Hartford/West Hartford/Newington/New Britain, CT

Distinctive bus rapid transit station designs create new public spaces that enhance accessibility, wayfinding, community identity, and multi-modal transportation connections.

Connecticut’s Bus Rapid Transit system provides an exclusive 9.4-mile-long busway between New Britain and Hartford with a multi-use trail component near or adjacent to the busway along the southern section. In close collaboration with the project team, Richter & Cegan was responsible for site programming, master planning, and landscape design of the 11 CTfastrak Station sites for the Hartford-New Britain line. Each site has a unique design relating to the different communities and surrounding contexts while maintaining overall continuity of the system.

New public spaces and community parks were created with seating, seat walls, plantings and lawn areas. Signature entry plazas provide clear identification to assist with wayfinding. Challenging grading constraints were overcome with the design and incorporation of accessible walks and ramps, putting inclusive access to and from the surrounding neighborhoods at the forefront of each design. The site design keeps local transit at the forefront including either adjacent platforms or connections to local stops to provide easy transfer access, both supporting and encouraging transit-oriented development. The New Britain Station, with 16 boarding bays, accommodates the largest group of busway patrons and connects to Richter & Cegan’s Downtown New Britain Streetscape project.