Downtown-Basin Master Plan Events September 25-26, 2015
1. Walking Tours: Friday, September 25th, 5:30-7:00PM
- We’re going to walk through the study area and discuss ideas and issues. Key topics we want to get your input on include:
- Potential connections/improved connections between the Basin and Downtown
- What you see as barriers to economic growth in the study area
- What types of activities and amenities you’d like to see in the Basin area
- Choice of two routes:Each walk is about ½ mile (one-way)
- Walk #1: Job Corps/Weeks School via MacDonough Park
- Walk #2: Falls Park
- We’ll start and end at the Green
- Project staff will be wearing bright yellow vests
- Each group will have several disposable cameras for you to take pictures of
- What you like
- What concerns you
- What are potential obstacles for different people, such as kids, people using mobility devices
- Sometimes it’s hard to visualize how something like a bike lane might work, so we test it out for a day or so to help people understand how it might fit on the street.
- There will be an interactive pop-up kiosk at Falls Park to solicit people’s vision for the Basin area. The purpose of the kiosk is information exchange and presentation of project materials and potential concepts. The aim is to bring downtown to the Basin and vice versa.
- What are the demonstration projects?
- Bike lanes: Using spray chalk to make temporary bike lanes on VT 22A/Main Street, roughly between the Otter Creek bridge and East Street.
- Curb extensions: Using traffic cones and crates to shorten pedestrians’ crossing distances and their exposure to cars. For example, at corners like the intersection of Main Street and Green Street.
- Pedestrian refuge islands: Using traffic cones at crosswalks to calm traffic as it travels through downtown and give people crossing the street a small refuge from traffic.
- Local Motion has generously offered to share materials and supplies with us as part of their Better by Bike campaign.