Currently, the Interstate 95 underpass located on Lockwood Avenue has been a constant eyesore to the neighborhood. While the elevated highway runs deep into the soul of our neighborhood, it is poorly lit and unsafe to pass through.
The Lockwood Avenue underpass is also a “gateway” to the East Side schools, including Childcare Learning Centers (CLC), DOMUS, and Trafigura Work and Learn Business Center. Approximately 800 children attend these schools or the after-school programs. Many of them are using the underpass daily.
We have begun to work with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) on a revitalization project to find ways to improve the safety and aesthetics at the underpass. The CTDOT has given us a green light to initiate the preliminary steps necessary to start the design phase.
We just began our search for lighting specialists to install dramatic lighting. We also want to involve regional artists and our neighborhood schoolchildren to help us to create an interactive art and light based mural project.
The idea is to encourage aesthetically pleasing walking and biking experience. Traffic calming under the elevated highway is also one of our goals.
