This article is by Howard Weiss-Tisman of the Brattleboro Reformer, in which it was first published Jan. 16, 2015.
BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Highway and Utilities Superintendent Hannah O’Connell knows there is not much money in the state transportation budget for bicycle projects.
Each year the transportation budget gets tighter and the state’s aging roads, bridges and culverts usually account for a large part of the annual transportation allocation.
Still, with a greater focus on alternative forms of transportation, the Agency of Transportation is trying to make sure that when a dollar is spent, it is spent wisely.
VTrans has launched an interactive statewide study to determine where the busiest state corridors are for bicycle use. The Agency of Transportation is not making any promises about future funding opportunities, but rather is collecting the information so that when grants become available for improvement to bicycle infrastructure, the money is invested in the areas that get the most use.
O’Connell wants bicycle riders around Brattleboro to get involved and have their voices heard.
“The state is basically coming out and saying that there is not enough money to address every bike issue that comes up,” O’Connell said. “They want to know where the problems are so they can focus the money and I want Brattleboro to be lit up on their map so when there is money, we get some of it.”
VTrans is developing an On-Road Bicycle Plan to help state officials know where the most use is. The plan includes an online mapping tool, and will include a series of statewide meetings. After the state transportation officials collect the data they will rank the state highway corridors based on where bicyclists ride now and where they want to ride.
“We are trying to drum up a lot of interest in this,” O’Connell said. “It really has the potential of being a great program. We have a lot of people in town who use these roads to bike and the state wants to know about it.”
The plan includes an online WikiMapping tool to collect public input on the primary routes used, and those where there are obstacles to more bicycle use.
“The state really wants to look at which specific corridors are being used,” said Windham Regional Commission Senior Planner Matt Mann. “If they see parts of Brattleboro or Dummerston along Route 30 then they might make those investments to make it safer.”
Mann also cautioned bicyclists from expecting major investments in bike travel. But he said when the state is figuring out when to sweep a highway, add some road signs, or which highway bike lane to maybe expand, the data collected in the study will go a long way toward possibly bringing some of those investments to the region.
“This is how the state is going to find out where the heavily used routes are,” Mann said. “It is getting at a deeper level of real time data to find a way to improve the corridors that are getting used.”
In 2011 the Legislature approved a Complete Streets bill which directed funding and resources toward bicycle and pedestrian travel. Mann said the On-Road Bicyle Plan is an extension of that initiative to encourage greater planning and investments in non-vehicular travel.
The state will gather the data through the spring and then release its rankings of roads that see the most use and those which are most in need of upgrades.
The improvements could include signage, striping and widening.
“There are a lot of corridors that are not being used so the state wants to make sure that when a corridor is heavily used it is accommodating the level of activity when it can,” Mann said. “With the information they get, they can get a better handle on those corridors that people are using. This is an opportunity to go to the map and give public input. This is a way to be a part of the decision-making process.”
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be contacted at 802-254-23111 ext 279.
