New Study Looks to a Revitalized Downtown Danbury

DANBURY, CT — A new study lays out a blueprint for how Danbury might revitalize its downtown area, attracting both foot traffic and investment.

The "Downtown Danbury Transit-Oriented Development Study" focuses upon the area within a ten-minute walk of the train station, bordered by City Hall, Elmwood Park, and Western Connecticut State University.

The report examines seven locations where improvements to parks, plazas, sidewalks, and intersections would provide "particularly strong benefits in multiple ways including expanding quality transportation choices, promoting economic development, and attracting more people to cultural and recreational destinations." Among those "transformative opportunities" is the creation of a Riverwalk Trail along the Still River.

Citing Downtown Danbury as the "center of cultural and historic institutions for its region," the report recommends a number of innovations to keep it that way. These include "creating universally accessible public spaces, providing information in multiple languages, and using the arts to express and bridge different cultural traditions."

The report envisions a $27 million transit hub, a nexus for HARTransit’s Pulse Point local bus transfers and interstate bus lines. The new "Danbury Transit Center" would be located on a site comprised of the utility-owned parcel on Pahquioque Avenue and the City-owned parcel on Patriot Drive, would provide sufficient space for an expanded bus facility, an overhead pedestrian bridge to the Danbury Train Station, and associated amenities, the report suggests.

New or improved sidewalks, crosswalks, and bicycle lanes on streets between the Danbury

Train Station, Main Street, and the existing HARTransit Pulse Point also factor into the proposed renovations.

The report reasons that increasing the population of Downtown Danbury with additional workers, visitors, and residents would also increase the demand for retail, personal service, restaurant, and entertainment uses.

The study cost $250,000 (mostly state funds), took a year to prepare, and can be found in its entirety here. How much would be implemented and when has too many moving parts to predict.