Vermont Standard 2/5/15
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
KILLINGTON — When the subject of West Hill Road came up at the Feb. 3 select board meeting, everyone present seemed to have an opinion. The planning commission requested the board review the width of the road and its shoulders, and they got what they asked for.
West Hill Road travels generally southwest from Route 4 up a steep incline and meets Killington Road near the top of West Hill. Historically, the road has been used as a cut-through by drivers who seem oblivious to speed limits when the road is clear, and to winter’s dangers when the road is covered with snow and ice.
“We used to entertain ourselves watching cars slide off the road and into the ditch!” said Vito Rasenas, laughing. Rasenas lives on West Hill Road.
According to the director of highways and facilities, Chet Hagenbarth, the surface had become so bad that the town plows couldn’t clean the road properly.
“The crown was so high and the ruts so deep we had to try to use salt to melt the snow and ice. When it was three inches thick that just didn’t work.”
So last summer, when the road was resurfaced, the town decided to slow people down.
“The paved surface is 24 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said. “We reduced the lane width from 13 feet to 11 feet, with a one-foot shoulder on each side. The idea is that when drivers realize they are on a narrow road, they tend to reduce their speed.”
That’s apparently when the letters started arriving at town hall complaining that West Hill Road was unsafe because it was too narrow.
Town Manager Seth Webb explained that the new configuration complies with the Agency of Transportation requirements that a 25 mph road has to have lanes at least 10 feet wide.
“The only reason we didn’t make the lanes 10 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said, “was because I am a coward. I knew there would be complaints if we went from 13-foot lanes to 10-foot lanes, so I striped the road at 11 feet! If a driver is going 25, a 10-foot lane is perfectly safe. That is, if he’s going 25 mph!”
Resident Charlie Holland spoke up.
“I’d like to point out that West Hill Road is a main thoroughfare. That’s the reality,” he said. “Every winter we’ve had drivers going too fast lose control and come sliding down the hill sideways. When the road was 26 feet wide, there was room to get out of their way. Now you can’t.”
Hagenbarth assured Holland that there has been a reduction in the number of cars being stuck since the road was resurfaced and its lanes narrowed.
“It seems to be working. People are being more careful.”
Selectman Chris Bianchi, who is a trustee at the athletics-emphasizing Killington Mountain School, pointed out the town is home to a sizeable population of high-speed racing cyclists, many of whom use West Hill Road for conditioning and practice.
“I know,” he said. “I’m one of them.”
Bianchi pitched for two-foot wide shoulders to allow room for cyclists to pull to the side when approached by cars on the road.
“One foot just isn’t enough space,” he said. “One slip and you go down in the ditch.”
Hagenbarth said narrowing the lanes to the minimum 10 feet without changing the road at all could provide wider shoulders. He also suggested adding millings to the sides of the road, a material made up of recycled asphalt that isn’t hard enough for general vehicle travel, but is often used to pave berms for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The board decided to respond to the planning commission by passing along its suggestions.
Standard Correspondent
KILLINGTON — When the subject of West Hill Road came up at the Feb. 3 select board meeting, everyone present seemed to have an opinion. The planning commission requested the board review the width of the road and its shoulders, and they got what they asked for.
West Hill Road travels generally southwest from Route 4 up a steep incline and meets Killington Road near the top of West Hill. Historically, the road has been used as a cut-through by drivers who seem oblivious to speed limits when the road is clear, and to winter’s dangers when the road is covered with snow and ice.
“We used to entertain ourselves watching cars slide off the road and into the ditch!” said Vito Rasenas, laughing. Rasenas lives on West Hill Road.
According to the director of highways and facilities, Chet Hagenbarth, the surface had become so bad that the town plows couldn’t clean the road properly.
“The crown was so high and the ruts so deep we had to try to use salt to melt the snow and ice. When it was three inches thick that just didn’t work.”
So last summer, when the road was resurfaced, the town decided to slow people down.
“The paved surface is 24 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said. “We reduced the lane width from 13 feet to 11 feet, with a one-foot shoulder on each side. The idea is that when drivers realize they are on a narrow road, they tend to reduce their speed.”
That’s apparently when the letters started arriving at town hall complaining that West Hill Road was unsafe because it was too narrow.
Town Manager Seth Webb explained that the new configuration complies with the Agency of Transportation requirements that a 25 mph road has to have lanes at least 10 feet wide.
“The only reason we didn’t make the lanes 10 feet wide,” Hagenbarth said, “was because I am a coward. I knew there would be complaints if we went from 13-foot lanes to 10-foot lanes, so I striped the road at 11 feet! If a driver is going 25, a 10-foot lane is perfectly safe. That is, if he’s going 25 mph!”
Resident Charlie Holland spoke up.
“I’d like to point out that West Hill Road is a main thoroughfare. That’s the reality,” he said. “Every winter we’ve had drivers going too fast lose control and come sliding down the hill sideways. When the road was 26 feet wide, there was room to get out of their way. Now you can’t.”
Hagenbarth assured Holland that there has been a reduction in the number of cars being stuck since the road was resurfaced and its lanes narrowed.
“It seems to be working. People are being more careful.”
Selectman Chris Bianchi, who is a trustee at the athletics-emphasizing Killington Mountain School, pointed out the town is home to a sizeable population of high-speed racing cyclists, many of whom use West Hill Road for conditioning and practice.
“I know,” he said. “I’m one of them.”
Bianchi pitched for two-foot wide shoulders to allow room for cyclists to pull to the side when approached by cars on the road.
“One foot just isn’t enough space,” he said. “One slip and you go down in the ditch.”
Hagenbarth said narrowing the lanes to the minimum 10 feet without changing the road at all could provide wider shoulders. He also suggested adding millings to the sides of the road, a material made up of recycled asphalt that isn’t hard enough for general vehicle travel, but is often used to pave berms for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The board decided to respond to the planning commission by passing along its suggestions.
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