Conversations are underway about a “regional asset district”, which would source and share funding for the organizations that run destinations in the region.

Parks are essential to quality of place. They offer a range of social, economic, health, and recreational benefits, and can attract new residents and investors. The Valley has a rich tradition of setting aside parkland, including the first publicly-funded urban park in the nation, and Hartford’s famous green ring, the “Rain of Parks”. Yet today many municipalities, under fiscal duress, struggle to maintain their park properties and programs. A new Valley-wide parks consortium can help find ways to fairly spread the burden and cost of maintaining parks across the region, with ideas such as a regional parks fund, and joint promotion of Valley parks.

The Valley and the Capital City are benefiting from the renewed interest in living in towns and cities. Denser, vibrant urban spaces connected to transit provide unique quality of life benefits and enhanced sustainability. We should continue to enhance and expand our networks of high-quality, active, walkable public spaces – squares, plazas, commons, gardens, streets, alleys, and sidewalks – in our downtowns, town centers, and along major avenues.

In cities around the world, restored rivers and riverfronts have catalyzed economic and social renewal. The Connecticut River provides the same opportunity. But because of its powerful seasonal flooding, the Valley’s towns and cities have historically pulled back from the river, with barriers and obstructions rising in their place. Much has already been accomplished to transform the river from a polluted waterway to a valuable asset, inlcuding Riverfront Recapture, and the creation of the National Blueway. Continuing this renewal is the centerpiece of Hartford400, especially in the core segment from Wethersfield to Windsor, flanked by Hartford and East Hartford. The strategic emphasis is to enhance our quality of place by connecting town and city centers to the river while addressing the challenges of flooding and rising sea levels.

The protection and enhancement of the river involves a complex array of agencies and jurisdictions, from Federal to local. We need a Valley River Consortium to coordinate these efforts. It would include, among others: Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, Connecticut DEEP, river conservancies, Riverfront Recapture, Connecticut River Heritage Trail, and the 15 towns with river frontage. Rising sea levels make such regional cooperation urgent, and provide the opportunity to position ourselves as leaders and innovators in waterfront resilience.

The City of Hartford has been allocated $200,000 to study the specific needs in future repair work on the walls and berms.

The floodwalls which protect Hartford and East Hartford are nearly 70 years old, and need significant repairs to ensure their viability. These repairs should be carefully coordinated with planned and proposed changes to the highway system and riverfront, particularly with respect to I-91, the 84-91 interchange, the East Hartford “mixmaster”, and the proposed River Road along downtown Hartford’s riverfront.