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COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS DOWNTOWN CHARACTER + ECONOMIC NODES Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. -- Ronald Reagen Imagine…A Hamden that: Leads the State of CT in new business development
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Page 1: COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS - Hamden · COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS ... vehicular traffic along Hamden’s commercial corridors are not mutually exclusive ... By addressing these questions in this

COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS

DOWNTOWN CHARACTER + ECONOMIC NODES

Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises

are responsible for almost all the

economic growth in the United States. -- Ronald Reagen

Imagine…A

Hamden that:

Leads the State of CT in new business development

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Shows the greatest improvement neighborhood businesses

Has more locally owned businesses than any other CT municipality

Has the greatest percentage of high school students employed in the region

Is designed to encourage residents to walk to grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies.

ELEMENTS OF DOWNTOWN CHARACTER

What if parts of Whitney Avenue and Dixwell Avenue looked like this?

It is difficult to design a space that will

not attract people. What is remarkable is

how often this has been accomplished. -- William Whyte

Most buildings constructed post World War II prioritized speed of construction, and affordability

of labor and building materials over character. Buildings with human scale, detail and proportion

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of elements became a rarity. Buildings that respect these characteristics do not need to add cost

to construction, but the do require thoughtful design.

Buildings that invite window shopping, spark visual curiosity and evoke a welcoming

environment are typically those with historic scale and detail, feature public art or unique design

elements, or contribute as an edge of a great public space.

Hamden’s citizens place a high value on access to food, whether at restaurants, from local

grocery stores or farmers markets. Food is often the excuse for social and cultural

gatherings. Private parties and picnics, food truck events, restaurants, wine tastings and summer

concerts are all places we build relationships and experience new places. Recognizing that food

can activate an area, adding outdoor cafes, and on-street benches to enjoy a cup of coffee or an

ice cream cone can make the difference between cultivating a social space or deadening an area

and discouraging human occupation. Hamden’s commercial corridors should be studied for ways

to enliven the social realm in safe and desirable ways; in ways that encourage social vitality, and

economic investment in combinations of retail, commercial and residential uses.

What Hamden citizens don’t like is traffic! Encouraging economic growth and limiting

vehicular traffic along Hamden’s commercial corridors are not mutually exclusive. They are, in

fact, symbiotic. Accomplishing this combination requires three steps:

1. Slow traffic down enough that travellers can take note of the stores and services available

along the way;

2. Provide public space infrastructure, such as sidewalks, bike lanes, benches, recycling and

trash receptacles, lighting and street trees, that spur economic development;

3. Encourage parking! If cars are parked, people are walking. This may seem a simple

concept, but it is the single most effective way to positively activate a commercial

corridor. Providing on-street parking and parking behind a line of shops and service

centers is one of the most successful ways to positively activate a street with pedestrians.

Active pedestrians are the best tool for creating a profitable, safe and fun commercial

corridor. [See Chapter on CIRCULATION, TRAFFIC + PARKING for further

discussion.]

To create, preserve and enhance successful places, a balance between good food, good

architecture and traffic flow that does not inhibit social activity and non-vehicular travel along

sidewalks and bike lanes. The goal of public space along Hamden’s commercial corridors is to

shape a series of satisfying, sustainable, and safe spaces in each part of Town. They must be

developed or enhanced based upon “economic realities, cultural needs, environmental concerns

and design opportunities.”

WHAT MAKES A PLACE SUCCESSFUL?

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Areas that are desolate, devoid of people, do not make for promising

economic development.

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Downtown areas and neighborhood nodes need lively, walkable and bikeable

landscapes where commerce and social interaction can happen serendipitously.

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In October, 2007 the Hamden Planning Office conducted a four day charrette. This intensive

design workshop studied twelve neighborhoods, and Hamden’s three major commercial

corridors: Dixwell Avenue, Whitney Avenue and State Street. An enormous amount of work

was completed during these four days, with a great deal of polishing by the consultants during

the post-charrette phase. Hamden’s new zoning regulations were written based upon the values

and vision articulated during the charrette process, resulting in the most progressive and

comprehensive zoning regulations in the State of Connecticut. The hybrid form- and use-based

zoning regulations were adopted in December, 2009 and became effective January 1, 2010.

Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light

onto the sidewalk. They civilize their

neighborhoods. -- John Updike

Hamden’s citizens, neighborhood associations, planning staff, and planning and zoning

commissioners worked diligently to clarify a vision for three critical aspects of the town’s future:

1. Protect and enhance the relationship between existing and future buildings, and

the social spaces that form between them;

2. Strengthen the potential for responsible economic growth, and an expansion of the

local tax base,

3. Locate optimal areas for economic nodes along Hamden’s major commercial

corridors, where benefits outweigh negative impacts on adjacent neighborhoods

and the preservation of their character, and

4. Prioritize environmentally sustainable development of buildings, the public realm,

neighborhoods and the region.

By planning ahead, the important questions of "What should be built?", "Where should it be

built?", "How it should be built?" were addressed in the updated zoning regulations. The

questions regarding the physical and economic development of the Town and Region are

considered here. "What infrastructure is needed to support future development?" “What goods

and services can be provided on a regional level, resulting in cost savings to Hamden and other

area municipalities?” By addressing these questions in this Plan, and not leaving them to be

discussed and debated only during the permitting process for individual projects, principles and

public policy are articulated and will serve as a dispassionate guide for future development.

Development of large-scale plans for most of the town, without regard to individual projects, has

allowed Hamden to secure its long-term goals in public policy, not personality. The public,

developers, public officials and anyone else that chose to share their ideas and concerns were

heard. Their ideas and concerns were vetted and incorporated into the revised zoning

regulations. Now, not just the allowed uses in a zone are clear, but so is the intended form for

each zone. Investors in Town can now be clear about what Hamden expects to be built, prior to

spending money on architects, land surveyors, engineers and other design professionals. This

creates a much more business-friendly atmosphere in commercial areas, while giving a level of

confidence to the public regarding what new spaces will feel like and how new buildings will

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present themselves to the street. In addition, improved streetscapes, pedestrian- and bicycle-

friendly designs and the opportunity for an improved tax base increases with each new

development.

The new zoning regulations have helped set the stage for “development readiness” in areas along

the three major commercial corridors and within Hamden’s various and unique neighborhood

nodes.

Pre-Planned Zoning and Streamlined Permitting Hamden has planned and zoned each Transect and Special District for appropriate development

and has modify its zoning regulations to reflect this planning. Subdivision and other land use

regulations should be reviewed and revised to meet the intent of this Plan.

To improve permitting processes for applicants and ensure coordination between land use

permitting agencies, it is recommended that applicants be able to apply for locally issued permits

through a single point of contact at the municipality. Coordination between the Planning &

Zoning Department, the Building Department, the Engineering Department and the Fire

Department would streamline the permitting processing.

Market-Based Planning

Hamden has planned and zoned each Transect and Special District for appropriate uses and

densities based upon existing and projected market demand. The Planning & Zoning

Commission has modified its zoning regulations to reflect this long-range planning. The allowed

uses may change over time as market demand fluctuates.

Fairness to Neighbors

The adjacencies between Zoning Districts, as shown on the Zoning Map and in the Transect, as

shown in the Zoning Regulations, are meant to consider appropriate neighboring uses, building

form and densities. The opportunity for symbiotic relationships between various uses and

densities should be encouraged, as well as mitigation of possible negative impacts. New

development should balance the positive and negative impacts on neighboring communities, and,

where applicable, on those who may be displaced by the new development.

Transportation Access

Permitted uses, building form and densities along Hamden’s three major commercial corridors

should consider access to mass transportation in lieu of automobiles as a development

asset. Development that will be supported by existing transportation infrastructure or by

reasonable identifiable upgrades to that infrastructure should be encouraged, as should that

which will decrease the number of vehicle miles travelled (vmt).

The street is the river of life of the city,

the place where we come together, the

pathway to the center. -- William Whyte

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Adequate Utilities and other Infrastructure

Uses, building form and densities should be supported by existing water, sewer and other utility

infrastructure or by reasonable identifiable upgrades to that infrastructure.

Utility and infrastructure upgrades located within ¼ mile of major commercial corridors, mass

transit routes and/or areas that have been zoned to accommodate increased development density

and intensity and also have one or more of these additional characteristics:

1. Job Opportunities: New development within economic nodes will create employment

additional job opportunities;

2. Housing Opportunities: economic nodes will include new "workforce housing" or "starter

home" opportunities.;

3. Community Enhancement: New development within the economic nodes will support or

revitalize existing uses and structures;

4. Land Re-Use: Much or all of the new development within economic nodes will be located on

previously disturbed land;

5. Transit Availability: Economic nodes should be designated within convenient walking distance

to public transit;

6. Smart Energy: Zoning and other regulations within a growth district should promote or require

efficient use of energy through improved design, high efficiency technologies and conservation

and/or the use of clean renewable resources to create electricity and heat;

7. Green Buildings and Low-Impact Development: Zoning and other regulations within a growth

district should promote the efficient use of water and other resources, including best practices for

water conservation, wastewater management and stormwater management;

8. Good Design: Zoning and other regulations within a growth district should incorporate best

practices for building, site and neighborhood design.

New growth and development will continue to occur throughout the Hamden outside of

identified economic nodes. Nonetheless, a successful economic growth initiatives should:

Create an inventory of development-ready sites for new and expanding

businesses, especially in T-4, T-5 and Special Districts where appropriate;

Cooperate and coordinate with other municipalities in the Greater New Haven

region to promote the fair and equitable distribution of new economic growth

throughout the region;

Create a range of new workforce housing opportunities throughout the town;

Promote new commercial and residential growth that is consistent with the State’s

Smart Growth principles;

Act as a catalyst for the revitalization of the Greater New Haven region;

Provide a focal point for coordinated action by the various state, regional and

local entities involved in land use and development

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By concentrating new development and

redevelopment in areas that have existing

or planned infrastructure, we can create

jobs, avoid sprawl, expand

transportation, and protect our

environment. -- Martin O’Malley

Governor of Maryland

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Concept Sketch for Economic Development on Big Box Sites

If there's a lesson in street-watching it is

that people do like basics -- and as

environments go, a street that is open to

the sky and filled with people and life is a

splendid place to be. -- William Whyte

Here is a corner store that has made the most of its location in a way that enhances

the walkability and sociability the surrounding neighborhood. The small scale of this

store does not compete with surrounding residences. The outdoor cafe establishes a

useful neighborhood social area that uses an otherwise useless large setback. Using a

large percentage of glazing on the first floor clearly distinguishes the retail use from

that of the second floor where residential style double-hung windows make clear that

a quieter use exists above.

Smooth flowing traffic is a distant memory. Where auto-dependency continues, peak traffic

increases in both duration and volume. There is growing public support for change that combats

global warming, addresses the unpredictable increase of fuel prices, the sameness of commercial

strips, their automobile-oriented design and pavement-dominated environment. The desire for

authentic places is increasingly at odds with the form of and access to existing public spaces. In

Hamden, as in most municipalities, older auto-oriented commercial strips border neighborhoods

that depend on the services and convenience they provide.

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We can never get a re-creation of

community and heal our society without

giving our citizens a sense of belonging.

-- Patch Adams There is a silver lining to the creeping obsolescence of strip malls. Redevelopment of these areas

into walkable, mixed-use, transit-oriented streets typically result in:

1. A greater tax base for the Town;

2. Greater desirable economic development;

3. Environmentally responsible site design, architectural design, and product use;

4. Improved access to quality mass transit, for those with or without access to automobiles,

and

5. Coveted housing for millennials and baby-boomers.

RESTRUCTURING THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR

In the 1990’s, contemporary planning was just beginning to move in the direction of mixed-use

developments. Plans that combined shopping with residential, commercial and entertainment

uses on a single large parcel, complete with internal streets and walkways are now replacing

large malls and open-air strip malls.

Strip malls sprouted like dandelions, up and down commercial corridors across America during

the 1950’s through the early 1980’s. “A legacy of low-quality, short-lived construction” along

wide commercial streets were the result of several factors:

1. The post-World War II love affair with the automobile;

2. An oversupply of properties zoned for retail use, and

3. An inflexible design with very long blocks, many curb cuts and the front two-thirds of the

lots swathed in parking spaces.

Strip mall sites have buildings that are typically limited to a single story, and are located as far

back from the street as possible to advertise how much parking they supply. The Hamden Plaza

and the Hamden Mart were among the very first strip malls built in America. They were the

shopping destination for those who lived and worked in New Haven. The most trendy shopping

in the area was in Hamden, and it was only a trolley ride away.

One of the first developments of this type in the United States was Mashpee Commons, located

in Mashpee, MA.

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Mashpee Commons, MA

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Mashpee Commons Site Plan, Mashpee, MA

Mixed-use developments have come a long way since Mashpee Commons. Unlike Mashpee

Commons, most mixed-use developments are no longer designed to face inward. As the map

above shows, the existing major roadways ended up with parking lots at their face, spacialy

segregating the newer development from existing development. Mixed-use developments are

now designed to mirror the form and scale of buildings on the opposite side of the development

site. It is this balance of form and scale on each side of a street that goes a long way toward

creating public space that communicates comfort and human scale to any space.

As this new mixed-use construction was just beginning to gain traction in the 1990’s, Hamden

residents held their ground, fending off the most insular, auto-dominated, and traffic generating

suburban shopping form: the mall. Hamden residents fended off an attempt to build the Sears

Mall on the southeast corner of Skiff and Dixwell Avenue.

In their landmark book Retrofitting Suburbia, Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson discuss

market forces, environmental considerations, and public policy as tools for “diversification or

densification” of existing suburban sprawl. Consumer preferences have shifted from enclosed

shopping malls and strip malls to more walkable, amenity-driven design, shopping

areas. Responsive development has evolved, and now, what once might have been acres of

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parking and a one-story strip mall, is now a town center development that includes housing and

offices over retail development, a town green and entertainment venues.

Successful restructuring of commercial corridors needs to address the following:

1. Reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT);

2. Improve public health by locating a mix of uses within a walkable street patterned;

3. Create and/or upgrade the public transit system to serve a majority of the population,

regardless of automobile ownership;

4. Reduce land consumption and per capita costs of public infrastructure investment by

absorbing growth along existing commercial corridors, thus preventing expansive sprawl;

5. Increase the connectivity of local streets;

6. Increase public and civic space;

7. Increase choice in housing type and affordability;

8. Increase the diversification of the tax base.

Commercial corridors need more than just the redevelopment of privately owned parcels: they

need to be safe enough for people of all ages and abilities to cross. In some cases this means

narrowing the width of the roadway, in other cases it may mean adding a planted median down

the middle of the street. There are many tools that can be employed in multiple combinations to

slow traffic, and create pedestrian and bicycle safety (See Chapter on Circulation, Traffic +

Parking).

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Image 1 (Above): BEFORE Image 2 (Below): AFTER

The layers at the edges of the road, including the local lanes, medians, sidewalks, and trees, are

what make a multiway boulevard and add tremendous value to the adjacent real estate.

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What are the differences? Why do you like one better than the other?

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Cafe Amici on Whitney Avenue Cafe Renaissance in Vienna, VA

Where would you rather walk, shop, eat and even drive? What are the design interventions

that make the most difference, and how many are there?

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN ECONOMIC NODES

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There are buildings on Dixwell Avenue that have undergone changes such as shown above...but

without considering how they relate to the buildings and neighborhoods around them,

permanent and positive change can not be guaranteed.

The steps that cities take to shrink their

carbon footprints also reduce their

energy costs, improve public health and

help them attract new residents and

businesses. -- Michael R. Bloomberg

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UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change

What is Economic Development?

Economic development is the active process of creating conditions that encourage economic

growth. Economic Development requires effective, collaboration between institutions that are

focused on advancing mutual gain for the public and the private sector. Economic growth is

essential to ensuring a stable, affordable and healthy future for Hamden’s citizens.

Most commercial corridors in the northeast began as cart paths and trolley lines. The most

intensive development took place post World War II during the most car-centric period of

commercial and retail expansion. The form that these developments took were the all-too-

familiar single story strip malls with the sea of parking between the shops and the roadway. It is

this form that Hamden’s 2010 Zoning Regulations is structured to revamp, returning pedestrian

activity and commerce to the street, instead of the rear of a parking lot.

What is an Economic Node?

Economic nodes are a two- to four block area that anchors a neighborhood center. In Hamden,

these nodes are located primarily along the three major commercial corridors; Whitney Avenue,

Dixwell Avenue and State Street. Locating appropriately scaled retail and commercial

development in neighborhood nodes, and using form-based zoning to establish, or re-establish

how buildings face streets and each other, public space between these buildings is created. It is

the space between buildings that forms Hamden’s commercial corridors.

What is a Commercial Corridor?

Commercial corridors help to sustain neighborhoods by promoting local investment, boosting

property values, and preserving the urban context of neighborhoods. But, to succeed in today's

retail environment, commercial corridors must incorporate new retail formats, find new market

niches, and make strategic capital investments. Infill development will be an essential part of

remaining competitive.

Vibrant commercial corridors have long been associated with healthy neighborhoods, and

municipal fiscal health. They are the economic rope that ties together shopping, jobs and

entrepreneurial opportunities, and keeps dollars local. Promotion of local investment helps

increase local property values and preserves the social and physical fabric of Hamden’s older

neighborhoods.

Not all segments of commercial corridors are the same. Some operate as regional centers, such

as the Magic Mile between the Wilbur Cross Parkway and Skiff Street, others serve a more local

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constituency. Each segment type should be developed at a scale appropriate to the character by

which it is surrounded. Portions may serve as neighborhood nodes, which should be of much

smaller scale than regional centers.

Hamden is fortunate that much of the length of its commercial corridors have maintained their

scale, and in many places, the original architecture. Some areas along Hamden’s commercial

corridors, however, are neglected spaces. These spaces come in many forms. In some places

they are vast and/or under-utilized parking lots. One good example are the parking lots at the

Hamden Plaza and the Hamden Mart. Another is the parking lot at Walgreens in Spring

Glen. While very different in scale and surrounding character, nevertheless, both of these sites

illustrate neglected spaces that detract from the overall surroundings. Some of the decline along

southern Dixwell Avenue can be attributed to neglected spaces, and clusters of vacant buildings

and land. Over time, under-utilized sites can interfere with the implementation of revitalization

projects and new development; they can ultimately threaten neighborhood stability and impede

positive economic, social and cultural growth.

It is inevitable that, while some buildings can be renovated, others will need to be

demolished. These are the places where opportunity occurs. Construction of appropriately

scaled infill buildings that can sustain a variety of uses over time, not only serve as new sites for

investment, but they can cause a positive ripple effect by catalyzing an area and inspiring similar,

appropriately scaled development enhance retail, residential, and commercial investment. One

example of upgrading a site is when an establishment that only serves liquor expands their

services to become a full service restaurant. Another example is when a coffee shop adds

outdoor seating or the opportunity for evening music recitals, book or poetry readings and the

like. What if there was a coffee shop at the library? Or a storefront that was dedicated to helping

start-up entrepreneurs, giving them a public presence and the opportunity to build a consumer

base? These types of upgrades do not necessarily require a large footprint, simply a vision and

the will to make a positive impact in an area.

REVITALIZING THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR: Reorganizing commercial and

retail development from linear to nodal form

Revitalization of commercial corridors needs to start with a reevaluation of retail development

patterns. The market is demanding a different development formula from the strip-malls and

mega-malls of past decades. Health consequences associated with a car-dominated culture

include a rise in obesity, heart health issues, asthma, and diabetes to name a few. The trends of

rising fuel prices, increases in the world’s carbon footprint, large scale environmental cataclysms

such as major oil spills and multi-state wildfires that contribute to the devastation of nature and

release of carcinogens, have helped to raise public awareness of the fragility of our ecosystem.

People are willing to do their part to help reduce and to reverse environmental degradation.

Hamden’s citizens have made clear that they like to walk to places, but they need places worth

walking to.

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Rules + Tools: One-quarter mile is the distance that an average

person can walk in 5 minutes. It is one of the gauges used to

locate a catchment area for a retail hub. A one-half mile radius

catchment area is typically used for a transit-oriented

development. Note: The catchment area is measured with the

destination at the centerpoint.

During the rewriting of the Hamden Zoning Regulation several areas along the commercial

corridors were identified as favorable locations for clustered retail and commercial

development. These areas were zoned T-3.5, T-4 and T-5. Economic nodes are typically located

in one of three ways. Nodes are located at the crossroads of major roadways, such as Skiff and

Dixwell, Putnam and Dixwell, State and Ridge, and Mount Carmel and Whitney; others are

located where neighborhood economic centers evolved due to trolley stops, or other transit

destinations. This is true for the economic centers in Spring Glen, Whitneyville, and Centerville

. The third major locator is where regional retail and/or commercial centers were

constructed. In Hamden, the largest regional retail center is the Magic Mile located along

Dixwell Avenue between Connolly Parkway and Skiff Street.

Diagram illustrating the essence of the shift from

linear strip retail (top) to retail clustered at primary

crossroads. Image: Freedman Tung & Sasaki

Ideally, although, not prescriptive, each node retail node should be located approximately ½ mile

from each other, giving everyone within a catchment area at least one retail center that is within

reasonable walking distance.

The Pattern + Hierarchy of Walkable Retail Locations

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With the exception of the corner store, each of the types of destinations identified below work

most efficiently, economically and generate the best revenue rates when they are stationed on

both sides of the same roadway.

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Regional Hub Catchment Area: A minimum of 150,000 households within 12 to 15 miles from the center;

Location: At an interstate highway interchange that provides a convenient junction

between the communities that it serves;

Features: Regional hubs are anchored by department stores and increasingly include

big-box and superstore retail, including major “category killer” stores.

Regional hubs provide comparison-shopping opportunities, especially for

clothing, and specialty goods such as furniture, home improvement, and

electronics. A wide assortment of restaurants is part of the standard mix,

as are movie theaters and other entertainment anchors.

Hamden Examples: Hamden Mart, Hamden Plaza, Parkway Plaza (Home Depot)

Town Center

Catchment Area: A minimum of 30,000 to 50,000 household within a 5 to 7 miles from the

center;

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Location: Convenient to the homes in the catchment area;

Features: Town centers are ideal locations for supermarkets, banks, and pharmacies

but incorporate significantly fewer major anchors than regional centers.

Many of them are built around civic or cultural anchors, which also

distinguishes them from regional hubs. Mainstays include restaurants,

shops, and entertainment venues oriented to a walkable street. Shops can

offer a wide range of goods.

Hamden Examples: The intersection of Whitney/Dixwell, and between the new Hamden

Middle School to Miller Library.

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Neighborhood Nodes

Catchment Area: At least 5,000 to 8,000 households within 1 to 2 miles from the center;

Location: Serves more than one neighborhood;

Features: Neighborhood centers are typically located on particularly busy

thoroughfares. They can also cater to passing motorists. Hamden’s most

common anchors for a neighborhood retail center is the presence of

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several restaurants. Larger neighborhood nodes that are served by a

significant amount of mass transit are anchored by a supermarket of up to

65,000 square feet at one end and a pharmacy at the opposite end, with

smaller shops and services in between.

Hamden Examples: Putnam Place, surrounding the Putnam/Whitney intersection, State/Ridge

intersection, along Whitney Avenue between Park and Haverford,

surrounding the Ives/Whitney intersection and Mount Carmel/Whitney

intersection.

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Corner Stores occupy the smallest niche, and are located between neighborhood centers. They

are within walking distance of homes that are too far from the nearest supermarket-anchored

center, or at intersections with sufficient drive-by traffic.

Retail clusters in a hierarchy of development types. Image:Freedman Tung &

Sasaki

THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING REAL CENTERS:

It is possible to produce successful shopping centers clustered at crossroad sites with auto-

oriented, low-density, single-use, superblock development, however, this pattern is unlikely to

create a framework for lasting value.

The evidence is mounting that demonstrates that there is too much single-use, auto-oriented

housing, shopping, and employment centers. There is also substantial, verifiable pent-up market

demand for compact mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented districts served by transit. Social and

economic pressures to address climate change, energy inefficiency, and the trappings of

automobile ownership (traffic congestion, fuel costs and increased expenditures on bridges,

roadways and road maintenance), are increasing.

Sustainable development includes consideration of future uses for the same structure. When a

building only fits one type of use, for instance, a single-story big box store, unless that same use

continues in perpetuity, demolition of the structure is inevitable. If, however, a floor plate and

structural design is built that can be easily partitioned and re-connected, that building can have

many, many uses over time, without needing more than a change in interior partition walls, and

perhaps the occasional facelift.

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Public policy geared toward economic efficiencies, social equity and environmental

sustainability promote the condensing of the space that is used to live, work, play and recreate, in

other words, a decrease in the human footprint, one region at a time. Pressure is mounting for

regional commitments to extend existing mass transportation services, such as the New Haven-

Springfield rail service, the CTfastrak bus route from Bristol, CT to Hartford, and additional rail

spurs off of MetroNorth.

Effective public transit relies on a pattern of centers with density, activity, and

mixed land uses at transit stops, along with safe, walkable streets connecting to

the surrounding ridership base.

Communities can only benefit from restructuring commercial corridors if developers and

property owners can benefit from how it is reconstructed. Priority must be placed on “assembling

the conditions that foster diversity, dynamic interaction, and activity.”

PROVIDING A DEVELOPMENT FORM THAT ENCOURAGES A HEALTHY MIX OF

USES:

The primary characteristics of sustainable regional and town centers are diversity, dynamic

interaction and activity. The more uses incorporated into a center designated for economic

growth, the more reasons for people to explore. Retail, food service , and entertainment are the

most activity-generating uses. They are the critical elements for an active street presence and

economic vitality. Retail, food service , and entertainment should be the principal elements of

at-grade uses in regional and town centers.

The greatest diversity of retail, residences and employment centers should be accommodated.

Plans to redevelop existing shopping centers strongly consider retaining older buildings with

architectural and structural integrity, if they exist. These buildings will offer more affordable

spaces for a variety of uses. The range of affordable locations within regional and town centers

allow businesses to “incubate and support the distinctive businesses, shops, and services that do

so much to distinguish a thriving urban district.”

Land use policy that governs the development and/or redevelopment of regional and town

centers should require greater lot coverage, smaller front- and side-yard setbacks, and greater

building height. Hamden’s T-4 and T-5 zones are designed to create easily distinguished

regional, town and neighborhood nodes.

It is difficult to design a space that will

not attract people. What is remarkable is

how often this has been accomplished. -- William H. Whyte

BUILDINGS AND THE SPACES BETWEEN THEM

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How to cultivate safe and social street life:

Successful public spaces prioritize the following characteristics:

1. They are accessible and link to other public places, visually and physically; pedestrian

comfort and safety is paramount;

2. Orient buildings to activate streets;

3. People of all ages and abilities have constructive activities in which they can engage;

4. Spaces are comfortable and have a positive image;

5. There is a high parking turnover, and ideally, these spaces are near public transportation;

6. Provide a central focus;

7. Keep the pattern of blocks small, with aligned streets;

8. Create a park-one-and-walk experience; on-street and garage parking are recommended;

9. Locate civic buildings on one edge of regional and town centers;

10. They are conducive to social interaction.

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Example: A public park or plaza, bordered by retail and foodservice

establishments , open to street activity, with places to sit, run and walk, that is

clean and linked to other public spaces.

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CONFIGURE ROADWAYS TO SERVE ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

Traffic within a regional, town and neighborhood center should be slowed with narrow lanes and

other traffic calming features (See Chapter on Circulation, Traffic + Parking). Adjacent

commercial corridors may need to be reconfigured into a multiway boulevard with frontage

roads and landscaped medians.

Possible Thoroughfare Refinements:

Whitney Avenue (south of SR40)

EXISTING

Four- Lane Section

POSSIBILITY #1

Same curb line

new plantings

center turn lane

bike lane

planting area

POSSIBILITY #2

new curb line

new plantings

center turn lane

diagonal on-street

parking

POSSIBILITY #3

new curb line

new plantings

center turn lane

parallel on-street

parking

Dixwell Avenue Scenario #1

EXISTING

no turn lanes

POSSIBILITY #1

new curb line

new plantings

center turn lane

planting area

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Dixwell Avenue Scenario #2

EXISTING

center turn lane

POSSIBILITY

new curb line

new plantings

center turn lane

planting area

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Examples of landscaped medians, tree-lined

streets, mixed-use buildings, easily crossed

roadways with dedicated bike-lanes, on-street

parking and other traffic calming features.

The Boulevard

Boulevards are landscaped, multi-lane streets that were established prior to the invention of the

automobile. They were developed as streets of grandeur along which multiple horse-drawn

carriages could travel. Boulevards all over the world are known for their pedestrian and

commercial vibrancy, and centuries long viability.

It is unlikely, given the history of development patterns in Hamden, that any new streets with the

prominence and expense of a boulevard will be constructed anew. Street retrofits, implementing

boulevard design, however, can bring a huge boon to an area. Investment in roadway

infrastructure that gives comparable weight to pedestrians, bicyclists, mass transportation as well

as automobiles are, in the long run, a cost saving, life saving and energy saving response to

streets that are too wide and too dangerous to cross on foot. Boulevard retrofit design also

addresses the needs of those with limited physical ability to cross multi-lane roadways on foot, in

a wheelchair, or with a stroller.

Today, boulevards play a different role in the public realm. They are a street type that, when

designed well, safely invites pedestrian activity to the edges of existing, wide thoroughfares.

Where high traffic volume and significant pedestrian activity is desired for neighborhood

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cohesion, bustling commerce, and links between adjacent pedestrian and bicycle areas, boulevard

retrofits are often the answer. Boulevard retrofits typically contain the same number of

through-lanes down its center. These lanes operate as any arterial roadway, but the lanes are

divided by a tree-lined median that separates traffic going in opposite directions. Boulevards

incorporate on-street parking to maximize access to retail establishments, and to provide an

additional layer of safety for pedestrians traversing sidewalks.

Boulevards can also be designed with lanes that carry higher speed traffic down the center ofthe

roadway, with fewer turning lanes and traffic lights, and medians separating the higher speed

lanes from frontage roads that are used for slower, local traffic. The lanes closest to the

buildings, are separated from the higher-speed traffic lanes by landscaped medians, and feel like

completely different street environments. This configuration eliminates most of the friction

between through-traffic and slower, and local access behavior. They create a safer and more

pleasant pedestrian environment, and a more profitable and vibrant economic center.

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Street medians can add a great deal to an area: when designed as a rain garden, they

help with the infiltration of stormwater and reduce flooding; trees add shade and

reduce the heat-island effect, they provide areas of refuge for pedestrians and

bicyclists when crossing a roadway, and they can result in narrower lane widths

which calm traffic.

Carbon policy is going to impact our

business, and we have to be prepared for

that. It can be a threat or an opportunity.

I'd rather make it an opportunity --- Robert C. Flexon,

Chief Executive of Houston-based Dynegy

You say you want pedestrian-friendly areas... “In order to have pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, you need pedestrians, which means you

need housing in which those pedestrians live.” Safe sidewalks are also required. On-street

parking, sidewalks with trees, buildings with shops, ground-level entrances facing the street, all

help create safe, pedestrian-friendly areas. Streets with safe and attractive sidewalks make for

desirable addresses for restaurants, upper-story workplaces and residences. They also help boost

the local tax base.

Architecture and site design characteristics, appropriate circulation and access features are all

critical elements of boulevards. On-site parking should be accessed from rear alleys or side

streets, allowing for uninterrupted and more appealing front yards and sidewalks along the

boulevard frontage. This key access management strategy also provides a less conspicuous

location for service activities such as deliveries by truck and trash removal.

Exploration is the engine that drives

innovation. Innovation drives economic

growth. So let’s all go exploring. -- Edith Widder

Land Use Context The context of adjacent land uses should be considered when designing streetscapes. Designs

appropriate for low-density residential neighborhoods, such as the West Woods and the Dunbar

Hill area, should be treated differently than the area around Memorial Town Hall. Likewise,

industrial areas with large volumes of truck traffic may need wider traffic lanes and larger curb

radii. These are design elements that should be avoided in commercial and residential

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areas. Appropriate speed moderating devices should be included in all street designs to help

ensure safety for all users.

1. Requires the accommodation the safety and convenience of all users on the roadway

system using a complete streets hierarchy of users, which begins with pedestrians,

bicyclist and transit users. These users shall be accommodated and balanced in all types

of transportation and development projects and through all phases of projects so that the

vulnerable – children, elderly, and persons with disabilities – can travel safely within the

public right of way;

2. Mandates the application of this policy, through adherence to principles of the Streets 2.0

Design Manual, to any new construction or improvements projects affecting public

streets and sidewalks (including resurfacing, restoring, and rehabilitation projects);

3. Prioritizes walkability, inter-modal transit, traffic calming and pedestrian-based urban

economic development over competing goals; and

4. References performance standards, with measurable benchmarks and outcomes.

At their best, streets:

Create space for social interaction and physical activity;

Provide a clean and attractive framework for economic development;

Embrace the vernacular of a place thereby defining a unique identity;

Provide for the safe and efficient movement of goods and people of all ages and abilities.

Context sensitive streets includes more than just attention to traffic. Elements that contribute to a

livable, sustainable and economically vibrant community include the:

Combination of land uses on both sides of a street;

Neighborhood density and the distribution of pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular use over

the course of day;

Neighborhood character and aesthetics including historic architecture, development

patterns, and parcels that have water or mountain views;

Existing transportation systems such as roadway classification, mass transit, on-street

parking availability and limited rights-of-way.

Context is also determined by social and demographic factors that influence who and how a

street is likely to be used. For example, residents without a car are likely to need a robust

pedestrian network that connects important destinations and allows for safe and efficient travel.

They also require easy access to mass transit and bicycle routes. According to census data,

____% of households in Hamden do not have access to an automobile. Elderly residents in

particular may be highly dependent upon pedestrian and mass transit routes. Pedestrians with

children, the elderly, and those with physical limitations require strategically located crosswalks,

longer crossing times and areas of refuge at mid-crossing points such as medians and traffic

islands.

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BEFORE + AFTER TO SPARK THE IMAGINATION

What changed?

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The photograph above shows the importance of matching form and

use on both sides of a street.

A customer is the most important visitor

on our premises, he is not dependent on

us. We are dependent on him. He is not

an interruption in our work. He is the

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purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our

business. He is part of it. We are not

doing him a favor by serving him. He is

doing us a favor by giving us an

opportunity to do so. --- Mahatma Gandhi

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Although there are no plans for light rail in Hamden, the before and after photographs above

show the important role that buildings play in defining outdoor space. What was once a

parking lot that just left the public space at the corner drift away, is now an active, tax

producing and income generating property that defines the street edge.

By concentrating new development and

redevelopment in areas that have existing

or planned infrastructure, we can create

jobs, avoid sprawl, expand

transportation, and protect our

environment. --- Martin O’Malley

Governor of Maryland

CREATING CHANGE, ONE BUILDING AT A TIME

Existing conditions - This side of the building does nothing to address the street.

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Alternative #1 - Addition of windows + doors, fresh siding and paint, tables + chairs.

Alternative #2 - Addition of street trees,...coffee and pastry.

Check this out when writing!

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/549ae026e4b00c1193a3d7bd/t/54b6ed08e4b07b4a7d06dbb

6/1421274376829/TownMakersGuide_HealthyBuildingPlacement_WALC-

Institute_2010_lowres.pdf

http://www.walklive.org/education

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Coffee shop at library, bookstore, Netherlands Alzheimer's center, Eds + Meds,

It is the set of the sails, not the direction

of the wind that determines which way we

will go.

--- Jim Rohn

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-

nine percent perspiration.

--- Thomas Edison

If I’d asked my customers what they

wanted, they would have said ‘faster

horses’

--- Henry Ford

It turns out that advancing equal

opportunity and economic empowerment

is both morally right and good economics,

because discrimination, poverty and

ignorance restrict growth, while

investments in education, infrastructure

and scientific and technological research

increase it, creating more good jobs and

new wealth for all of us. --- William J. Clinton

If all the economists were laid end to end,

they would not reach a conclusion.

--- George Bernard Shaw

POLICIES,

BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS +

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INDICATORS OF PROGRESS

POLICY: Design Dixwell Avenue, Whitney Avenue, State Street, and other primarily

commercial streets as pedestrian-welcoming, retail-active boulevards that support a “Main

Street” function at strategic nodes.

Blueprint for Achievement: 1. Network streets to allow for a variety of travel routes

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, Office of the State Traffic Administration

(OSTA)

2. Design streets and pathways to meet the needs of pedestrian and bicyclists

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, OSTA, P&Z

3. Encourage street trees

Lead Agency: PW

4. Encourage on-street parking where appropriate and use these parking areas to buffer

sidewalks, making pedestrians feel safer

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, OSTA, P&Z 5. Engineer streets to make pedestrians feel safe

Lead Agency: Engineering, OSTA, Hamden Traffic Authority

6. Use street design for “calming” traffic and making neighborhoods safer

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority

7. Use street design to provide for “complete streets” with provisions for pedestrians,

bicycles, and vehicles

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, OSTA 8. Implement a Complete Streets Program that includes design parameters for rights-of-

way;

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority

9. Reassess the number of lanes dedicated to cars;

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, OSTA

10. Create a pedestrian- and transit-friendly streetscape;

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority

11. Relate development to the street;

Lead Agency: Planning + Zoning

12. Identify policy actions that can support living streets in Hamden.

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, Planning + Zoning

13. Identify strategic policies and regulatory tools in support of new and/or revised street

standards and land uses that support fair choices in housing, mobility, and commercial activity.

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, Planning + Zoning 14. Demonstrate the potential application of public participation tools to fair redevelopment

efforts in the commercial corridor areas.

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, Planning + Zoning

15. Develop options for public participation and how they can be applied to the

implementation of Complete Streets goals.

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority

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16. Develop a model for public participation that uses multiple and non-traditional

techniques to engage and build collaboration between government leaders, residents, and

other stakeholders.

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Implement a comprehensive Complete Streets transportation management plan that

meets travel demand through a set of travel choices, and takes advantage of the shorter travel

distances produced by the land use changes.

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators: ⏭

POLICY: Publicize the resources, regulations and processes that provides predictability of

product; fairness to developers, residents, property and business owners; economic feasibility;

and respect for neighborhood values.

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Make Hamden a regional employment center with diverse and high-quality jobs that

attract a global market;

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

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POLICY: Aesthetics matter. Improve the facades of Hamden’s storefronts to emphasize

architectural character and detail, particularly along Dixwell Avenue south of the parkway

and State Street. Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Promote Hamden’s facade improvement program to both sides of specific blocks.

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development

2. Introduce elements that complement original architectural features that establish

strategically located building as a beacon for the corridor;

Lead Agency: P+Z, Private Developers 3. Open up the ground floor of building that face major streets with shopfront scale

windows and doors to reconnect retail with the sidewalk and street;

Lead Agency: P+Z, Building Department, Private Developers

4. Remove non-load-bearing partitions on first floors to create a larger, more marketable

retail space;

Lead Agency: P+Z, Building Department, Private Developers 5. Selectively preserve architectural elements to maintain the context of the corridor;

Lead Agency: P+Z, Building Department, Private Developers 6. Activate the ground floor with the street with benches, cafe seating, etc., to encourage

activity and provide public safety;

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, P+Z

7. Create gateways to enhance commercial corridor visibility;

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, P+Z, Hamden Traffic

Authority 8. Redesign intersections and public areas to create outdoor amenities and improve the

pedestrian experience;

Lead Agency: Hamden Traffic Authority, CTDOT, P+Z, Engineering Department

9. Use the vernacular and neighborhood culture to convey community identity and create a

sense of place;

Lead Agency: P+Z, Economic + Community Development, Private Developers

Progress Indicators: ⏭

POLICY: Create public/private partnerships to create catalytic development projects in strategic

areas along Whitney Avenue, Dixwell Avenue, and State Street. Projects may include, but not

be limited to, uses such as retail, residential, entertainment venues, or restaurants.

Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Create a revolving loan fund to supplement CDBG and funds from other sources to

improve signage, facade improvements and building repairs, particularly along Dixwell

Avenue south of the parkway, and State Street.

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, Mayor’s Office, Legislative

Council

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2. Organize merchant associations block by block. Encourage local leadership development

and coordinated efforts to promote aesthetic improvements that include, plantings, street

furniture, trash and recycling receptacles.

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, Mayor’s Office, Chamber of

Commerce 4. Develop a funding mechanism to reimburse up to 50% of the cost of exterior

improvements to a specified maximum amount for a single commercial property, or, to a

higher percentage for a multiple-address or corner business property improvement

project.

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, Mayor’s Office, Legislative

Council

Progress Indicators: ⏭ Blocks develop a clear identity; tree lined on both sides of the street with other distinctive

interventions.

⏭ As signage becomes coordinated, the visual assault of advertising becomes an attractive

invitation. Positive social and cultural activity begins to occupy public space.

POLICY: Streetscapes, corridor beautification, and corridor cleaning are critical to

maintaining, and promoting positive economic development. All interventions of this type

must be implemented on both sides of a street to maximize effectiveness.

Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Hamden’s major commercial corridors are State Highways. The single most effective

public investment in positive economic development is to add medians to portions of

Dixwell Avenue and State Street to create boulevards. This public investment, done

correctly, would help manage stormwater runoff, generate positive economic

development, result in greater traffic and pedestrian safety. Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, Mayor’s Office, Hamden

Neighborhood Associations, and Hamdens’ Citizens

2. Hamden’s State Legislative Delegation should be charged by the Town’s citizens and

administration to provide funding to undertake design and construction of streetscape

improvements for neighborhood commercial corridors along the three state highways that run

through town. Projects should include enhancements such as new curbs and sidewalk, lighting

upgrades, street trees and landscaping, and street furniture including solar trash compactors,

benches, and bike racks. Lead Agency: Hamden’s State Legislators, Hamdens’ Neighborhood Associations

and Hamden Citizens

3. Protect, enhance and create economically competitive areas along Hamden’s major

commercial corridors. Establish, or re-establish, Neighborhood Improvement Districts

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(NIDs). An NID can levy an assessment on property and/or business owners to fund

projects within the boundaries of the NID. NIDs can also receive other funding through

public and private grants, as well as private donation. These districts often provide

services above and beyond those of the government such as cleaning streets, providing

security, implementing streetscape improvements and marketing the area.

Lead Agency: Economic + Community Development, Chamber of Commerce,

Hamdens’ Neighborhood Associations, and Hamdens’ Citizens

Progress Indicators: ⏭ An influx of new businesses generate an area with a name or brand.

POLICY: Vibrant commercial corridors contribute to strong neighborhoods. They provide a

place to work, shop and socialize.

Blueprint for Achievement: 1. Strong corridors require management to provide assistance to businesses, bring planning

and resources to the corridor, block by block, and oversee activities to make, and keep

Hamden’s corridors clean and safe, and attractive to new businesses. Hamden should

consider adding a Corridor Coordinator position to the Department of Economic +

Community Development.

Lead Agency: Mayor’s Office, Legislative Council, Economic + Community

Development

Progress Indicators: ⏭ Positive social and cultural events occur along Hamden’s commercial corridors;

⏭ Merchant’s Associations for block-by-block and street improvements occur organically;

⏭ Property and business owners along Hamden’s commercial corridors organize to influence

State investment in economic opportunity areas.

POLICY: Hamden has strategically important commercial nodes that, if fully developed, can

result in tremendous benefits to the quality of life for residents, business owners, and the Town’s

tax base. Development at this scale requires physical planning, an implementation strategy and

financing framework.

Blueprint for Achievement: 1. Hamden should add a professional position to the Department of Economic +

Community Development. This position should be responsible for creating and

managing a consortium that includes expert advisors and funders to facilitate positive

economic growth and development in specific areas of town that would benefit from such

professional and economic investment.

Progress Indicators: ⏭ Large scale investment along Hamden’s commercial corridors brings positive growth to the

Town’s social, cultural and tax base.

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POLICY: Support a business-friendly environment that attracts and retains businesses;

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators: ⏭

POLICY: Support growth and provide opportunities to residents of all social and economic

levels.

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Invest in the talents, skills and education of Hamden’s citizens. Build an educational

system that encourages businesses to start here, grow here and stay here;

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Integrate Commercial Corridors and economic nodes to encourage future

development and economic activity.

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Design thoughtful, context sensitive, pedestrian oriented, mixed-use development in

the areas zoned as T-5 and on Whitney Avenue near Quinnipiac University. Transform these

areas into dynamic transit-oriented districts that will serve as economic engines and compliment

neighborhood economic nodes.

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Preserve housing options for existing Hamden residents. Economic revitalization

should result in neighborhood revitalization for current property owners as well as new investors;

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Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Retrofit existing buildings to contribute to a safe, walkable and vibrant public

realm.

Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Secure the commercial land use development in the center of Hamden. Protect the retail

viability of the center of town, the Magic Mile, Southern Dixwell Avenue and Southern

Whitney Avenue by encouraging these areas to be developed to their fullest potential.

Lead Agency:

2. Investigate opportunities to develop alliances between University research programs and

economic development opportunities within Hamden. Encourage connections between QU and

the new business incubator located on Morse Street;

Lead Agency: Area colleges + universities, Hamden Economic Development,

Hamden Economic Development Corporation, Hamden Regional Chamber of

Commerce, Hamden Real Estate community

3. Link industry and research to leverage the attraction of new business to Hamden.

Lead Agency: Area colleges + universities, Hamden Economic Development,

Hamden Economic Development Corporation, Hamden Regional Chamber of

Commerce, Hamden Real Estate community

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Make Hamden a regional employment center with diverse and high-quality jobs that

attract a global market.

Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Upgrade cell and internet services, particularly along the commercial corridors.

2. Develop strategies for cross-pollination of ideas by creating spaces where people in various

fields of work can meet easily.

3. Establish venues and create events that spur innovation for teenagers, such as science fairs

and engineering competitions, poetry slams, theater workshops, etc.

4. Use Town and other civic events to highlight new business ideas.

Progress Indicators:

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POLICY: Support a business-friendly environment that attracts and retains a mix of businesses

that can start here, grow here and stay here.

Blueprint for Achievement:

1. Study the New Haven Region’s strengths and weaknesses regarding skills available and skills

required.

a. Conduct a skills analysis of the New Haven Region;

b. Develop an inventory of legal “underground” businesses and services and work with

owners to get proper permitting and space for these businesses and services;

c. Use Town and other civic events to highlight new business ideas.

Progress Indicators:

POLICY: Subdivision and other land use regulations should be reviewed and revised as

necessary. (not really a policy - relocate)

Blueprint for Achievement:

Progress Indicators: ⏭

Marketing Hamden 1. Build a strong brand:

a. Who is affected;

b. What is so great about Hamden;

c. Where is Hamden and what is it near;

d. When should people explore Hamden;

e. How can we get to Hamden? Car, bike, train, plane, bus …;

f. Why should people come to Hamden.

2. Sell the Town’s values: Hamden is a great place to live, work and raise a family;

3. Get started early;

4. Establish a “Welcome Wagon” that includes local and regional information;

5. Systematise information:

. Create outdoor informational signage that responds to the way pedestrians and bicyclists

think and doesn’t add to visual pollution:

i. Develop a map system that shows street with important buildings coded;

ii. Add a ¼ mile radius to denote easy walkability;

iii. Show one-way streets, bike lanes, and bus stops;

iv. Show bus schedules, fares and ticketing information;

v. Show standardized station/bus stop markers;

vi. Install information kiosks at strategic locations;

vii. Create and advertise apps/signage that show real-time arrival information.

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b. Create uniform banners for various Town sponsored events such as parades, farmers

markets, movie nights, etc.;

c. Reformat Town website;

d. Create and coordinate Arts + Culture events calendar, local businesses map by type and

location, etc.

6. Create easy to use feedback loops to find out:

a. Who is taking mass transit, and who isn’t, and why not;

b. Who is shopping locally, and who isn’t, and why not;

c. Learn what residents, business owners and other property owners want, what they don’t

want, and why.

7. Control the narrative;

8. Be responsive to citizen input;

Offer new ways to access information, such as apps, websites.