mile to the south of downtown (before the bend in the highway.) The exit would be between Bow Lane and the Rt 17 connector, around the area of Maplewood Terrace/Walnut Street, leading to a rotary on River Road in front of the old sewage treatment plant. The DOT predicts a future count of 4500 vehicles a day using this exit, including trucks. The floodplain, Sumner Brook and a superfund site are all impacted. This also contradicts the riverfront planning we've done for recreational amenities and attractions in this area.
Everyone who currently uses the lights on the Northbound highway to turn left would instead be on River Road, along the waterfront, and would then come to the corner of DeKoven and Union Street (by the old Middletown Plate Glass); then they would make their way to the Portland Bridge or up toward Meriden by using the local roads. DeKoven to Rapallo would carry much of the traffic headed to the Bridge; as with the last DOT plan (which was stopped in 2018 by community resistance), this plan converts Rapallo to a one-way street to hold the cars heading to the Bridge, adds pollution in a crowded area, puts more pressure on cut-through traffic on Ferry/Green, and damages businesses and residents on Rapallo and the area.
Aside from the impact to local residents, this plan means that for any driver who uses the lights from Rt9N to get to the Bridge, there is added travel time, especially compared to off-peak times, because they would always have to navigate local streets and intersections instead of using the highway.
For cars that usually use the Northbound light to head up Washington Street toward Meriden, they would now find the quickest path would be up Union/Church/Cross street, through the Wesleyan campus; or possibly, to take a right on DeKoven until William/MLK or Court Street, then taking Pearl or High to eventually make a left onto Washington Street. In other words, the neighborhoods beyond downtown would have new cut-through traffic from this change, with damage to property values and increased risk to pedestrians.
Some of the cars taking the new exit would go up Union and turn right onto Main Street, either to get to Rt. 66/Washington Street, or to get to the Portland Bridge. Adding cars that do NOT want to be Main Street, with people who are just trying to get somewhere else, is a negative for our businesses. It hurts the important qualities of easy diagonal parking, slow speeds and walkability which make our business district possible. Very few Connecticut downtowns stayed alive after DOT projects "improved" the highway for cars instead of for communities (think Meriden, Waterbury, Hartford, New Britain, Norwich, etc.) Middletown has been lucky to have easy access from Route 9, without ramps and flyovers to erase the community. Under this plan, removing the lights takes away the simple and clear access we've enjoyed, and increases the volume of through traffic and hurts walkability, while lowering the number of exits into our downtown.
From Route 9 South, if you are coming from Cromwell:
On the Southbound lane of Route 9, the plan creates a hump to elevate one lane of the highway to pass over the intersection with Hartford Avenue (that's the concrete-walled ramp from O'Rourke's Diner to Route 9). The hump on Route 9 starts roughly around Miller/Bridge street, then rises to its full height where Hartford Avenue meets the highway, and then, in a distance of about 500 feet, goes back down to grade level to pass under where the Railroad Bridge crosses Route 9. There would be an exit lane on the right side so that Rt9S cars could get to Hartford Avenue up toward St. John's Square - then right toward the Bridge or left onto Main Street, heading to Route 66/Washington Street. One increase in volume at this Route 9 exit is that it would now carry ALL the cars headed to points West, because the other exit to Route 66, at the base of Washington Street near Melilli Plaza, would be eliminated.
For cars that come down Hartford Avenue, heading North to Hartford, they would pass under the hump and merge into the fast lane on Route 9 - and the DOT is proposing adding a new lane to Route 9 North for a distance to make this less dangerous; but ultimately, it's a left lane merge on a full-speed highway. For cars that come down Hartford Avenue and want to head south on Route 9, they would merge into the full-speed traffic coming off the hump, in the area of where the highway passes under the railroad bridge. As noted, the exit to Washington Street in the area of DeKoven House/Vecchitto's would be eliminated.
Cars would still be able to enter Route 9 South at the bottom of Washington Street, but they would now have to accelerate up to the highway speed, and that puts them in conflict with cars who are on Route 9 South and slowing down to take the exit by the movie theater, to DeKoven/MLK Drive, which connects to William Street.
Of course, all construction presents risks to local communities and business districts, but construction of the hump on Route 9 South will be a significant disruption, projected to last 3 to 4 years. The hump covers the space of Route 9 itself and there's little room for detouring traffic due to the bridge supports for the Railroad bridge and the Arrigoni Bridge. It will be especially difficult, both night and day, for residents of Miller/Bridge/Portland Streets, and for maintaining full access to downtown and to the Bridge and Rt 66.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM:
The overall plan ignores the decades of data that shows projects like this hurt local economies, and put the highest burden on neighborhoods with low-income residents and people of color. The research shows that ultimately, they don't even solve safety or congestion problems on the highway itself, because accidents now happen at higher speed and the "faster" route draws new commuters and higher volume, and encourages development to sprawl away from urban centers. People who pass through might sometimes have shorter travel times during rush hour, at least for a while, but those who are diverted through our neighborhoods will not see those gains. The DOT is not considering ways to make the highway safer that would avoid these negative impacts for Middletown. The estimates of improvements in safety don't consider the increase in risk on our local streets and the cost that we will bear.
Please join us in asking DOT to find better ways to make the highway safer, without transferring the burden to Middletown.
