How would the Circ Highway change your life here? (Burlington: lawyers, home)

[Sun Thinker]

For me, I drive 500 miles a week from Burlington, mostly interstate. Some days, 20 minutes or so of my 45/50 minute drive is the 6 miles trying to get out of Burlington. If fully completed, I'd be on the Circ and on my way in no time.

I try to picture what the traffic through Burlington and Malletts bay in Colchester would be like had this highway been completed. Now that Severance Corners development is in full swing, I try ever so hard not to look ahead as to what traffic will be like when that's done.

My vote is that the Circ Highway would increase the quality of life here exponentially. I know others disagree, and would like to here why.

[68vette]

I feel the Circ would make life better as well. I live in Malletts Bay and if my am or pm commute is delayed by 5-10 min. it can take 5 min just to get on Blackely Rd from our street and add another ten min. to get to the interstate. Traffic is only going to get worse as the area becomes more developed. A good example is this past week with the horrible road conditions, there was no way, or no easy way to get to the Bay from the interstate. They closed Sunny Hollow for about an hour and a half and we had no choice but to sit and wait. A car in front of us turned around to try and go through Winnoski to get past the Hollow, but by the time we got moving again we past him as he sat waiting in traffic to pull onto Blackely Road. I can say 100%, traffic in Colchester is going to get much worse with the Severance Corner development. They have not built most of the buildings going in there yet and the buildings that are built are not yet fully occupied.
I would like someone to prove to me how we can go without the Circ just in the Malletts Bay area. There is not only a traffic issue, but there is a safty issue as well. There is one main road( 2 lanes) going in and out of the bay (Blackely Road). The police dept and rescue are both located on Blackely and it's a joke when traffic is in full swing trying to see them get through all the traffic. We had a similar issue with building sidewalks in the bay a few years ago. It took someone losing their life for them to get built.

[j_jimerino]

There is no question the circ is needed. But lets face it, it is never going to get built. The system is rigged so that minority special interest groups can scuttle any plans for development no matter how badly desired it is. All trying to build anything these days accomplishes is some lawyers get paid.

So get ready to rot in traffic blowing exhaust fumes into the air every morning. Once my wife starts staying home and I don't have to match her regular hours to carpool I think I'm going to switch my work hours to 6-3. Its the only thing I can do, most people don't have the luxury though.

[Logs and Dogs]

Who's going to pay for it?

[mustmove]

Originally Posted by Logs and Dogs

Who's going to pay for it?

Haha VT has been misappropriating a large percentage of highway money for a long time. They could pay for it with fuel taxes but there are more important things in VT than the roads.

[harry chickpea]

Some of you might have played around with Sim City a few years back. The traffic aspect of it is surprisingly real. I lived in southeast Florida when the Sawgrass Expressway was under construction, drove it when it was first completed, and watched in amazement when it filled up.

I also have seen how I-89 changed over the years. A perimeter roadway generally does exactly one thing well, and that is to guide 18 wheelers out of the main city traffic. What isn't as obvious is that traffic is a fluid. Fluids build up pressure to a certain point and reach a critical point where new people avoid coming into the area. When you remove the bottlenecks, you gain a short period of time (generally on the order of 10 to 15 years) where traffic starts out as MUCH better, then quickly degenerates into the same traffic jams, but with more people involved.

During the transition period, the historic trade, industrial, and residential areas are forced into different roles. A neighborhood by an entrance WILL become commercial. Businesses away from entrances wither away. Property values change - not all for the better.

With the pent-up demand in the Burlington area, a perimeter road would be filled to capacity within five years.

[mustmove]

Build it, let it fill up then build another one. There will always be retail winners and losers based on external factors, businesses can move adjust or die same old same old.

[68vette]

One of the issues is that they continue to develope the smaller towns to the point that traffic movement is at a stand still. I'm not sure if you have ever driven down Blackely Rd during rush hour, but you sit in traffic for a long time. There isn't anything you can do with lights because there is only one light and it is green for a longer period of time on the Blackely Rd portion. Almost all of this traffic is going or coming from the interstate and it's residential zoning. There is no commercial property until you get into the bay. At least on the Colchester portion of the Circ, the chance of any of the residential zoning converting to commercial is about zero. The way it works now is the town sends out notification to the residents in the area and they have a voice in what can happen to the area. This past summer when one of the offices was going to redo the property, notice was sent to the residents to voice there opinion on the rehab.

[mustmove]

All of the adjacent landowners get notice of any Act 250 permits, out of state property owners as well. Anybody can stop anything in VT. Traffic stuff gets silly, Ludlow made a backroad one way and posts a cop there when the ski lifts close so no one can drive around and not past all the irresistible quirky VT quickie marts.

[Summerz]

Originally Posted by mustmove

All of the adjacent landowners get notice of any Act 250 permits, out of state property owners as well. Anybody can stop anything in VT. Traffic stuff gets silly, Ludlow made a backroad one way and posts a cop there when the ski lifts close so no one can drive around and not past all the irresistible quirky VT quickie marts.

Years ago Middlebury passed up a bypass,,,said it would take away from local downtown business, so for years now many local people won't go downtown unless they have to, since the traffic and parking is so bad.