Committee Releases Top 7 Recommendations

The Citizens' Committee on the Champlain Parkway met three times this spring to develop recommendations for making the Parkway design work for everyone -- neighbors, businesses, and cyclists/pedestrians alike.  At each meeting, we combined and prioritized suggestions made at the two community meetings that launched the process.  At our last meeting on May 17, we came up with a list of seven top recommendations that, if incorporated into the design, will make the Parkway work better for the South End as a whole.

The recommendations are:

ENHANCE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.  Eliminate obstacles and prioritize safety for children walking or biking to school at all locations where routes to area schools (Champlain, Christ the King, and Edmunds) follow or cross the Parkway corridor.

EXTEND THE SHARED-USE PATH.  Build a shared-use path along the west side of Pine Street from Lakeside Avenue northward that extends the path already planned for the southern portion of the corridor to downtown and the waterfront.

CREATE SAFE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS.  Install pedestrian crossing buttons that stop traffic in all directions and eliminate broad, sweeping curbs at key pedestrian crossing locations (including Parkway and Home, Parkway and Flynn, Parkway and Sears, and Lakeside and Pine).

ENSURE SPEED AND NOISE CONTROL.  Design the entrance to the Parkway such that traffic speed declines to 30 mph by the time vehicles pass Pine Street, and incorporate traffic calming and noise abatement measures throughout the corridor to minimize speeding and traffic noise (especially from trucks).

IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW.  Incorporate traffic lights and left-turn lanes as well as dedicated northbound left-turn signals at the intersections of Pine Street with King Street and Maple Street.

INCORPORATE PLANTINGS AND STREET ART.  Include diverse and abundant plantings along the entire route as well as seating, pocket parks, and sites for street art throughout the corridor (particularly at bus shelters).

MANAGE CONSTRUCTION EFFICIENTLY.  Hire a dedicated liaison between the lead contractor and the business community who has the skills and the knowledge to answer questions and resolve problems quickly and effectively.

Click here for an online PDF of these recommendations plus an overview of the committee process.

The members of the committee -- all of whom are listed below -- unanimously endorsed these recommendations:

Basil Vansuch         
Member, Ward 5 NPA Steering Committee; South End resident

Brian Waxler            
Executive Vice President, Pomerleau Real Estate

Elisa Nelson              
Moderator, Ward 5 NPA Steering Committee; South End resident

Ella _____                
Fifth-grade student, Champlain Elementary School

Jason Van Driesche  
Education and Safety Manager, Local Motion; South End resident

Jon Shenton              
South End resident

Kate _____              
Fifth-grade student, Champlain Elementary School

Liz Segal                  
Owner, The Lamp Shop

Louise Stoll              
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation; South End resident

Rick Norcross       
Owner, Airflyte Productions; South End resident

Roy Feldman            
Director, SEABA; South End resident                          

Will Flender              
Member, Burlington Walk-Bike Council; South End resident

The committee also compiled a list of additional recommendations from the community meetings that would also enhance the project, but that did not make the "if you forget everything else" list above.  To view the additional recommendations, click here.