Discover NW CT! Nine towns come together to launch a new visitor's website.

▪ The Northwest Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative ("the Collaborative") announced the launch of a new website featuring the "Secret Corner", a collective of nine towns in northwest Connecticut. Representatives from the Collaborative and local businesses were invited to talk about the new visitor's website on NBC morning news on September 27. Check it out for yourself at www.discovernwct.com.

This newsletter is meant to be a vehicle to communicate with our member communities, industry colleagues and generous supporters.  If you have information about events happening in your downtown, captivating pictures of your Main Street or news regarding your organization that you would like to share in our monthly newsletter, please let us know.   

As mentioned above, CMSC is hosting its third Complete Streets workshop on November 2nd. The legislation behind Complete Streets requires that all state-funded roads in Connecticut safely accommodate all users, whether they be walking, riding the bus, pedaling a bike or driving a car. Although this legislation was passed in 2009, we saw through our work with local communities that many municipalities were either unaware of the law or unsure how to implement it (not to mention pay for it). Seeing this void, and working in partnership with the Center for Transportation and Livable Systems and Fuss & O'Neill, we decided to hold a series of three workshops through our Downtown Revitalization Institute to describe what Complete Streets are, how to design them, and how to make them a reality.

As I've mentioned in previous issues of Downtown Update, the CT Department of Transportation has worked with us on this issue, even presenting and providing the meeting space for our second Complete Streets workshop back in June. Throughout the series we've collaborated with a number of industry colleagues on this topic, both from the State and throughout the country, to bring you expert speakers with key insights on what works when it comes to Complete Streets.

Designing streets for all users, not just cars and drivers, is critical to maintaining Connecticut's small-town charm. It has benefits far beyond just a safety standpoint. Streets that are built for everyone attract visitors, shoppers and more, resulting in friendly neighborhoods that thrive as economic and recreational hubs. And we're not the only ones who think so.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign has designed the "Complete Streets in a Box Toolkit". The Tri-State Transportation Campaign developed this toolkit in collaboration with our industry colleagues, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM). This toolkit succinctly lays out useful information as another means to advance this important legislation on the ground in our neighborhoods.

Individually our work provides a wealth of information and knowledge; cumulatively it provides the foundation upon which we can build the movement towards more sustainable, smart growth that includes all users. That's why at CMSC, we welcome and applaud the work of our colleagues as we strive towards our common goal of building great Connecticut communities that benefit all who visit them.