Architectural firm Robert Orr & Associates (ROA)

Architectural firm Robert Orr & Associates (ROA) of New Haven, Connecticut, has completed a vision plan for the improvement of downtown West Hartford, Connecticut. The city administration had been introduced to the New Urbanism by architect Catherine Johnson and turned to ROA for a plan that would stimulate growth and make the downtown core more pedestrian-friendly. West Hartford, a 1920s trolley car suburb of Hartford, has a well-functioning and thriving downtown but has been marred by traffic engineers’ repeated widening of major thoroughfares and restrictive zoning codes, says Robert Orr. “Our job was to rediscover the pedestrian feel that was already there.” ROA’s plan keeps the major roads multi-lane but calms traffic by adding diagonal street parking, by widening sidewalks, and by placing bulb-outs at pedestrian crossings. The plan also converts the existing grassy medians on Main Street into a park with civic monuments and a fountain. Responding to the city’s desire for more housing downtown, ROA suggests that third and fourth stories be added to existing buildings and that gaps be filled with new mixed-use buildings. Furthermore, a proposed parking garage would be lined with apartments facing the street and the adjoining residential neighborhood, Orr says. The plan has been presented to the public and the city council “is now trying to build consensus among the merchants before they begin to enact anything,” Orr says.