Interactive Design Workshops – Charrettes
The Team will conduct ten (10) interactive design workshops or Charrettes to inform the development of alternative transportation options and TOD concepts. The workshops will feature interactive work sessions where planners, designers, stakeholders and citizens collaborate to produce concept plans. The workshops will be approximately three hours long and held in each of the five communities where TOD and alternate transit scenarios will be developed:
- Derby
- Ansonia
- Seymour/Beacon Falls
- Naugatuck
- Shelton with a focus on how a potential new Bus Rapid Transit operation along the Bridgeport Avenue Corridor might support new forms of development in that community.
The first workshop will focus on residents’ and other stakeholders’ vision for their station areas and visual preferences for TOD in their community. Facilitated discussions will concentrate on the principles and benefits of TOD and elicit dialogue about the applicability of each principal or whether guidelines associated with any of the principles should be modified for their community. The principal objective of this workshop is to get public understanding of the characteristics and benefits of TOD and public input and support for TOD forms and principles that are appropriate for their community.
The first series of workshops is tentatively scheduled for early September. Confirmed dates, times and locations will be posted on the project calendar.
The second workshop will focus on where, generally TOD could occur within a ½-mile radius of the station of each community. At this workshop the Team will present its recommendations for the Model TOD Block for their community. The Model TOD Block will illustrate such items as building size and mass, density, uses and open spaces. The concepts will also present complete streets strategies, pedestrian enhancements and opportunities for including “green infrastructure” in the area. Importantly, the Model Block concept will be respectful of the context and unique attributes or qualities of each community.
The second series of workshops will occur six-to-eight weeks after the first workshop. Confirmed dates, times and locations will be posted on the project calendar.
Unlike the other communities with the focus on the station areas, the Shelton-Bridgeport Avenue design workshops will highlight the opportunities for implementing an alternative transit modes approach along the corridor to provide enhanced and more efficient connections and access to express bus and commuter rail systems. The workshops will engage stakeholders and the public in defining a vision for an effective public transit option and identifying current gaps and needs within the Bridgeport Avenue corridor.