Windham Region Towns Awarded VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding
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Two towns in the Windham Region were awarded funding in the most recent round of VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian grants for projects that will improve bicycle and pedestrian mobility in the region.
Newfane was awarded more than $500,000 in funding for the restoration of the existing sidewalks in the village, as well for the construction of new sections of sidewalk along Newfane Common and along the southern end of the village to Loop Road. This project will also create a raised crosswalk across Route 30 at the intersection of Court and Jail Streets adjacent to the Newfane Country Store, as well as add three conventional painted crosswalks across VT-30 within the village. This construction grant is the result of several years of collaboration between the town of Newfane, VTrans, the Windham Regional Commission and the consulting firm Dubois & King. This project had previously been scoped and designed through a grant from the VTrans Transportation Alternatives program that provided detailed designs that will be used as the basis for the sidewalk construction project.
Newfane is a central commercial and cultural hub for the West River Valley and the deteriorating condition of the existing village sidewalks, along with the lack of a dedicated crosswalk on VT-30, pose serious mobility challenges in the village. This sidewalk and crosswalk construction project will greatly improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians in Newfane as well as support local commercial and civic institutions.
In addition to Newfane being awarded funding for sidewalk construction, Guilford was selected for a sidewalk scoping study in Algiers Village. Algiers is one of the largest villages in the region that lacks dedicated pedestrian infrastructure. The lack of sidewalks and crosswalks on Route 5 pose significant safety risks for residents and visitors and limit access to the commercial and cultural amenities in Algiers. As one of many towns in the Windham Region with a state highway serving as the main street in the village, Guilford was long limited in their ability to initiate improvements along Route 5 in Algiers. This grant application was a collaboration between the town of Guilford, in particular the Algiers Village Traffic Safety Committee and the Windham Regional Commission. This funding will be used to create a detailed study of potential sidewalk and crosswalk locations along Route 5 in Algiers village and provide a cost estimate for construction. This study can then be used as the basis for a future application to the Agency of Transportation for construction funding.
In the past two years, a total of 5 Windham Region towns have been awarded funding for various improvement projects through the VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian program. This grant is a great opportunity for towns to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in your community and promote overall mobility as well as economic and cultural vitality in our many downtowns and villages. If your town has a potential project that might be a good fit for this program, the Windham Regional Commission is available to work with you on developing a grant application. Please reach out the Windham Regional Transportation Planner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to discuss a potential bicycle and pedestrian project in your community.
