City of Burlington applies for Act 250 permit for 'Champlain Parkway'

The City of Burlington announced that it will file its Act 250 permit application for the Champlain Parkway project today. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss will accompany Department of Public Works staff to the Act 250 Regional District Office, 111 West Street in Essex Junction, to file the application. The application is expected to be filed at 2:30 pm.
The Champlain Parkway will construct and rehabilitate approximately 2.4 miles of roadway, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities commencing at the interchange of I-189 with US 7 in the City of South Burlington and extending westerly and northerly to the intersection of Pine Street with Main Street within the City of Burlington’s City Center District (CCD). Between Home Avenue and Lakeside Avenue, new roadway will be constructed on already acquired right-of-way. From Lakeside Avenue to Pine Street and terminating at Main Street the Parkway will use existing roadways, and construction will consist of rehabilitation and improvements to the existing streets. The roadway will consist of one lane in each direction with turn lanes and traffic signals at certain intersections. Pedestrian facilities include sidewalks, shared-use paths, cross-walks and actuated pedestrian phasing at signalized intersections. Bicycle facilities include the shared-use paths and on-road components.
The Parkway was initially designed in the 1960s as the ‘Southern Connector’ with the intent of re-routing truck traffic from neighborhoods in Burlington’s South End going to the Pine Street corridor and points downtown. It is one of the few remaining road projects in the country with a 95 percent federal funding share, with 3 percent and 2 percent provided respectively by the State of Vermont and Burlington. The total estimated cost of the project is $20 million.
The Champlain Parkway today continues to maintain the purpose of re-routing truck traffic from neighborhoods in the South End while also promoting improved traffic flow, enhanced pedestrian and bicycle amenities, stormwater mitigation, and economic development. The project runs through the heart of the City’s south end/Pine Street business corridor.
Leading up to today’s Act 250 application, the City completed the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the project in the fall of 2009, the Federal Highway Administration issued a ‘Record of Decision’ (ROD) for the project on January 14, 2010, and the City held a series of public informational meetings about the project in May and June of 2010. The meetings focused on 4 areas: (1) environmental issues; (2) mobility issues; (3) neighborhood and community issues; and (4) economic development.
For more information about the project go to: http://www.champlainparkway.org/. Architect's rendering, Stantec.