New Haven's Downtown Crossing Project is moving forward with phase two: the development of the old coliseum site off Orange Street.
The site will soon be home to offices, retailers and residences and will also create a huge change along the Route 34 corridor.
Infrastructure changes will knock out the Route 34 highway and will create a more walkable, connected space.
“What's most important is that it connects the Hill neighborhood to downtown,” explained Mayor Toni Harp.
The project will also connect the city's Ninth Square by shifting the blocks that sit at the corner of the downtown area into the middle of it.
“It's going to create a density back into the area, that's going to be fabulous for all the business people here,” said Robert Greenberg, of ACME Furniture in the Ninth Square.
He only hopes the project happens sooner rather than later and that the city makes sure that the traffic flow in the area is taken into consideration.
“You have to have to have both cars, and bicycles and pedestrians cohabitate in the same land there, and it's a fine line. It takes a lot of engineering, but I think it's going to be done well,” said Greenberg.
That engineering has been a big focus of phase two of the project.
Local
“There will be infrastructure changes. We'll have bike lanes that are raised and separate from roads, which I think everyone will appreciate, the drivers as well as the bikers,” said Harp.
More information on the project is available online.
