Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 1, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 11 FOCUS infrastructure bill. I think there is a good chance that Democrats will have an opportunity to be in charge of the House next year and infrastructure will be a top priority. Democrats are pushing for a large and innovative infrastructure invest- ment, and I've introduced the Amer- ica Wins Act that would institute a pollution tax — making our air and water cleaner to breath and drink — that would raise $1.8 trillion over 10 years with the majority dedicated to investing in infrastructure. It's an idea that has support from Repub- licans and Democrats in Congress. That's my favored approach but it's not the only way to do it. You can use innovative finance and project deliv- ery mechanisms like design-build. Make no mistake about it, this is a federal issue and we will get federal funding. Q. You recently had officials from Se- attle visit Hartford to share their ex- periences with a recent tunneling project in their city. What lessons did you learn from them? A. Seattle faced many of the same challenges as Hartford. They had an aging highway viaduct that divided the city and walled off the downtown from the waterfront of the Puget Sound. On top of that, they had a flood issue with a sea wall that had to be repaired. They opted for a bored tunnel that will open to traffic soon. Next, they will tear down the viaduct and create a 20-acre waterfront park in its place. Most importantly, it took a con- centrated effort that was led by the community. We learned that the bored tunnel wasn't the first alternative they considered. They debated replacing the viaduct, building a cut-and-cover tunnel, and simply removing the viaduct. Bob Donegan of Ivar's restau- rants, who led the business commu- nity, told us that replacing the viaduct would have shut the city down for at least five years, which was unaccept- able. The business community and the voters rejected the other alternatives and rallied in favor of a bored tunnel that allowed for a turnkey operation. The benefits to Seattle will be enor- mous. They have already seen $1 bil- lion in private investment in the area. Businesses were able to stay open during construction and will now be able to thrive and grow without the noise, pollution and the barrier of a viaduct in the way. hopeful the company will take them up on the offer. "We'd love to have Zipcar on our property, and those two spots are read- ily available to them," Kemp said in an interview. "Some of our residents don't have vehicles, so I think there's great value in having a Zipcar partnership." Second try Back in 2015, the possibility of Zipcar coming to downtown looked promis- ing. Officials from the company even told Hartford Business Journal about their intention to bring cars to the area, including possibly at Union Sta- tion, but talks fizzled. The city hasn't had any recent discussions with Zipcar, according to a city official. The company currently has a foot- print in Hartford through its partner- ship with Trinity College. Zipcar first brought two of its vehicles to Trinity in 2008. Those cars are available to any customer, but Trinity students and faculty are able to join Zipcar at a discounted rate. Zipcar also brought 10 cars to the University of Connecticut's flagship Storrs campus two years ago. In an effort to raise awareness of the need for Zipcar service, Cherolis' Transport Hartford Academy recently surveyed nearly 200 people who live and/or work in downtown Hartford. Respondents choosing from six locations said 777 Main and Union Station would be the most convenient spots for the short- term rentals. While specific details are slim and no firm commitment has been made by Zipcar, Cassidy of Business for Downtown Hartford said she's happy that talks seem to have been reignited. She also pointed out that the city's decision last year to remove zoning rules that set a minimum number of parking spaces for new buildings could lead to more carless residents who might use Zipcar. "(There are) people I know who live downtown, and don't have cars," Cassi- dy said. "With the new zoning laws that don't require parking I think the trend will be people not having cars." PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Zipcar riders use a "zipcard" to unlock their rentals. 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