Twelve years after New Britain launched an eight-phase program to beautify downtown, improve pedestrian and bike access and encourage business growth, the Public Works Department will complete the final part of the project this week. The Complete Streets project, the bulk of which covers about four miles of downtown, has attracted over $250 million in private investment with tens of millions more expected, according to city officials. They also noted that the city has invested over $60 million in the project and secured more than $32 million in grant funding. “The actual [Complete Streets] project has made the entire downtown area not just connected, but more pedestrian-friendly,” Carrier told CT Examiner on Monday. “Decades ago, the downtown was stagnate; we weren’t encouraging development. But since [CT]fastrak and Complete Streets, there have been a lot of opportunities for development.”
New Britain’s 12-Year-Long Downtown Revitalization Project Nears Completion