LEARN MORE ABOUT
Andrew Chalnick’s Campaign Priorities
LEARN MORE ABOUT
Andrew Chalnick’s Campaign Priorities
Vibrant Neighborhoods
Working towards a People-Oriented, Thoughtful, and Sustainable Built Environment
As a City Councilor I have worked hard to ensure the City’s built environment is safe, welcoming, walkable and bikeable, with a pedestrian-oriented downtown and neighborhood parks, recreation and open spaces accessible to all. I successfully advocated for increased funding for shared-use path and sidewalk maintenance, helped lead a “Safe Route to School” Task Force, supported our new Transportation Demand Management regulations, have been active in the roll-out of new shared-use paths and other infrastructure improvements, have been a vocal advocate for a City Center Green and am advocating for speed limits and other safety measures on our sidewalks and shared use paths.
Our commitment to community is probably why South Burlington was ranked the best place to live in Vermont and one of the best places in the country to raise a family.
Shared Use Path and Sidewalk Repair
When I was elected, many residents expressed to me concern over the state of disrepair of our sidewalks and shared use paths. Particularly for seniors and those with physical challenges, navigating uneven surfaces can be dangerous and limit mobility.
I learned in my first year on the Council that the budget for shared use path maintenance was $40,000 but for sidewalks it was just $2000! I pushed hard to get these increased, and we now budget annually $140,000 for shared use path and sidewalk maintenance. At the same time, we allocated funds for a study to assess the condition of our shared use paths and sidewalks to help us determine how to prioritize repair work. That assessment was completed recently and is linked here. The City will soon begin the work of repairing our shared use paths and sidewalks based on the prioritization.
Safe Routes to School
At the first joint City Council and School Board meeting that I attended there was excited discussion about unsafe conditions that students face when trying to walk, bike or roll to school. With my strong support, the Council and the Board jointly decided to form a Safe Routes to School Task Force on which I would be the Council representative. Through surveys and outreach, the task force has been hard at work identifying infrastructure-related barriers that dissuade students from walking, biking, and rolling to school, as well as suggestions for possible improvements – such as adding a crosswalks or traffic-calming measures, or hiring a crossing guard. These have now all been mapped here.
The task force also organized a “Neighborhood to School” greenway “pop-up” demonstration project to encourage more students to walk and bike to the middle and high school campus and partnered with the Recreation and Parks Department to offer the South Burlington Passport Program – Walk, Bike, or Roll.
Together with the findings from the sidewalk assessment, the work of the Task Force will inform the City’s ongoing maintenance and improvement plans for our sidewalks, shared use paths and roads. The findings of the Task Force will also help identify intersections where a crossing guard would be helpful (and the City has allocated $30,000 each year to help the School District fund crossing guards).
Transportation Demand Management
In 2024, we adopted transportation demand management regulations for new construction which are intended to incentivise residents to walk, bike or use mass transit. The requirements depend upon the anticipated change in peak hour vehicle trips and the congestion tolerance of the impacted roadways. Actions could include:
- Bike repair stations
- Showers and changing facilities
- Carpool spaces
- Park and ride spaces
- Carsharing on-site
- E-bike optimized parking
- Long-term bike parking
- Pedestrian amenities
- Bus stop shelter
- Multimodal wayfinding
- Public transit credits
- Joining the local transportation management association
Infrastructure Improvements
The City has been making tremendous progress in building out our bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and in making it safer to bike, walk and roll. Below are a few of the projects that have been completed during my tenure, or are in progress:
- In 2024, the City added two new crosswalks and pedestrian refuge islands along busy Williston Road last year and established a school zone at the Rick Marcotte Central School, along with a four-way stop at the Market Street and the Rick Marcotte school access road.
- In 2025, we implemented a new school zone, with lower speed limits, along Dorset Street in front of the middle and high school.
- Also in 2025, three new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) were installed on Hinesburg Road at Ruth St., Prouty Pkwy and Awasiwi Trail.
- Also in 2025, new striping on Community Drive created 10-foot travel lanes and bike lanes at least 6-feet wide along the whole road and improved speed tables on Ruth Street, Baycrest Drive, and Keari Lane.
- The new signals on Dorset Street take a big step forward in safety as all intersections now include exclusive pedestrian phases, meaning all vehicles will be stopped while pedestrians are signaled to cross Dorset Street or any of the side streets.
- Presently, work is being done on the City Center Park boardwalk, which is expected to be completed this spring.
- Looking ahead, the construction of a pedestrian-bicycle bridge over Interstate 89 is set to begin in 2026. The bridge will connect to the shared use paths on Quarry Hill Road and shared use paths planned for the south side of Williston Road.
- Also in 2026, construction is anticipated to begin on the Spear Street path, from Swift Street to the University of Vermont Forest Building, the Dorset Street path from Old Cross Road to Sadie Lane, and the Hubbard Recreation and Natural Area path from Nowland Farm Road to Upswept Lane.
- In 2026, construction is also anticipated to begin on a new shared use path along Hinesburg Road from Williston Road to Kennedy Drive.
Looking ahead …
As Council liaison to the City’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee, I encouraged the committee to bring recommendations to the Council for making our shared-use paths and sidewalks safer, particularly with more and more riders using electric bicyles. I look forward to their presentation and to making changes – perhaps a speed limit – to encourage safer riding.
As Council representative to the Safe Routes to School Task Force, I learned that the new push-to-walk buttons at our cross walks can be programmed so that when the walk button is pushed, the normal phasing of traffic is pre-empted, with pedestrians and cyclists getting priority for crossing. I would like to see this functionality implemented at some of busier intersections for pedestrians and cyclists, like the intersection of Dorset St. and Kennedy Drive.
I will work hard to ensure that the issues identified by the Safe Routes to School Task Force, and the shared-use path and sidewalk assessment, are prioritized, budgeted for and addressed.
I have been and will continue to be a vocal advocate for a park in our City Center that would anchor the downtown and would be a welcoming public space for music, a farmers market, festivals and other gatherings. My preferred location is across from the City Hall. A study of the feasibility of a City Center Green is here.
