[B]URLINGTON — Orange cones blocking off sections of Pine Street and cars maneuvering around open pavement foreshadow the long-awaited start to construction next year of a roadway connecting I-89 and Route 7.
The City Council adopted a resolution Monday night to move forward on the Champlain Parkway, a $30 million federal project that had been on the drawing boards since 1965, when it was called the Southern Connector.
The resolution, passed with only a single dissenting vote, enables the city to seize portions of private land and compensate the owners. The state Agency of Transportation has already been in talks with a number of landowners.
“This is going to be a step forward on the long-running Champlain Parkway saga,” City Council President Kurt Wright said in introducing the resolution.
In order for the city to seize the land, the council had to establish that the “public good” — in this case, the parkway — required it. The council recently held a necessity hearing and toured the proposed route by bus.
Attorney Judith Dillon, representing Fortieth Burlington, owner of the Innovation Center on Lakeside Avenue, argued that the hearing was void because her client had not been given individual notice.
However, the city attorney’s office said that all those requiring individual notice had been informed and that notifications had been published in local papers and posted on the city website.
Max Tracy, the sole councilor to vote against the resolution, said he felt the plan came up short in its approach to a bike lane along the route. He said that as a result, the project did not warrant “taking people’s property.”
“It really feels like a missed opportunity,” Tracy said. “While it hasn’t been nothing in terms of bike-pedestrian infrastructure, it’s certainly not ideal.”
In April, both Public Works Director Chapin Spencer and Mayor Miro Weinberger said the city had been given assurances by VTrans that improvements could be made once the initial work was completed. That would include such adjustments as improved bike infrastructure.
Tracy took issue with that approach, describing it as “building one thing and knowing that it’s not going to work and having to go back and say, oh we can fix it later on.” He said he would have supported the resolution if there had been more attention paid to its impact on cyclists and pedestrians.
The impending start date of the project has caused a stir among some residents. In March, the Pine Street Coalition pledged to sue the city and the state if they did not conduct a new environmental impact statement. The group claims the census data used when creating the design for the project is 20 years old.
Weinberger said in an April interview that his administration has included more elements to the project, making it more bike and pedestrian friendly. He also said that the city would lose funds and be open to liability if it did not go through with the project.
“After many years of work and taxpayer expense, permits are in place and it’s time to get the road built,” the mayor said.
