Williston Observer

Town still plans measures to slow vehicles

By Tom Gresham
Observer staff

A recent traffic study suggests vehicle speeds might not be out of control in the Brennan Woods neighborhood, countering the claims of some residents. However, the study will not impact town plans to install traffic calming measures in the neighborhood.

The study, which took place earlier this month, showed the vast majority of vehicles traveled at speeds between 23 mph and 30 mph on the Brennan Woods’ roads. Of the 542 vehicles tracked on five different roads, a total of just 28 were measured at a speed of at least 30 mph. Two vehicles on Hanon Drive were measured at 38 mph — the highest speed recorded.

Hanon Drive had the highest average speed in the development — 25.96 mph. Brennan Woods Drive, which attracts the most traffic, had an average speed of 25.04 mph.

“I’m surprised they were that low,” said Neil Boyden, Williston’s public works director.

Boyden said the vehicles were measured with a radar gun in an unmarked car. He said the method of measurement should have produced an accurate view of the nature of traffic on the roads.

However, the study took place during non-peak traffic hours — a requirement when developing speed limits, according to Boyden — and “the speeds would more than likely have been higher during peak hours,” he said.

Boyden said the speed study was not a comprehensive measurement of speeds, but it is “the best tool we have.”

Scott Hubbard, president of the Brennan Woods Homeowners Association, said he was not aware of the study, but noted that the neighborhood’s traffic problems stem from a small minority of drivers.

“I will say that (in my opinion) many people do abide by the speed limit when driving through the neighborhood,” Hubbard said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the few people that do drive very fast are causing problems by putting children at risk.”

Boyden said the result of the speed study would not affect plans to implement the traffic calming planned for Brennan Woods, noting the neighborhood still would benefit from calming measures.

Boyden said the recorded speeds appear to support a 25 mph speed limit. He said other factors will be considered when the town develops a speed limit, including the number of curb cuts, the number of pedestrians and the proximity of driveways.

Snyder Companies, the developer of Brennan Woods, still owns the roads. Town officials have said they will not accept the roads as municipally owned until Snyder has completed a checklist of improvements that the town does not want to fund. Once the town owns the road, it can enforce a speed limit and implement its larger traffic calming steps.

Boyden said he met with Snyder officials last week and much of the checklist has been completed. He expects the town to assume control of the neighborhood’s roads this summer.

Two Brennan Woods residents have told the Selectboard in recent months about excessive vehicle speeds in their neighborhood. In May, Fred Reiner said the combination of excessive speeds and a high volume of children meant a tragedy was “not a question of if but when.” This month, Stephen Casale, with his two children in tow, spoke to the Selectboard to highlight “the tremendous problem” of speeding at Brennan Woods.

Also, in a letter to Boyden this month, Hubbard noted, “We have many homeowners that are very concerned about this topic and ask often.”

Hubbard’s letter was a notice to the town that the neighborhood homeowners association formally accepted the traffic calming measures the town has planned for Brennan Woods. The measures include a four-way stop at the intersection of Brennan Woods Drive and Hanon Drive, and three speed tables, which are longer, flatter versions of speed bumps.

Boyden said the town would move to install the stop signs at Brennan Woods Drive and Hanon Drive as early as this week. Because the cost is minimal, he said the town is willing to set up the signs before assuming ownership of the road. On the other hand, the speed tables will cost approximately $10,000, according to Boyden. He said the tables could be in place this fall.

Hubbard said the traffic calming measures “will at the very least raise awareness.”

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Williston may offer more choices for older residents

By Tom Gresham
Observer staff

Twelve senior men and women lean over and reach for their toes with steady, sure arms. They move spryly and eagerly, smiling and cracking jokes as they bend. The mood is light and serene and tight-knit.

“You can see the difference of how much farther everyone is going on their stretches than they used to,” Del Borah says, as lowered heads nodded in agreement. “The progress is amazing.”

Borah and his workout partners were attending one of the sessions of the senior drop-in program that meets twice a week at Williston Federated Church. The program, which is sponsored by the town and the church, is the first municipal senior program in Williston to gain a steady audience, according to Recreation Director Kevin Finnegan.

The program’s participants and organizers hope it will serve as a first step toward expanded offerings for seniors in town, including, in the long run, the development of a municipal senior center.

“We’ve been trying to do something for seniors since I came here,” Finnegan says. “It’s mostly been hit or miss. But this has really been popular. We’re excited about it.”

The drop-in program has been running since September at the church’s Fellowship Hall. Exercise and socializing have been the central elements of the program from the outset.

The YMCA provided an exercise instructor for the program for free from September to January. The seniors have paid a small fee to help support the program since then.

The program meets Tuesdays and Thursdays and is open to senior Williston residents. Finnegan says each session typically draws between 12 and 20 participants. The overall list of participants includes approximately 40 names. The program largely draws participants from three Williston senior housing developments: Williston Woods, Taft Farm and Whitney Hill.

Participants say the exercise is critical to their health and provides an obvious benefit to their daily lives, making them feel more vigorous and capable.

For example, program participant Sharon Miles says she would not do the exercise on her own at home. The drop-in program gives her an incentive to get physically fit. Borah says the program helps prevent the seniors from submitting to a sedentary life.

“Besides,” Caroline Ford adds. “You get to see all these good friends.”

Indeed, the close companionship among the program participants was obvious at a recent session. Good-natured ribbing and understated signs of support were both prevalent.

The participants say they are eager to increase the drop-in program’s hours and activities. They would like to see the program venture into outings, like bus tours and luncheons on Lake Champlain, and a diverse variety of activities, like painting and Tai Chi.

Finnegan hopes the program develops into a place that can attract speakers on senior issues. The key, he said, is that the seniors participating will run the program. They will choose the type of activities that are featured, he said. He said it is similar to the way the town provides teenagers with a voice in determining municipal offerings for their peer group.

“I’d really like this group to set the direction for seniors’ programs here,” Finnegan says.

The participants said they were pleased to see the town developing a senior program, particularly in light of the extensive municipal offerings for youth.

“It’s important for us to have the town support its seniors, as well as all its young people,” Borah says.

Finnegan says a full-fledged senior center would provide a further boost for the town’s aging population. Senior centers are credited with helping seniors stay active, while serving to cure the creeping loneliness that can accompany advancing years.

Finnegan says he has toured the Charlotte Senior Center and seen the impact it had on the senior population there.

“If we could develop something here like that, that would be phenomenal,” he says.

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Signal light planned at Zephyr Road

By Tom Gresham
Observer staff

A promising collection of bids means the town should be able to move forward with plans to install a traffic light where Vermont Route 2A intersects with Paul Street and Zephyr Road.

The town received three bids on the project, including a low bid for about $199,000 from East Coast Signals, which is based in Deerfield, N.H. The company is operating in the state this summer on the Shelburne Road widening project and on the Winooski redevelopment project.

“I’m pretty tickled with that bid,” Public Works Director Neil Boyden said.

Boyden said a $199,000 price tag would compare favorably to the $165,000 cost of the last traffic signal erected in town at the intersection of Marshall Avenue and Harvest Lane two years ago. He said the Zephyr Lane signal will be complicated because of the heavy traffic flow on Vermont Route 2A and the intersection’s proximity to the signal at Taft Corners.

Most of the roadwork necessary to install a light was taken care of years ago when the Towne Place Suites was constructed on Zephyr Lane.

Pat Colbrun, an engineer with Lamoureux and Dickinson Consulting Engineers, will review the bids this week to make sure they meet the town’s qualifications. Boyden said he hopes to award a bid Friday.

Traffic signals have lengthy lead times, according to Boyden, and this project might not be completed until 2006. The town received its state permit for the project on May 9. It applied for the permit in 2003.

Williston residents had submitted a petition to the town urging the installation of a signal at the intersection. Many of those signing the petition had addresses at the Eagle Crest or Falcon Manor senior housing developments. Both are located near the intersection.

Boyden said the property owners at nearby Blair Park could shoulder between a half and two-thirds of the project cost. The property owners have permits with stipulations that would require them to contribute to the installation of the signal, Boyden said.

Once a bid is awarded, the town can formulate a specific dollar amount each property owner would be required to pay, Boyden said. A traffic study determined the amount of traffic generated by each property owner in Blair Park during peak hours. Fees will be assessed based on the study.

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By Tom Gresham
Observer staff

When Lara Dumond was hired to work in the Williston planning office, her job title was Conservation Commission Liaison. In the interest of brevity and clarity, that was later cut down to Conservation Coordinator.

The placard on her office door, meanwhile, reads Planning Assistant. And, when Dumond vacates her position next month to attend law school, her replacement in the planning office will bear yet another title: Environmental Planner.

The changing names of Dumond’s position reflect the shifting nature of the position during her year and a half in Williston. The scope of Dumond’s work expanded steadily during her stint, and the post will grow from a 30-hour-a-week job to a 40-hour-a-week position on July 1.

As Dumond said, the hours will change in description only. She has been working a full schedule since she arrived.

“There was always lots of work,” she said.

The direction of the work changed with a combination of the needs of the department and the abilities of the staff. Town Planner Lee Nellis said the planning and zoning department enjoys the flexibility to adapt, and Dumond’s versatility — Nellis calls her “phenomenally productive” — meant she handled a variety of responsibilities.

“It’s a small world here in Williston,” Nellis said. “We don’t find ourselves handicapped by job descriptions. We just do what we can do to do the job.”

When former Zoning Administrator Scott Gustin stepped down, Dumond began to work increasingly on zoning and development review questions, helping with what she said are the “overwhelming number of building permits, site plans and development applications.”

Then, after the town hired D.K. Johnston as Gustin’s replacement, Dumond ceded Historic Preservation responsibilities — one of her original core duties — because Johnston had a background in the field. It also allowed Dumond to focus more on writing grants. “Lara is a great grant writer and she brought in tons of money,” Nellis said.

Nellis said Dumond’s work in her position will color the responsibilities of her replacement, but he expects the position to continue to evolve based on the skills of the new hire. For instance, he or she will spend more time on stormwater regulations than Dumond did.

Dumond, who will attend the University of Utah in the fall, said she feels “like the current challenge for the town is coming to terms with the fact that it is no longer a small town and (needs to) make an investment in its municipal facilities and staffing capacity to handle the volume of development.”

She said the lack of “warm bodies” hurts the planning staff in enforcement of conditions of permits and with handling the volume of permits.

Dumond, who worked extensively on land conservation, also said she believes the town should work to preserve the town’s rural character by creating better incentives for large landowners attempting to make a living farming their land.

Dumond said her brother, a former UVM student, joked when she took the job in Williston that “I didn’t know they do planning in Williston.” However, Dumond said she felt from her first interviews that the town has “a solid vision for managing the inevitable growth of the town.”

“Williston is an interesting place and has a lot of challenging planning issues,” Dumond said. “It’s been an exciting place to work.”

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