Riverfront Parks Get New Directional and Informational Signage

Utilizing a Hartford Arts and Heritage Job Grant, Riverfront Recapture implemented the first phase of a planned multi-phase signage project for the Riverfront Parks in 2010.  In addition to informational and directional signs installed in various locations within the Hartford parks, we also installed an entrance sign at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza and kiosks with Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk information, park facts, and maps at both the plaza and Riverside Park.  The project also included the installation of minute marker signs in downtown Hartford intended to guide residents and tourists to the riverfront.  Our many thanks go to our project partners including the City of Hartford for providing the funding, the Greater Hartford Arts Council for administrating the project for the City, and Adams Ahern Sign Solutions who designed and installed the signage system. 

Riverwalk South and the Riverfront Gateway

Riverwalk South will complete the basic Hartford Riverwalk and is the most complicated piece due to its existing site conditions and limitations.  The programmed future use of this section also dictates some of our design criteria, in that a portion of the walkway needs to accommodate both pedestrians and daily service vehicles, including trailer trucks and buses bringing supplies and passengers to and from the riverboats at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. The design and construction of this project is further complicated by the presence of soil contamination from past industrial uses of the site.
Once complete, the walkway will start in Charter Oak Landing and stretch 3600 feet north to Mortensen Riverfront Plaza and will include a new park entrance, Riverfront Gateway, which will connect the Riverwalk to the Coltsville and the Charter Oak and Sheldon Neighborhoods.  The paved and lighted walkway will vary in width from 14 feet to 18 feet to accommodate the different user groups and service vehicles.  Like all other projects, Riverfront Recapture will include an abundance of landscaping along the walkway to add to the natural beauty of the river.


Riverfront Recapture has secured partial funding for the design and permitting of this project through the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and the Capitol City Economic Development Authority.  In addition, Riverfront Recapture worked with the Capitol Region Council of Governments and the City of Hartford in 2009 to secure Phase II Environmental Investigation services for the project funded with American Recovery & Reinvest Act dollars through the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.

 
A significant amount of funding still needs to be raised for the construction of this project which is estimated to cost as much as $25 million.  To date, Riverfront Recapture has secured $1.2 of Federal Transportation and Equity Act for the 21st Century funds through the Department of Transportation.

To view a PDF map of Riverwalk South and the Riverfront Gateway, click here.

Design Team:	Richter & Cegan Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, Inc.
	Close, Jensen, & Miller PC
	GEI Consultants
	Legnos & Cramer, Inc.
	Fuss & O’Neil, Inc. with support from the Capitol Region Council of Governments
Owner:	City of Hartford