Town Plan

BRATTLEBORO – Oct. 3, 2014: The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) invite Brattleboro businesses, employees and homeowners to attend a community forum on October 15 to learn about a project studying the Whetstone Brook and to gather community input on ways to protect business and the local economy from future floods.

The community forum is the first step in a project called the Vermont Economic Resiliency Initiative or VERI. The VERI project is designed to help Brattleboro evaluate the flood risk to business and infrastructure (roads, bridges, utilities), and identify the steps Brattleboro and the state can take to minimize rebuilding and recovery costs and ensure businesses stay open—saving jobs and protecting the economy. The project is modeled on the success of a similar project in Bennington that reduced the flood impacts of Tropical Storm Irene and saved the town and businesses millions of dollars in economic damages.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions for the future life of Melrose Terrace. They came via email, mail, phone, in person, and here on ibrattleboro. Some are practical, some fanciful, some a bit tongue-in-cheek, but we asked for all ideas. There were a few that have not been included because they clearly were sarcastic comments on the process and those involved.

The ideas seemed to run on a continuum – leave it as for housing or another use to modified to active open space to natural open space to complete redevelopment. Many of the ideas blend between the categories. Many ideas are similar but all have been included because they have a slightly different approach.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

What is really behind the battlelines over this park? Is any decision a good decision? Over time the amount of skatepark comments on iBrattleboro really overwhelmed its readership; it also exposed one of the deepest rifts seen in this microcosm of our community.

How could such a small community be so glaringly and bitterly divided for so long over what should have been a relatively simple matter?Two recent columns in the Reformer make the case for Elm Street as well as I’ve read anywhere on this topic of a skatepark site. Is it too late, or will we really putting this park out at Living Memorial?

The Department of Public Works has closed Lower Green Street from Retting Place to High Street until further notice. An exception of the Lower Green Street entrance from High Street will temporarily be two way traffic only to allow entrance to the side of the building located at 22 – 26 High Street. There will be no through traffic allowed.

A stone retaining wall below lower Green Street is failing and the roadway is being closed for public safety.

Today (Monday) a section of Harmony Parking Lot will be closed so D&E Tree can remove trees on the bank between the Harmony Lot and Green Street. The parking lot is expected to be fully opened by noontime today.

The Green Street road closing and tree removal are all part of an immediate public safety plan.

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, September 13, 2014. These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, September 13, 2014, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I- 91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Somewhere in the Klingon neutral zone, a ship of civilians reels and thrashes on the verge of destruction. A distress signal is sent out to all sectors. A Starfleet commander in the vicinity picks up the cry for help, and ponders his next move. If he rescues the ship, the act will surely be seen as a forbidden territorial intrusion, unleashing hostility. If he does nothing, the innocent inhabitants of the vessel will surely die. What is the correct call?

For the sake of a little galactic perspective, let’s rouse the development division, and contract a rewrite.

August 26, 2014

Paving on the four remaining streets of Birge, Guilford, Chapin and Grove has once again been delayed by the contractor and is now scheduled for Thursday, August 28.

Brattleboro Public Works

For the last couple weeks people all over the area have been giving suggestions for the re-use of Melrose Terrace. They have been posted here, emailed, phoned, mailed, word of mouth. We will be collecting and collating them all on Tuesday morning, Sept 2. So don’t wait, get your suggestions to us. whzldl6i

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, August 9, 2014.

These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, August 9, 2014, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Night work on the new bridge will continue at the columns on Route 30. Night work will occur Sunday night, August 3 through Friday night, August 8.

July 25, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE

Paving work on a section of Western Avenue is tentatively scheduled for the third week of August. A contract with The Lane Construction Corp was approved by the Selectboard last Tuesday. The State has agreed to reimburse the Town for work on this class 1 road up to $150,000.

The area we are working on begins near Brattle Street, west to Edward Heights. Only the traveled portion of Western Avenue from white fog line to white fog line is being resurfaced. First a milling machine will remove ¾ inch of existing asphalt along each fog line, tapering to 0 at six feet in. Then this area is resurfaced at an average depth of ¾ inch, raising the center line depth and matching flush at the fog lines.

It has been reported elsewhere that the Selectboard will do prospective skatepark site visits on Monday Aug 4th, from 5:30 to 7. They’ll be going from Elm St to Crowell, then Living Memorial Park.  It was requested that skaters attend to provide input. I am unable to attend, so I’m providing my feedback here. I’ve been thinking about this—again—lately, confounded whether to shut up, or push through to the end, come what may.

It seems to me for a fully informed view, the Selectboard has the opportunity to see three skateparks, all within an hour, that show a working model of each of the current options on the table. Keene, Northampton, Fitchburg. Respectively: a steel and steely downtown park, a new concrete plaza in a green space adjacent to homes, and a varied terrain multi-featured skate facility within the town’s mixed-use recreation center, also set in a residential neighborhood. But I don’t expect these visits to happen. And besides they only provide a snapshot of what goes on in the moment. Skatepark energies and usage vary like New England weather.

Calling all area residents!! Get your creative thinking caps on. The future of Melrose Terrace needs some attention and it is starting with you.

As we all know, Melrose Terrace in West Brattleboro was severely impacted by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Right after the Storm, BHA’s Commissioners pledged to repair Melrose so its residents had a place to live while BHA worked on creating new housing so that these residents would no longer be in a floodway. Plans are under way to construct a new 55 unit facility to be ready in January 2016. Plans will also be developed to move the other 25 units, the Brattleboro Housing Authority offices and maintenance building by 2018 at the latest.