Re: Winooski River Bridge

[Serrill Flash]

Zoraya,

Thank you so much for your clarifications. I did not make up the words I used- direct quotes from Walk Bike Council- about political will, decisions, and that a round about- was possible- if your are willing to install a one lane round a bout. Both Riverside Ave and Colchester Ave are one lane roads mostly (single lanes in both directions- so it seems the single lanes could feed into the single lane roundabout. My understanding is that the design team (hired by the CCRPC?) acknowledges the possibility of a single lane roundabout - not effecting any historical buildings.

I will share your words with the Walk Bike Council.

Thank you again

Serrill Flash

On Mar 2, 2024, at 12:04 PM, Zoraya Hightower <Zhigh...@burlingtonvt.gov> wrote:

Hi Serrill, 

The council hasn't voted on this yet. DPW gave a presentation on it that was the same presentation the public received. They told us they hadn't made the changes yet based on public input for consistency's sake but that they were planning on doing so. I think I was one of the few councilor's who spoke and I made it clear that when this came to us for a vote I wanted to see a narrower bridge and protected bike lanes. 

My understanding (and I know Gene's understanding) was that a roundabout was not possible on the Burlington side. It's certainly also what I want so it would be nice to understand where the discrepancy is coming from. But again, council has taken no action on this so there was no 'lack of political will' 

Zoraya 
     

<Outlook-y3h4uc4d.png>

---

From: Serrill Flash <serril...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, March 1, 2024 4:49 PM
To: City Council <cityc...@burlingtonvt.gov>
Subject: Winooski River Bridge

 

[Some people who received this message don't often get email from serril...@gmail.com. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]

[ WARNING ]: This email was sent from someone outside of the City of Burlington.


Good Afternoon

During the last Burlington Walk Bike Council meeting I learned that the design I desire was thwarted by political will(Burlington City Council) rather than the design team.

Apparently a round a bout on the Burlington side of the bridge is possible with out effecting historic structures. A two lane motor vehicle bridge (one lane each direction for motor vehicles) with  protected bike lanes separate from pedestrians leading to a one lane round a bout on the Burlington side is doable.

I believe it is time to act for the future (next 100 years for the bridge- similar time line for other city infrastructures). All of our Net Zero goals for energy, carbon increases, and traffic fatalities demand forward thinking and action. Build for the future, not just for today. Having potentially fewer motor vehicles speeding into our city feels like a good goal. Let us make real our speed limits and goals for a city more interested in walkable, bike able, and mass transit. It seems our city and planet would gain from fewer single occupancy motor vehicles.

It is likely not too late to change your minds.

I encourage you to reconsider the design of the Winooski River Bridge.

Thank you

Serrill Flash Ward One

Please note that this communication and any response to it will be maintained as a public record and may be subject to disclosure under the Vermont Public Records Act.

[Phil Hammerslough]

I really appreciate reading the comments about the roundabout; reminds me of Tony Redingtons’ valiant struggle to get planners & engineers to accept roundabouts as a way to calm traffic and give people a greater value than the automobile, or at least on an equitable parr for the safety of travel on our roads.  I also appreciate building for a future where active transportation  is given the opportunity to thrive and more money is spent on infrastructure to enhance walking, biking, a walkable environment  aided by public rather than private transit.

One could imagine light rail going between Burlington and Winooski on Colchester Ave. to eliminate the need for wider roads and parking garages in their downtowns. 

Regards,

Phil

On Mar 2, 2024, at 1:23 PM, Serrill Flash <serril...@gmail.com> wrote:

Zoraya,

Thank you so much for your clarifications. I did not make up the words I used- direct quotes from Walk Bike Council- about political will, decisions, and that a round about- was possible- if your are willing to install a one lane round a bout. Both Redington’s valiant fight t 

anColchester Ave are one lane roads mostly (single lanes in both directions- so it seems the single lanes could feed into the single lane roundabout. My understanding is that the design team (hired by the CCRPC?) acknowledges the possibility of a single lane roundabout - not effecting any historical buildings.

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "Burlington Walk/Bike Council" Google Group.
 
This is an open, welcoming forum for participants to discuss biking and walking in Burlington, Vermont. Posts are not moderated or reviewed. Please keep posts brief, do not repeat previous authors' points, and keep all comments civil. Participants who do not adhere to these requests will be contacted by the list moderator(s) and, ultimately, if the failure to adhere continues, messages will be moderated.
 
The BWBC meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month, usually in the Department of Public Works Conference Room at 645 Pine Street, Burlington. All are invited and encouraged to attend. For agendas and minutes, visit https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/bwbc/agendas.
 
To post a message, send your message to burlingto...@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Burlington Walk/Bike Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to burlingtonwalkb...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/burlingtonwalkbike/CE6A1B08-BFD4-462A-8A44-FFF74966219B%40gmail.com.

[Evan]

My general recollection was that VTrans didn't want to do a single lane roundabout, because their traffic modeling showed they needed to design for 2. If their sign off is not required, and a one lane roundabout is possible that would be great.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/burlingtonwalkbike/B01A1AC8-C2BD-40D2-98B8-3145DF72A163%40gmail.com.