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Route 2 and I-84 east of the river maybe Connecticut's equivalent (next to I95) to the Long Island Distressway (495).
Have you ever driven on the highway in this area? Because the quoted statement above is completely false. The worst Hartford traffic occurs on I-84 west of Hartford (West Hartford to downtown). Route 2 in the pre-pandemic times was stop and go from the Rt 3/Rt 2 interchange to downtown, but that's it. Route 4 from 84 through Farmington is about 20x worse than Route 2 any day.
Have you ever driven on the highway in this area? Because the quoted statement above is completely false. The worst Hartford traffic occurs on I-84 west of Hartford (West Hartford to downtown). Route 2 in the pre-pandemic times was stop and go from the Rt 3/Rt 2 interchange to downtown, but that's it. Route 4 from 84 through Farmington is about 20x worse than Route 2 any day.
You are correct. I drove that section of Route 2 from Route 3 to I-84 without issue during rush hour every day. It was a little slow for Route 3 to Main Street where a lot of traffic gets off for Pratt & Whitney. Then it’s clear sailing until you get to the Charter Oak Bridge overpass where traffic starts to back up from the Bulkley Bridge and I-84 Westbound. If you are heading downtown you get in the left lane and it’s clear sailing across the Founders Bridge. If you are going to East Hartford or I-84 Eastbound you stay in the right lane and have no problems.
This is a lot easier than driving Route 44 over Avon Mountain and dealing with local traffic and traffic signal after traffic signal through West Hartford and the West End and North End. My in-laws deal with that and it’s not fun. Jay
What do you consider desirable? Glastonbury is nice but it's basically an island. Avon Burlington Simsbury Farmington Canton vs East Hartford Manchester South Windsor and Bolton? Maybe Ellington or Vernon? No comparison....West of the river is a lot more desirable (hills and woods, Ski Sundown, fly fishing in the Farmington...way way way more charm). And for those of you complaining about Route 44 at rush hour....at least it MOVES. Route 2 and I-84 east of the river maybe Connecticut's equivalent (next to I95) to the Long Island Distressway (495). My folks have lived in Avon since 1972...even though I've moved away (Saratoga Springs NY), I think I've some legitimate perspective from all these years: Farmington Valley vs Glastonbury....as I said for dining, Glastonbury is better, but Avon is a quick jaunt to West Hartford which is better for dining than all of the above....
Glastonbury may not have bears like Avon does, but they do have a nice rattlesnake community.
Glastonbury is an island? Since when? Are you implying that towns adjacent to Glastonbury aren’t nice. What about Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Portland, East Hampton, Marlborough, Hebron and Bolton. All are very nice middle class towns with great shopping and dining options. Their as nice as Canton, Burlington, Granby, Bloomfield or Plainville. What’s wrong with Manchester? You can’t beat the shopping and dining options there. Even East Hartford is not bad. It’s nicest neighborhoods border Glastonbury. It’s not unsafe at all. I’m there often.
As I noted above, you don’t know Route 2 at all. I drove it regularly during rush hour without issue. You can get downtown with out stopping even during rush hour. You can’t do that from Avon. Plus from Glastonbury you have easy access to I-91 and I-84 east of Hartford. I can be in New Haven or Waterbury in 45 minutes r Fairfield County in under an hour. You don’t have that coming from the Farmington River Valley. Glastonbury is much more accessible to metro Hartford and the rest of the state. Jay
I think Avon is a bit overrated. The thing that bothers me about Avon is that it doesn't have a proper walkable downtown area. Instead it seems to have a lot of big box stores including a Walmart and a Goodwill.
Glastonbury has a walkable downtown, but Glastonbury felt slightly too urban/overcrowded and economically diverse for my liking. This is essentially my same criticism of West Hartford. Too urban/overcrowded and too much economic diversity.
This made me laugh. Are you sure you were in Glastonbury?
Glastonbury is NO WHERE near as urban as West Hartford. It’s very low scale suburban. Traffic is no where near as bad on our main roads and the density of housing is not even close. West Hartford has almost double the population of Glastonbury on nearly half the land area. West Hartford has miles of small lots (1/8 to 1/4 acre) with multi family housing. Most of Glastonbury is zoned for a minimum of 1/3 acre or larger lots with multi family complexes here and there. It definitely does not feel urban, not even in the Center where most buildings are one or two stories tall. It’s definitely low scale suburbia. Jay
This made me laugh. Are you sure you were in Glastonbury?
Glastonbury is NO WHERE near as urban as West Hartford. It’s very low scale suburban. Traffic is no where near as bad on our main roads and the density of housing is not even close. West Hartford has almost double the population of Glastonbury on nearly half the land area. West Hartford has miles of small lots (1/8 to 1/4 acre) with multi family housing. Most of Glastonbury is zoned for a minimum of 1/3 acre or larger lots with multi family complexes here and there. It definitely does not feel urban, not even in the Center where most buildings are one or two stories tall. It’s definitely low scale suburbia. Jay
Exactly. I wonder if he was in Manchester or East Hartford and just thought he was in Glastonbury.
That could be but it’s nice t like they are close to the center of town. Seems strang3 that anyone would get that impression. Jay
I'm still getting used to CT again. I went to the Panera Bread in Glastonbury. It was a very nice downtown and somewhat reminded me of West Hartford's downtown. Maybe my impression was wrong, but it wasn't meant as an insult. Also, from what I could see, there also seemed to be more diversity in both of the downtowns than I'm used to seeing living in Simsbury. Again, not an insult.
Just a fyi, I know I said I was getting a house in Rocky Hill, but that fell through. I'm currently living in a very nice apartment in Simsbury until the market cools down. I plan to remain in and buy a house in Simsbury when my lease expires. My son is already enrolled in the Simsbury public schools.
What do you consider desirable? Glastonbury is nice but it's basically an island. Avon Burlington Simsbury Farmington Canton vs East Hartford Manchester South Windsor and Bolton? Maybe Ellington or Vernon? No comparison....West of the river is a lot more desirable (hills and woods, Ski Sundown, fly fishing in the Farmington...way way way more charm). And for those of you complaining about Route 44 at rush hour....at least it MOVES. Route 2 and I-84 east of the river maybe Connecticut's equivalent (next to I95) to the Long Island Distressway (495). My folks have lived in Avon since 1972...even though I've moved away (Saratoga Springs NY), I think I've some legitimate perspective from all these years: Farmington Valley vs Glastonbury....as I said for dining, Glastonbury is better, but Avon is a quick jaunt to West Hartford which is better for dining than all of the above....
Glastonbury may not have bears like Avon does, but they do have a nice rattlesnake community.
Absolutely disagree. There is far more traffic west of the river than there is near Glastonbury, and in some of those towns, much harder highway access.
I'm still getting used to CT again. I went to the Panera Bread in Glastonbury. It was a very nice downtown and somewhat reminded me of West Hartford's downtown. Maybe my impression was wrong, but it wasn't meant as an insult. Also, from what I could see, there also seemed to be more diversity in both of the downtowns than I'm used to seeing living in Simsbury. Again, not an insult.
Just a fyi, I know I said I was getting a house in Rocky Hill, but that fell through. I'm currently living in a very nice apartment in Simsbury until the market cools down. I plan to remain in and buy a house in Simsbury when my lease expires. My son is already enrolled in the Simsbury public schools.
Glastonbury Center is sort of a mini version of West Hartford Center. There are many West Hartford restaurants that have branches here. It’s good. I now understand the traffic you saw. Main Street in front of Panera does get congested, especially if there is an accident on Route 2. The intersection of Main Street and Hebron Avenue is controlled by a stop sign and it can back up. For some reason the town has refused to deal with it. A signal or roundabout would go a long way to reduce that congestion. Maybe some day, but still it’s not as bad as Main Street or Farmington Avenue gets. Nor is it as bad as Route 44 through the Farmington River Valley.
Simsbury is a beautiful town. I have family there and they love it. We might have ended up there had it not been so difficult to commute from. Good luck with your home search. Jay
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