IQuilt: Pedestrian Zones in Hartford, CT?

A thought-provoking piece from Tom Condon about Downtown Hartford, and walkability:

Read it at http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-plc-condon-arts-iquilt.artjun21,0,1473190.column. Excerpt below:

Downtown Hartford is compact and generally attractive, but it doesn't feel that way. It feels disconnected and confusing, not woven together. Outside of Bushnell Park, much of downtown isn't inviting to pedestrians.

Downtown Hartford has a myriad of wonderful arts and cultural institutions, perhaps unmatched in the country for a city its size, but these tend to be known, and visited, individually. The parts don't equal the whole. The city doesn't have the arts reputation it deserves.

Can the iQuilt solve both problems? The iQuilt is a plan to connect Hartford's cultural institutions with pedestrian and bicycling routes running from the Capitol and Bushnell Park to the river, and then enhance the area with physical and programmatic improvements. The idea will be rolled out at a meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.