[mrgmrg]

Do you have any source for that? It's a counterfactual. You can have highways around cities, not cutting through them, and still achieve accessibility. (Though CT wouldn't know.)

[paul1981]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The difference would likely have been that Hartofrd's major employers would have relocated out of the city center if there were no highways into downtown. That trend started long before I-84 or I-91 was built. Jay

I don't know enough about that, which companies had moved outside of downtown by then? The only one I know of is Cigna when they moved to Bloomfield in 1960 I think.

Perhaps they should have had an urban growth boundary or green belt around the city too. I know Vancouver also has that (Portland Oregon does too). It tends to keep sprawl from getting out of hand. As a child I still remember towns like Farmington and Simsbury having lots of farms. It's a pity that most of those have gone and now they're just McMansions.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by mrgmrg

Do you have any source for that? It's a counterfactual. You can have highways around cities, not cutting through them, and still achieve accessibility. (Though CT wouldn't know.)

What scared Hartford back in the late 50's was Connecticut General (now Cigna) building a beautiful campus in Bloomfield. It was the first major corporation to do so and many other companies from around the country came to see this beautiful new building set in the middle of rolling countryside. Other companies started to think that was what they wanted as well. Specifically The Phoenix was beginning to plan a move out of Hartford to West Hartford when Constituion Plaza was proposed. They scraped the plans to stay in the city where they still are today. This was recently documented in the Hartford Courant as part of the 50th anniversary of the Phoenix's Boat Building downtown. Other companies that stayed were Traveler's and Connecticut Bank and Trust. Again without the large tracts of land that urban renewal created and new highways serving the city, it is likely that Hartford would be a much different city and IMHO, l;ikely not as good. Jay

[JayCT]

Here is an article from the Courant on the Phoenix Building and the history of it. This will give you an idea of what people were thinking back then. Jay

Hartford's Iconic 'Boat Building' Marks 50th Anniversary - Hartford Courant

[mrgmrg]

That's an interesting article, but makes no mention of why having highways bisecting cities is a good thing.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by mrgmrg

That's an interesting article, but makes no mention of why having highways bisecting cities is a good thing.

I never said it did. It talks about the thinking that was going on back then. Major employers were looking to move out of the city center and the city had to react. Urban renewal was a way to clear out bad neighborhoods like Front Street in Hartford and allow companies to build buildings right in the city rather than flee to the suburbs. Even with this, a few major employers like Connecticut Mutual, the Hartford and Aetna built suburban complexes for expansion rather than building in the city. Without the highways for car access even more would likely have left.

It is easy to look back and say, they should have done this or they should have done that but there were good reasons for doing what was done with the highways and other planning efforts. We should not judge decisions made based on today's thinking but rather we should try and understand the mindset then. Jay

[theguyfrompluto]

Another Hartford Project...
I-84 Hartford Project

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by theguyfrompluto

Another Hartford Project...
I-84 Hartford Project

Will it help ?

[theguyfrompluto]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Will it help ?

It will be safer and less traffic congested...I want to know how Connecticut is going to get 7 billion if they decide to build a tunnel through Downtown Hartford, and Malloy likes that idea.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by theguyfrompluto

It will be safer and less traffic congested...I want to know how Connecticut is going to get 7 billion if they decide to build a tunnel through Downtown Hartford, and Malloy likes that idea.

The cost is a billion not 7 billion... The amount real estate projects and investments that will flood into Hartford is in the tens of billions...