Regional TOD team previews transit‑oriented plan for Middletown and seeks public input

RiverCog staff and their consulting team presented the Thriving Communities Transit‑Oriented Development (TOD) vision plan and asked Middletown residents to offer input as the 15‑month study moves forward. Susie Beckman, a regional planner with the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, said the USDOT grant will fund technical assistance and capacity building connecting the Middletown bus hub with three Shoreline East rail communities.

"We have applied to the USDOT for a grant that would provide technical assistance and some capacity building in order to move forward with some transit oriented development plans," Beckman said. Miranda Zhang, an urban designer and project manager for WSP, said the study focuses on land‑use and public‑realm strategies within a 0.25–0.5 mile radius of each transit hub and stressed that the project is not a transit service plan. "This plan is not a transit plan," Zhang said. "Rather than discussing transit service improvements, the project will be focusing on land use development and public ground improvements around the station areas."

Zhang outlined a three‑phase schedule: existing‑conditions assessment, development of TOD framework and preferred scenarios, and a final report due next June. She said the team conducted stakeholder interviews and an August community workshop and has received more than 150 survey responses to date. Commissioners asked about downtown housing and parking; Beckman and Zhang said those local concerns will inform the team's recommendations and noted a January check‑in with the community to refine the framework.

Why it matters: the study aims to encourage walkable, mixed‑use development near transit hubs, support local economic activity and coordinate improvements across jurisdictions. RiverCog and the project team invited residents to comment through the project website, thinktod.org, and to participate in upcoming community outreach events.