RiverLink
RiverLink is a proposed new bike/pedestrian bridge to connect North Hartford to Riverside Park and the Connecticut River.
The Project
The RiverLink ramp begins on Pleasant Street at Market Street, rises to bridge I-91, and then descends to the Boathouse in Riverside Park. RiverLink extends Riverside Park west to Market Street, creating a new park entrance at Market Street and a riverfront gateway for North Hartford. RiverLink is the opening segment of The Hartline, a 6-mile linear park and trail from Bloomfield Center to the Connecticut River. The other segments of the Hartline use five miles of city streets and the Griffin Line alignment.
Existing Conditions
The I-91 overpass at Pequot Street was built in the 1970s when I-91 was widened. It replaced an earlier bridge that provided pedestrians with access from the North Meadows to Riverside Park. The bridge can only be reached by a remote one-block public street (Pequot) in the middle of a large parking lot. On the park side, the facility deposits users in a remote and insecure part of the park, hidden from view by the interstate.
Purpose & Need
The existing facility needs to be better designed and meet contemporary standards. Its steep and repetitive ramping up five flights is uncomfortable for bicycles and does not comply with ADA (adopted after the bridge was constructed). There is also an open 5-story staircase on each end. The open fencing on the ramps and along the bridge does not protect from the interstate noise and provides little sense of security. The bridge’s design is a deterrent to all users, and there is very little pedestrian or bike traffic, despite the lack of other direct river access routes from North Hartford. The existing bridge’s institutional, not to say penitentiary, appearance is inappropriate and unacceptable as a river gateway for the North Hartford community.