Rutland Herald
About 40 to 50 people, many of them local business owners,
met Wednesday at the Killington Pico Area Association Welcome Center on
Wednesday to begin developing a plan for Killington Road, a process Town
Manager Chet Hagenbarth said would take about a year to complete.
“The hope is we get as many people involved throughout the process,” Hagenbarth said. Once complete, the plan will allow the town to access various funding sources, such as state and federal grants, to pay for projects.
The
town is using VHB, a civil engineering firm based in South Burlington,
to help the Planning Commission develop the Killington Road plan.
Evan Detrick, project manager for VHB, said his company will gather all the data already collected on the road and add to that. VHB will look at past traffic studies, conduct its own and use drones to create new maps.
Killington Road runs from Route 4 up to Killington Ski Resort and is lined with dozens of businesses, many of them restaurants and shops related to the recreation industry.
“We’re so excited about this process, a lot of the comments are things that would be great,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Ski Resort. “One thing I want to point out, when we went through the last study I know one of the comments we were looking at was taking it from two lanes to one lane downhill; I think we have some concerns with that. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. One of the things was, they seem to only study it in the summer, and we do 800,000 skier visits and 200,000 summer visits.”
He said whoever collects traffic data for this project should make sure they look at it during a time the resort is busy. Solimano said the two days following Christmas would be a good time.
Other people at the meeting wanted VHB to explore options for bicycle lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks for visitors traveling between restaurants, electric vehicle charging stations and bus shelters.
Detrick encouraged people to offer any idea they had, with the understanding that not everything would make it into the plan.
Some
said the plan should explore pedestrian tunnels, the feasibility of
burying utility lines, and a roundabout, although these would likely be
expensive.
“We’re sitting here thinking the cost is astronomical, impossible; let’s find out,” said Planning Commission Chairman David Rosenblum. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Hagenbarth said there will be more meetings and more opportunity for public input. Any future work on Killington Road would likely be done in phases.
Preston Bristow, interim town planner, said people with ideas for the Killington Road plan should reach out to him at the Town Office. From there he can forward comments and ideas on to VHB.
keith.whitcomb
@rutlandherald.com
“The hope is we get as many people involved throughout the process,” Hagenbarth said. Once complete, the plan will allow the town to access various funding sources, such as state and federal grants, to pay for projects.
Evan Detrick, project manager for VHB, said his company will gather all the data already collected on the road and add to that. VHB will look at past traffic studies, conduct its own and use drones to create new maps.
Killington Road runs from Route 4 up to Killington Ski Resort and is lined with dozens of businesses, many of them restaurants and shops related to the recreation industry.
“We’re so excited about this process, a lot of the comments are things that would be great,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Ski Resort. “One thing I want to point out, when we went through the last study I know one of the comments we were looking at was taking it from two lanes to one lane downhill; I think we have some concerns with that. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. One of the things was, they seem to only study it in the summer, and we do 800,000 skier visits and 200,000 summer visits.”
He said whoever collects traffic data for this project should make sure they look at it during a time the resort is busy. Solimano said the two days following Christmas would be a good time.
Other people at the meeting wanted VHB to explore options for bicycle lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks for visitors traveling between restaurants, electric vehicle charging stations and bus shelters.
Detrick encouraged people to offer any idea they had, with the understanding that not everything would make it into the plan.
“We’re sitting here thinking the cost is astronomical, impossible; let’s find out,” said Planning Commission Chairman David Rosenblum. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Hagenbarth said there will be more meetings and more opportunity for public input. Any future work on Killington Road would likely be done in phases.
Preston Bristow, interim town planner, said people with ideas for the Killington Road plan should reach out to him at the Town Office. From there he can forward comments and ideas on to VHB.
keith.whitcomb
@rutlandherald.com
No comments:
Post a Comment