Manchester Awarded State Grant For Downtown Bike Lane

MANCHESTER, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto this week announced the State of Connecticut is awarding nearly $12 million in grants to 17 towns and cities for projects that will improve transportation safety and mobility, including Manchester.

The grants are being awarded through the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Community Connectivity Grant Program. Now in its seventh round of awards, this state-funded program provides financial support for local infrastructure initiatives that make conditions safer and more accommodating for pedestrians and bicyclists in urban, suburban, and rural centers.

Manchester is to receive the top award of $800,000 for a downtown cycle track, Lamont said. Manchester already has several of the green tracks around town.

"Connecting residents with their communities through these projects is vital to boosting economic development, creating dynamic town centers, and encouraging alternative modes of transportation like walking or biking," Lamont said. "Supporting this program improves the quality of life for towns and cities across the state.”

Added Eucalitto, "We remain focused on increasing safety and enhancing connectivity across Connecticut. This grant program, which helps fund these important community-driven projects, is an integral part of our mission. This state funding is helping towns and cities deliver important projects. We're grateful to Governor Lamont and the General Assembly for their continued support of these efforts."

The grants approved under this seventh round include:

• Ansonia: Safe Route to Ansonia Middle School and Ansonia Riverwalk Segment 8 ($789,000)
• Berlin: Hubbard/Griswold School Sidewalk Improvements ($800,000)
• Branford: Pathways Improvement Plan ($800,000)
• Bristol: Emmett Street Sidewalks ($569,106)
• Brookfield: Still River Greenway Trail Connector ($659,600)
• Chester: West Main Street Sidewalk Improvement Project ($477,010)
• Manchester: Downtown Manchester Cycle Track ($800,000)
• Marlborough: Town Center Sidewalk Extension ($348,224)
• New Haven: East Street Cycle Track ($786,554)
• North Haven: North Haven Connectivity Project ($784,000)
• Norwalk: East Wall Street Streetscape Improvements ($800,000)
• Old Lyme: Halls Road Sidewalk Project ($800,000)
• Plainfield: Shepard Hill Elementary School Pedestrian Safety Improvements ($800,000)
• Salisbury: Connectivity and Safety: Sharon Road from the Hotchkiss School to Lakeville Town Center ($800,000)
• West Hartford: West Hartford Center to Trout Brook Trail Bicycle Connector ($384,552)
• Wethersfield: Sidewalk Safety, Gap Closure and Expansion ($750,000)
• Windsor Locks: Old Country Road Pedestrian Improvements ($800,000)

The funding limits for grants awarded in the latgest solicitation can only be used for construction activities that range from $100,000 to $800,000. To date, 155 awards totaling approximately $74 million have been invested from this program into Connecticut’s towns and cities. Municipalities selected to receive grants are expected to complete the projects within three years.