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Urban Dispatch

@urbandispatch.bsky.social
2.4K followers 835 following 4.8K posts

Safe streets & Transit. People need somewhere to sleep and the sidewalk isn’t it. Believer that better more livable cities are possible. Let's stop letting perfection get in the way of progress. Anon here but happy to chat/meet up IRL Hartford, CT

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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 20h
The Poop Tunnel is almost ready! "Jellison said that the pump station and tunnel will prove most effective when it rains heavy in the Hartford region, as all of the overflow will go into the tunnel "instead of going into those streets or the river." Its Old Saybrook's turn now
ctinsider.com
There's a 200-foot drop under Hartford leading to a 4-mile tunnel
Hartford's new underground tunnel can hold 41 million gallons. Here's why it matters.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 22h
Not on the HBJ website yet but looks like we'll have another Hartford Stadium project to upgrade the Athletics' stadium to prepare it for higher level soccer play I'm not even against it, just callous that will suddenly be a top priority while school renovations are canceled by this mayor
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Tom Broderick @trumbullbrod.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
You love to see it. Downtown Bridgeport slowly (painstakingly slowly) stitching itself back together after highways and parking lots devastated it www.ctpost.com/news/article...
ctpost.com
Bridgeport to sell long-vacant downtown land for $250,000 for new apartment building
Bridgeport purchased the pair of downtown lots over 25 years ago and until now has been unsuccessful in having then redeveloped.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Are there any glaring omissions in your view?
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
That is great, thanks! That's what I was wondering, seemed like it from anecdotal crash reports Hoping this rollout goes well and we get to expand it in the near future
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Are they? I was getting at heavy suburban commuter vs in city traffic. Main Street + Wethersfield are paralleled by 91 and divert most of the traffic. Blue hills of all of them seems the highest and I guess I don't know enough about Hillside Ave but figured 84/New Britain Ave would capture most
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Even if I heavily index to stretches that have a school directly fronting a street, the exclusion of Asylum Ave (West Middle) and Albany Ave seem particularly glaring to me
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
For Comparison: West Hartford: 15 locations New Haven: 15 Wethersfield: 8
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
(I am in no way saying the six sites selected are incorrect, each is a great choice. Just that the scope seems unreasonably limited)
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It also is speeding only, not redlight/intersection? The thing that is glaring in this map is a total avoidance of any commuter pathways into/out of the city... This seems to fly in the face of the spirit of the law and my knowledge of dangerous roads @kerriana.bsky.social - am I off base here?
Map of school camera locations planned for Hartford
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Fucking finally... only six?!? I guess it is a start. Long overdue: "the data showed that 82 to 93% of traffic traveled faster than the posted 25 miles per hour speed limit" "On Main Street, near S.A.N.D. Elementary School, the plan notes that the top travel speed was 90 miles per hour."
ctinsider.com
Hartford to install automatic speed enforcement cameras near six school zones
Fines will begin at $50 and increase to $75 for repeat violations.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
@ctmirror.org has such an incredible track record of investigative news piece highlights problem -> politicians immediately clamor to change laws to resolve problem ctmirror.org/2026/10/01/l...
ctmirror.org
Lamont, lawmakers call for changes to CT prison debt law
Gov. Ned Lamont and leaders from both political parties said they want to change a law that charges people for time spent in prison.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Their ideas are all "take away all the taxes" ............ "Keep all the services and nice things people enjoy"
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
IF anyone has $5M they're looking to invest, DM me. I have a MUCH better concept plan
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
For many reasons, that lot isn't getting apartments on it. Primarily because the state wants to expand and reroute the giant urban highway right through it. But I hope to god they do successfully to build on it because that would be so funny The highway should be removed, box them out
Hartford highway rerouting plan
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
SO this is a fun new AI slop The owner of the large parking lot inside the Hartford wye next to Union Station (which is under the highway) is marketing the site as developable and asking $5M for it which is crazy The AI rendering they made takes out multiple city streets, lolz
AI rendering of a apartment building next to the highway and union stationGoogle earth view of the same lot circled in red
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J. Offir, PhD @joffirphd.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The UConn Indoor Air Quality Initiative has been working for a few years on getting CR boxes (which the article doesn't name as such) into CT schools. (I've written about this before; the CT state legislature provided funding for the endeavor.) "The program is... 🧵 ctmirror.org/2026/09/28/c...
ctmirror.org
UConn is giving CT students a science project to address air quality
Student-built air purifiers can partially address poor school air quality, but teachers said CT must focus on a larger, long-term fix.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 30/09/2026
There are essentially 0 electrified freight trucks on the road in the US right now
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Kerri Ana @kerriana.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🧵 Drivers have killed 30 pedestrians/cyclists, so far, this year in Connecticut. The most recent preventable death happened last night on Route 44 in Hartford -- location of the failed "road diet" kerriana.org/mapping-conn...
Map showing where motorists killed 30 pedestrians/cyclists in Connecticut in 2026
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Sam Greenberg @samjgreenberg.com · 29/09/2026
The WSJ is complaining that rents are low in Portland due to an “oversupply of new housing.” 😈 www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The kind of thing that is just overwhelmingly obvious with a little bit of thought and yet fails to register across wide swaths of society
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If I were them I would be asking for $100M each the next two years + resetting the baseline at $50M thereafter The program is building too slowly to get to the envisioned end state of having a proper revolving fund
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I would aggressively argue that even this request is still far too small Every project that they complete is 95%+ occupancy quickly showing unmet demand, costs are going up as are interest rates, and we're staring down a massive commercial property crisis. I would be asking to surge funds in
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is the obviously correct decision and has been clear for a while. CRDA is functioning well for its stated purpose and rather than create a bunch of separate competing redevelopment programs, just give CRDA more firepower Lots of projects/developers maturing in Hartford, lots of opportunity
hartfordbusiness.com
CRDA seeks to double annual state bond funding to $50M; cites robust development pipeline, rising costs
CRDA state bond funding could double to $50 million annually as the agency seeks more resources to finance Hartford housing development projects.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A great idea! My hunch is they would severely limit access from campus to the trail until it became overwhelmingly popular and student demand forced their connection to happen due to suburban fear of the North End
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It is hemmed in by a rail line, surburan neighborhood, a golf course, a private school and some mansions. Really tucked into a corner I bet you could do something to create a mixed use district along Bloomfield Ave on someone else's dime and it would do wonders for the school's curb appeal
Google maps view of UHart campus
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
IMO UHart needs to do something to reduce the isolation of its campus. It is completely disconnected from near by places and towns, is a primarily residential school with a large commuting population. It is a weird in between of everything If I were them, I would be trying to create a "main street"
hartfordbusiness.com
UHart to cut $7M, boost faculty teaching loads as enrollment slides
The University of Hartford is cutting $7 million from its $187 million budget as declining undergraduate enrollment pressures revenue in West Hartford.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Damn! Pricing is all relative, even new build "high amenity" apartments in Hartford are an absolute steal compared to WeHa $6k for a 3 br and $3k for a 1 bedroom? That is crazy talk www.courant.com/2026/09/27/u...
courant.com
Upscale apartments are debuting around CT. Here’s where the newest are and what they offer.
In a year when several freshly built upscale apartment buildings hit the market in Connecticut, Continental Properties debuted the third-largest residential complex in a popular town.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 27/09/2026
I keep telling y'all, electric aviation is a dark horse.
techspot.com
The largest all-electric plane ever flew for 27 minutes, on $5 of electricity
Heart's X1 demonstrator flew for 27 minutes from a regional airport in upstate New York, running on battery power the entire time. The aircraft reached 1,100 feet...
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Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"I’ll catch you outside and rip your face off," one Connecticut judicial marshal allegedly told ICE agents at a state courthouse in Meriden on Wednesday, according to the statement from DHS.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Can someone tell me what is Southington's deal? Spent time there today for the first time and I need to know more. What a place
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Michael Andersen @andersem.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I have a confession to make. The townhomes I & others spent most of a decade trying to legalize are popping up all over Oregon & elsewhere...and I love that...but they're a problem in one big way. (get ready for a twisty thread about the housing report @sightline.org just published)
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Tom Broderick @trumbullbrod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Goddamn this graphic is *so* grim and telling www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
ctinsider.com
Connecticut has more homes built before WWII than after 2000
The state's housing stock reflects its development history, from the post-World War II suburban boom to decades of slower building since then.
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👻 David Weiskopf believes in spooks 👻 @dave.bzky.team · 24/09/2026
Today in WaPo: biggest bang for your buck in climate = @climatecabinet.org
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Hartford friends🍧 The ice cream at Mezzi's in Statehouse square is next level amazing. Homemade from scratch on site. Same people as have the little stand at theatreworks. Y'all gotta try this www.mezziesicecream.com
mezziesicecream.com
Mezzie's Ice Cream and Coffee
Artisan Ice Cream in Hartford, CT
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Hartford friends🍧 The ice cream at Mezzi's in Statehouse square is next level amazing. Homemade from scratch on site. Same people as have the little stand at theatreworks. Y'all gotta try this www.mezziesicecream.com
mezziesicecream.com
Mezzie's Ice Cream and Coffee
Artisan Ice Cream in Hartford, CT
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Perfection, 10/10, no notes Opponents of AI Data Centers using AI to generate opposition and organizing materials (I know nothing of this alleged project or plan)
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Just to be clear, this is a point in time 10%. It fluctuates as demand varies as does the wind The trend is clear though, more and more wind is powering the grid. Here is the wind record tracker with the latest record set on 10 September This bodes well for winter with even more to be added
Record tracker showing growth over three years to now 2k MW record set on 10 September
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Deputy Councilor for Urban Affairs, D13 @williamhazen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Bloomington (Indiana) City Council has voted 5-3 to end parking mandates in the city, joining South Bend. The vote accompanied a slew of zoning changes intended to lower housing costs.
7 Line, BloomingtonBT transit center Kirkwood looking towards Sample Gates, Bloomington Indiana Theater, Bloomington
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
With more offshore wind coming on line, over 10% of all the power being consumed in New England is from wind turbines. That's pretty cool
ISO NE Dashboard from Grid Status website showing currently 10.3% of all New England electricity is coming from wind
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Ansonia! Plans for 252 new homes (including condos) + retail all a sort walk from the soon to be upgraded Waterbury Line train service The valley is doing huge things these days www.courant.com/2026/09/20/p...
courant.com
Pitching 252 apartments and condos, developer sees big change for CT town. ‘What transformation looks like’
The developer credited with reshaping parts of a downtown and reviving more is ready to embark on a roughly 250-unit mixed-use project.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
CTgreenbank website has details. they run it through HVAC contractors so its all handled for you, just need to get a contractor in the network I think. I did a project last year (not oil) and it was pretty seamless
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Owen Biesel @owenbiesel.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We did this ourselves last winter! It's been great!
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Nice, that big offshore wind project just had its last turbine installed and should be fully connected before winter fully arrives. That'll be a huge benefit to us in New England this winter and keep those oil plants quieter www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...
canarymedia.com
Major US offshore wind farm installs its last turbine
Despite Trump’s attacks, Revolution Wind is nearing completion off the coast of Rhode Island. The 704-MW project is set to be fully operational this year.
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
And Massachussetts is offering electric rate discounts to heat pump owners during winter (to reflect the true cost of service) Would love to see this brought to CT (and expanded to also offer discount in densely settled areas)
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Connecticut already has one!!! We'll as a state give you up to $10,000 to get your ass off oil AND finance your project at 1.99% APR What is missing is a public push and intentional outreach to get home owners to actually commit
Landing pace for Connecticut's Energize CT program offering incentives for heat pumps
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
15 minute service ~5 am to 11 pm 7 days per week connecting -L+M Hospital -Fort Trumbull -New London Union -Central Groton -General Dynamics -Pfizer -Avery Point Connecting thousands of residents + 10k+ jobs + two dense walkable areas. All for amount $3M in annual cost, same as two rail round trips
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
There is a lot of investment needs for SEAT area but rather than peanut butter smoothly spreading the increase in funding I would go big on launching quality service on one line:
Google Maps with line drawn for new potential transit line connecting New London and Groton
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Know what would help SLE ridership a lot? A useful local transit network that came more than once an hour for you to use once you arrived at NL Union Stop trying to make park and ride trains work, they never had and especially don't anymore with change in commuting patterns
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Urban Dispatch @urbandispatch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
$3 million for two weekday only round trips... Why????? What a ridiculous investment priority. The same funds would increase SEAT local transit service by 50%. SEAT is a rump of a transit service yet it carries 5x more passengers than SLE and runs on just 18% of the budget SLE has
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