CHAPTER 6 – TRANSPORTATION

Introduction

At its most fundamental, the purpose of a community's transportation system is to move people and goods. It provides the primary means by which people can get to work, go shopping or spend their leisure time. It also provides the framework upon which the community is built and, as such, is inextricably bound to the land uses it serves. The number, quality and variety of transportation options in a community influence locational choices for the development of housing, businesses and industry.

This chapter briefly describes Bristol's transportation system, which is composed of city streets and State roads, public transit, sidewalks and bicycle paths. The chapter seeks to identify and address a number of existing problems in the city's transportation network as well as its future transportation needs.

• 1989 Bristol Plan of Development
• Police Department (Traffic Division), City of Bristol
• Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency
• New Britain Transportation Company
• DATTCO Bus Company
• Connecticut Department of Transportation
• Master Transportation Plan, Projects and Programs Through the Year 2017, Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency, 1997
• Transit Development Plan for the Central Connecticut Region, Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency, 1996
• Suggested List of Safety Surveillance Sites (SLOSS), 1993-95 and 1994-96, Connecticut Department of Transportation

• Bristol's street system is traversed by four state roads – Routes 6, 72, 69 and 229 – which play an important role in carrying local and areawide traffic into, through and out of the city. Routes 6 and 72 carry traffic in an east-west direction and link Bristol with Farmington, Plainville and Plymouth. Routes 229 and 69 carry traffic in a north-south direction and link Bristol with Southington, Wolcott and Burlington. These state roads form the backbone of Bristol's roadway network and are its primary transportation connection to the larger region. (See Figure 6-1.)
• "Functional classification", or the categorization of roads into different operational systems, groups streets and highways according to the level of service they are intended to provide. The functional classification of Bristol's roads is as follows (see Figure 6-2):

1. Route 6 – Farmington Avenue-North Street-Terryville Avenue
2. Route 72 – East Main Street-Broad Street-Riverside Avenue-Main Street-School Street-Park Street-Terryville Road
3. Route 229 – King Street-Middle Street
4. Route 69 – Burlington Avenue-West Street-Wolcott Street (east of Wolcott Road)-Wolcott Road

1. Allentown Road
2. Birch Street
3. Central Street
4. Church Avenue
5. Clark Avenue
6. Emmett Street (north of Redstone Hill Road)
7. Fall Mountain Road
8. James P. Casey Road-Peacedale Street-Maple Avenue-Mix Street
9. Jerome Avenue
10. Lake Avenue
11. Lincoln Avenue
12. Maltby Street
13. Memorial Boulevard
14. Pine Street-Mountain Road-South Street
15. Redstone Hill Road
16. Shrub Road
17. Stafford Avenue
18. Stevens Street
19. West Washington Street-Washington Street
20. Willis Street
21. Witches Rock Road
22. Wolcott Street (west of Wolcott Road)

1. Bellevue Avenue
2. Brook Street
3. Center Street (west of Maple Street)
4. Church Street
5. Cross Street
6. Divinity Street
7. Downs Street
8. East Road
9. Hart Street
10. High Street
11. Hill Street
12. Lewis Street-Lewis Road (pt.)-Oakland Street (north of Farmington Avenue)
13. Main Street
14. Maple Street
15. Matthews Street
16. Minor Street
17. North Main Street
18. Oakland Street (between Farmington Avenue and
    Woodland Street)
19. Peck Lane
20. Perkins Street
21. Queen Street
22. Round Hill Road
23. Sonstrom Road
24. Todd Street
25. Woodland Street

• Based upon traffic volumes, accident rates, poor alignment and/or improper functioning, 63 intersections and street segments in the city have been designated as "critical." In addition, eight street intersections have been identified for monitoring for possible future traffic problems. (See Figures 6-3, 6-4a, 6-4b and 6-5.)
• The city's public transit operation consists of both a fixed route system and a commuter bus system. The fixed route system is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and managed by the New Britain Transportation Company; it has its hub in downtown Bristol near City Hall and follows two routes. The first is intra-city, serving areas within Bristol such as Central High School, Gaylord Towers, Bonnie Acres, the Bristol Senior/Community Center and the center of Forestville. The second is inter-city, travels along Route 6, and serves Bristol Hospital, Tunxis Community College, and the centers of Plainville and Forestville. The commuter bus system is owned and operated by DATTCO Bus Company of New Britain; it provides express bus service between the park-and-ride lot on Todd Street and Hartford. (See Figure 6-6.)

• Bristol's public transportation system is underutilized. Most workers living in Bristol drive, rather than take the bus, to their place of employment.
• The Connecticut Department of Transportation's Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan, adopted in March of 1999, recommends a number of on- and off-road bicycle and pedestrian routes throughout the state. In Bristol – as elsewhere – these routes are intended to be part of a larger, regional system of bicycle and pedestrian paths that links each community with its neighboring towns and beyond. In Bristol, the on-road routes include: Route 72 between Plainville and Plymouth; Washington Street-West Washington Street-Route 229-Lake Avenue; Stevens Street-Shrub Road-Burlington Avenue-Peacedale Street-James P. Casey Road-Hill Street and Marsh Road; and Burlington Avenue between Shrub Road and Route 6. There are currently no existing or proposed off-road bicycle or pedestrian routes identified in Bristol.
• From a regional perspective, the most significant transportation issue facing the city is its lack of direct access to and from an interstate highway. Cities with such access are at an advantage in terms of regional competition in the marketplace; such cities can offer critical access advantages to potential businesses and industries. As such, Bristol's lack of interstate access has implications for its economic development potential.
• Within the city itself, the most significant transportation issue is traffic congestion along portions of Routes 229, 6 and 72. (See Figure 6-7.)
• The current capacity of Route 229, particularly given the impending realignment of Route 72 and the widening of Route 229 between Redstone Hill Road and Birch Street, is adequate to handle current and future traffic volumes. Traffic flow on Route 229 is not nearly as impeded as on Route 6 because abutting land uses are more oriented toward office and industrial uses than toward commercial uses.
• The Farmington Avenue portion of Route 6 is Bristol's most congested corridor. This portion of the corridor currently operates over capacity, and traffic flow is further impeded by the multiple curb cuts and turning movements into and out of adjacent retail and residential land uses. Given the absence of any State plan to widen Route 6, the city needs to continue to utilize local land use and traffic management controls – such as curb cut consolidation, the synchronization of traffic signals and the realignment of intersections – to improve traffic mobility and safety along the corridor.
• The future of Route 72 between the Bristol-Plainville line and Route 229 is contingent upon the completion of the realignment project proposed by ConnDOT. The project now involves the construction of a four-lane arterial highway from the vicinity of the present terminus of the existing Route 72 Expressway at Forestville Avenue (Route 372) in Plainville to a point west of Middle Street (Route 229) opposite Riverside Avenue in Bristol. (See Figure 6-8.)
• The proposed realignment of Route 72 will enhance accessibility into and out of Bristol. The new road is expected to ease existing traffic congestion along the existing Route 72 corridor, create a direct link to the city's downtown and help improve traffic conditions on Route 6.

Provide for the safe, efficient and orderly movement of people and goods into, out of, and within Bristol and provide adequate access to places of employment, residential, recreational and commercial activity.

3. Preserve the attractive character and traffic-carrying capacity of the Route 229 corridor as one of the city's major gateways.

8. Encourage the establishment of additional bikeways within the city.

3. Stripe existing bicycle routes to clearly designate bicycle lanes.

4. Provide bicycle storage facilities in commuter parking lots.

5. Ask the Mayor and City Council to consider establishing the position of a professional traffic engineer.

1. Provide an exclusive right-turn lane northbound and an exclusive left-turn lane southbound on Route 229 at its intersection with Louisiana Avenue/Moody Street.

2. Monitor the intersections of Route 229/Broad Street and Route 229/Riverside Avenue to determine what additional traffic improvements might be necessary once the extension of Route 72 is completed.

2. Provide a left-turn lane westbound on Route 6 at its intersection with Camp Street.

3. Provide additional through lanes eastbound and westbound on Route 6 at its intersection with Clark Avenue.

4. Provide an exclusive right-turn lane westbound on Route 6 at its intersection with Jerome Avenue.

5. Where feasible, widen Route 6 between West Street and Camp Street to a minimum of four lanes.

8. Continue to coordinate traffic signalization and traffic markings.