CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7546

FOR RELEASE: October 29, 2015

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062 FAX: (860) 594-3065 WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

Community Connectivity Program Promotes Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety

And Improved Accommodations

      The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) today introduced the “Community Connectivity Program,” designed to improve conditions for walking and bicycling to and within urban, suburban and rural community centers.  It is one of the outputs from Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s newly authorized Let’s GO CT program, which addresses short- and long-term transportation needs across the state. By making conditions safer and more accommodating for pedestrians and cyclists, the program will encourage more people to use these healthy and environmentally sustainable modes of travel. At the same time, it will make Connecticut’s community centers more attractive and livable places to live and work.

      To achieve the program’s goals, “Road Safety Audits” (RSA’s) geared toward possible infrastructure locations for bike/pedestrian needs will be used to produce a report that will provide short/mid/and long term solutions.  An RSA is a formal safety performance examination of an existing road or intersection by an independent, multi-disciplinary team that includes local public agencies.  The audit qualitatively estimates and reports on potential road safety issues and identifies opportunities for improvement in the safety for all road users.  Safety improvements range from short-term low cost measures, such as brush cutting, to long-range higher cost projects, such as roadway realignment.

      “Through CTDOT, the Community Connectivity Program may be able to provide money for local infrastructure projects in the near future,” said Program Manager Patrick Zapatka. “The solicitation and application process is being developed, but we plan to start with public workshops to educate local engineering and planning staff about this program before the end of this year.

      “The goal of the workshops will be to provide sufficient information so local staff can submit an application for an RSA.  These audits would begin in the spring of 2016,” Zapatka said. “The first two years of this new program will be a pilot program to determine how to select, rank and prioritize projects for future funding.

      “We believe the Community Connectivity Program will be a great tool for municipalities to use for identifying improvement areas within their town and we encourage all of Connecticut’s towns and cities to apply,” Zapatka concluded.

Project Manager Patrick Zapatka may be reached at Patrick.Zapatka@ct.gov .

Get involved and let’s make it a record year for safe walking and bicycling in Connecticut!

Stay Tuned - the program information will soon be found on the Department’s website at https://www.ct.gov/dot/ as further information is available.