The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room and over Zoom. The agenda has been amended to accommodate an additional request.
Beginning Monday, July 15, 2024, DMI Excavation, a contractor hired by the Town, will be replacing the southern section of sidewalk on Western Avenue between Edward Heights and Greenleaf Street. This project is expected to take several weeks.
Crews will be working Monday through Friday between 6:30am and 6:30pm daily. There will be no on-street parking during this project and motorists should expect heavy delays in the area and seek alternate routes. Bicyclist and pedestrian traffic should use caution within the work zone and also seek alternate routes. Temporary walking paths will be established where necessary.
The Brattleboro Selectboard took issue with new costs of a bridge project requested by an earlier board, and sent VTrans back to their offices without an approval for their design of the Western Ave bridge replacement near Melrose. VTrans is invited back when the project won’t cost the Town quite so much. No one mentioned the increases that will inevitably occur between now and 2028 when the bridge is scheduled to be completed.
The board also took up some start-up and general housekeeping issues. New Chair Daniel Quipp pledged earlier meeting end times and more public participation in the coming year.
A relatively easy first official Brattleboro Selectboard meeting for new Chair Daniel Quipp is scheduled for Tuesday. The Consent Agenda is ample, there are some board rules and assignments to take care of, and there will be some discussion of the recent Representative Town Meeting.
The big discussion could be that the board might use property taxes to pay for matching costs associated with replacing the Rt 9 bridge at Melrose Place. The Town’s share has risen from half a million to $1.6 million since 2021.
You can once again, one assumes, bring up any other item not on the agenda during public participation.
The Utilities Division of Public Works will be performing an emergency sewer main repair in the area of 735 Western Avenue on Tuesday, February 27. The work is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am and will require alternating one lane traffic with flaggers. Motorists should expect delays in the area and seek alternate routes.
Due to emergency work, Western Avenue between the two ends of Meadowbrook Road will have alternating one-way traffic with flaggers tomorrow, February 6, 2024 starting at 8:15am and going on for most of the day.
Central Station and Station 2 were dispatched at 23:28 on a first alarm to 1178 Western Ave. for smoke on the second floor. Ladder 1 arrived on the scene at 23:32 and FF Chase Ibey reported heavy smoke showing from the second floor of a two-story wood framed structure and requested that a second alarm be dispatched. Ladder 1’s crew stretched a hose line to the second floor to encounter a heavy smoke condition and located the fire in the kitchen/living room area. Engine 2 arrived on the scene and assisted with water supply,fire suppression and ventilation. The fire was reported under control at 00:01.
The Town of Brattleboro is in the process of striping bike lanes onto Western Avenue from the intersection with High Street to Allerton Avenue. The project is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed this fall. Drivers should pay attention to the lane shifts and are reminded that no parking is allowed in bicycle lanes.
Starting on Sept. 19, the Department of Public Works began the process of marking bike lanes, installing signage, and adding new crosswalks on Western Avenue at Greenhill Parkway and on Western Avenue at Green Street. A rectangular rapid-flashing beacon will
also be added near Allerton Avenue.
1. Minutes – March 16, 2023
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Incidents– For March
4. Monthly Report on Traffic Data Collection – For March
5. Safety Action Requests
(a) Speed Concerns along Guilford Street – Kim Effron
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, October 20, 2022 over zoom.
The Brattleboro Selectboard got into a rather detailed discussion of DV Fiber’s plans to provide high speed internet throughout southeastern Vermont. It stated out as a simple request for some closet space, but expanded into a description of the network and coming plans for service.
The board also approved a grant application for housing assistance and accepted a grant for bike paths.
A light agenda awaits the Brattleboro Selectboard at their first meeting in September – accept grant money for bike lanes, assist Windham & Windsor Trust, and help out DV Fiber.
You can add weight by bringing up other matters not on the agenda during public participation.
Over this past Summer I have noticed more and more squirrels visiting our feeders showing up with nasty/raw wounds and punctures right above or behind their shoulders where you might expect a target shooter/sniper to aim and fire a B-B or pellet gun site to do the most damage. There are an increasing numbers of these squirrels now along with an amputee, one blinded in one eye, and one shot near an ear that is deformed with paralysis so this particular squirrel has a lop ear making him look like Yoda (Yes we call him Yoda). I know they are attacked or even eaten once in a while by other wild animals no matter how willy or fight aggressively among themselves, but this would only explain some amount of pervasive suffering here we see these days.
AGENDA
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Minutes – June 16, 2022
3. Public Participation
4. Monthly Report on Pedestrian and Bicycle Incidents – For June and July
5. Monthly Report on Traffic Data Collection – for June and July
6. Street and Sidewalk Safety Policy Safety Action Requests
The Brattleboro Selectboard held one of their longer meetings in some time. The public was active! Complaints about downtown crime, lack of action on climate change, and open meetings kept the board busy until after 10:30pm.
Of note, the Town acknowledged their violation of open meeting protocols and adopted a new two-part process to make sure it won’t happen again. This wasn’t enough for most people, who wanted a more detailed accounting of the EMS decision making process.
The board changed RTM districts to conform with state updates, adopted Utility and Parking budgets, and poured luke-warm water on a suggestion to bring back the electric trolley.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will emerge from another Executive Session to do something that isn’t done very often – update the boundaries of the voting districts in town, which will change representation at Representative Town meeting. This update is to conform with adjustments recently made by the state.
The board will also take up the Utility Fund, Parking Fund Budget, raises, and the Depot Street parking lot project. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
As part of the ongoing Melrose Terrace Flood Plain Restoration Project, beginning on Monday, April 18, Zaluzny Excavating Company will be installing a box culvert on George F Miller Drive, forcing all traffic to use Melrose Street. Temporary traffic lights have been set up at the intersection of Western Avenue and Melrose Street for traffic control. The traffic lights will be put in service when the project begins on Monday, April 18 and will be in place for approximately two weeks.
On Friday, April 8, the western leg of Williams Street, near the Vermont Country Deli was reduced to one way traffic due to a washout on the west side of the street. To improve visibility and reduce hazards, the traffic pattern has been changed to only allow traffic to exit Williams Street onto Western Avenue on this side of the Deli. Vehicles will no longer be allowed to enter Williams ST from the west side of the Vermont Country Deli.
Motorists should plan to use alternate routes while repairs are being planned and completed.
The Brattleboro Selectboard did some final tinkering with remaining FY23 budget items, with a discussion about bike paths and whether waiting six months is worth $16,000.
They approved some sidewalk improvements, Human Services requests, and a tax stabilization idea to encourage solar projects on already-developed land was discussed and sent along to RTM.
Speak now or forever hold your peace – on the FY23 budget. The Brattboro selectboard will be doing a final look at the FY23 budget they plan to send to Representative Town Meeting for consideration. Also for RTM, they will also review the annual Human Services funding request, consider an article to allow tax stabilization for alternative energy projects, appoint officers, and review draft warnings for upcoming elections and meetings.
The board will also have a public hearing for some safety improvements and hire a company to do some sidewalk repair. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
