St Paul Street looking north from King Street in late June, when it was scheduled to be finished. Now DPW expects the work to be completed by the end of September. VBM file photo.
Vermont Business Magazine Below is a statement from Burlington Public Works regarding the Great Streets St Paul project and proposed modifications to the St Paul & Maple, and St Paul & King intersections in downtown Burlington. The information was presented at Tuesday night’s Burlington Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee meeting where a motion was passed unanimously to support DPW’s proposed modifications.
Complaints about the project have been several, but mainly centering on the length of the project and the narrowness of the turning lanes, along with the height of the curbing. Some drivers have noted that they can't make the turn without scraping the edge of their car and others have noted that the turn requires backing up of either the car making the turn or the one waiting at the stop sign to allow room for the car turning in.
The project was supposed to be completed last June and then by the end of August and now the end of September on the $4.9 million project. Not just drivers have complained about the length of the project and the logistics, but businesses along St Paul and sidestreets have complained that they've lost business because of the work, which closed parts of St Paul as the infrastructure was upgraded.
BPW: “As the City’s first “Great Streets” project, St. Paul Street represents a vision of a downtown that is a more vibrant, walkable, and sustainable center for Burlington. The improvements to St. Paul Street through this project include curb adjustments to create shorter and more visible crossings for pedestrians and discourage truck traffic through neighborhood streets; wider sidewalks to better accommodate walking and outdoor seating; permeable pavers and rain gardens to capture and filter stormwater and help protect Lake Champlain; new trees with soil cells and large planters to support future growth; buried utilities; durable and sustainable materials; and more. The Great Streets initiative and the project on St. Paul Street build on more than five years of community planning and project development, including the public vote in March of 2015 to use the City’s downtown TIF district to make new investments in downtown infrastructure.
"This is the City’s first Great Streets project, and while most of the improvements are working well, we have listened to concerns from members of the public about the intersection of St. Paul and Maple Street. Following careful evaluation by our engineers and project designers, we are proposing modest, but impactful changes to widen the reconfigured geometry of this intersection (focused on the southern crossing) and to “chamfer” the granite curb to make it less sharp. We will also chamfer the curb at the intersection of St. Paul and King Streets. This work will begin shortly. With these alterations, we believe we can address concerns to allow for more fluid movement of vehicles and still accomplish our project goals of enhancing pedestrian safety, improving the balance between uses of the public right of way, and creating more vibrant downtown streets.
"In the long-term, we are confident that – much like the dramatic change of closing Church Street to vehicular traffic a generation ago – these improvements to St. Paul Street will help create a more livable city.”
Source: Burlington Public Works 9.17.2019