Newly Elected Officials Catch Up on Tolland Village Area
The town council, EDC and Planning & Zoning Commission took a 3-D tour of the development.
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Newly elected officials were brought up to speed on the latest Tolland Village Area developments at Thursday night's presentation, led by Steve O’Neill of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc and Heidi Samokar of Planimetircs.
New officials were able to question the presenters on common concerns about the project, one of which being potential traffic issues in the village area.
In response, O'Neill said that infrastructure developments coinciding with the village area could improve some traffic problems, while acknowledging that traffic volume will undoubtedly increase.
"Over the years, Cider Mill Road has been a challenge to us," he said, detailing how left turns create back ups on the roads. He also noted that Cider Mill Connector is the only access point for traffic traveling to that portion of town.
"With the new connector road, just by mistake, we solved this problem here," O'Neill said. He's referencing a proposed connector road that would create an intersection with Route 195. The intersection would be approximately 600 feet from the traffic signal at the I-84 onramps and about 1,500 feet from the Old Post Road traffic signal near Tolland Green.
O'Neill said that a traffic signal and designated left-turn pocket would be better for traffic and would also give emergency vehicles another access point to the Cider Mill section of Tolland.
He said that the portion of Route 195 north of I-84 sees a traffic rate close to 10,000 vehicles a day. He said the number increases on the southern portion to 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles a day.
Samokar advised the town council to begin making several important decisions in order to move the project forward:
- Whether to sell or develop town-owned land; the town owns land backed up to Cider Mill Road, which could be used for the connector road. It also owns land near the current commuter lot.
- If they sell the land, whether to do so at a reduced rate or at market rate.
- How to best foster interest in the project, i.e. tax incentives, playing matchmaker for financing and developers, pursuing grants, etc.
Town Manager Steven Werbner told the council that more research may be necessary to determine how to best develop the land, which has a downward slope. He said the information is essential in order to sell a vision of the Tolland Village Area to developers.
"We have to determine what can be done. Everybody can't move until that's determined," he said.
The Tolland Village Area regulations were approved in June.
For more information on the Tolland Village Area, visit the P&ZC website.
MaryAnn Delaney Tuttle
2:20 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
Good that the new Council is getting up to speed on this topic. One of the goals of this area was to make a pedestrian-friendly, non-vehicle dependent area. The connector road that is included in the concept plan should be eliminated for a number of reasons, and the walkability of the residential area is a major reason. Why not make the road into that proposed residential area, which as suggested is very high density housing, a cul de sac. Connect the west side of the area through a town owned piece of property to Crandall's Park by a walking path.That walking path would connect to the ADA pathway that goes over to the TIS and library. Then put the traffic light, if there has to be one, at the existing Cider Mill Rd/195 intersection and allow for left turn traffic there. Alignment of that proposed connector road cannot be done without infringing on private property. Traffic engineers say that a new traffic light would be needed at the new intersection. A new traffic light at the existing Cider Mill Rd intersection would be no closer to the light at Old Post Rd, than the proposed new light would be from the entrance ramp light at I-84. Let's keep thinking about the town center perspective on this Village Area. Do not put a connector road through a residential area when a walking path would be more town-center-ish! Stay true to the original goals of this proposed area.
Stacey Costanzo Sullivan
3:22 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
I would just like someone to address that we have 7 plazas that I could count in my head, within a 2 mile radius....why instead of developing a small town with new construction, can't we use what we have and reface/update those for business? Isn't the Big Y plaza a good example of how random businesses will not thrive in Tolland? I certainly hope that the long-time residents of this town speak loudly because I truly believe that people live in Tolland and move to Tolland for what it is, not what others want it to be.
Jim G.
3:43 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
I agree completely. We've had 300 years to build a retail town center... and clearly the years and prior residents didn't feel the need for one.
While none of the existing retail plazas is tourist- or visitor-attractive, very few of them are accessible other than by vehicle and many of them could use some significant facelifting, they collectively have potential and could serve any expansion or new business needs for a foreseeable time.
I remain absolutely, implacably opposed to development for its own sake and to provide "jobs" for local construction - and the term is in quotes because subsidizing workfare projects that devalue the area and have no real purpose or major tenants waiting is just that... workfare.
When the vacancies in town are gone and the run down business properties have been redeveloped and there's then/still a need for new business property... we'll talk.
Stacey Costanzo Sullivan
8:49 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
Thank you Jim!! So nice to hear this side of the story so well spoken. I feel as though people use taxes as a ploy to change the makeup of a town when maybe people chose the wrong town to live in. Taxes are never going to go down, in fact, research shows that in South Windsor that taxes went up even after Evergreen Walk was built. And as for the village....has anyone ever seen the little village that was built in Willington a few years back off of exit 69? They ended up leveling the land because they couldn't keep the buildings occupied.
Stacey Costanzo Sullivan
8:56 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
And I agree with getting taxes more under control, but I believe there are more responsible ways to do it.