Liam Griffin was pedaling his bike on South Winooski Avenue in front of Burlington’s Pure Pop Records when a bus stopped in front of him to pick up a passenger.
Griffin started to pass the bus on the left, but when the motorized vehicle pulled back into traffic, it clipped Griffin’s front bike tire, sending him sprawling. The fall cracked his helmet and tore up his jacket, but he avoided serious injury.
The close call nine years ago was one of a handful Griffin has had on the downtown street, which has no bike lanes.
“That is not a fun section of road for anyone,” Griffin said. “People should be able to make reasonable choices about how they want to get around town and not think, Oh, am I going to die if I do this?”
City planners have finally heeded his call. Recently released designs are intended to improve safety along North and South Winooski avenues, one of only a few roads that runs continuously through downtown, between Riverside Avenue and Howard Street. But the proposals are meeting resistance, especially from those with businesses along North Winooski Avenue in Burlington’s Old North End. Like other recent city street makeovers, this one improves conditions for pedestrians and cyclists at the expense of parking spots, generating pushback from those who drive.
The Winooski Avenue proposals are preliminary but could go to the Burlington City Council by early next year. Concepts call for adding bike lanes to both sides of the 1.7-mile road, which would remove 121 parking spaces — more than one-third of the spots along the entire stretch. The changes are worrisome enough that nearly two dozen representatives from local businesses called an emergency meeting earlier this month to air their grievances to city officials.
“The idea of taking 10 places away is kind of horrific at this point,” April Werner, a proprietor of North End Studios, said during the November 6 event at nearby Butch + Babe’s restaurant.
“We can’t even talk about some of these other improvements when we have this basic problem,” Werner continued. She noted that it is the businesses themselves that are making the area “more of a destination.”
Young professionals have moved into the once blue-collar neighborhood, bringing with them eateries and amenities. Across the street from Butch + Babe’s is a 4-year-old apartment complex that’s home to a first-floor yoga studio. Around the corner on Riverside is Pizzeria Ida, where a cheese-and-tomato calzone will cost you $25 and a plain cheese pizza goes for $33. Knead Bakery, which serves vegan fare, opened last year.
While the hip new spots attract their fair share of bike-riding, climate-conscious clientele, the business owners worry that the parking reduction would impact their bottom line.
“The option that’s being presented doesn’t feel collaborative or like a win-win,” Butch + Babe’s owner Kortnee Bush said, adding that 80 percent of her customers come by car.
The city began an official corridor study back in February 2018, but Burlington Public Works Director Chapin Spencer said upgrades have been discussed for decades. Safety is a major concern: The stretch has six high-crash locations, areas with a collision rate higher than the state average for comparable roadways. Ten percent of all vehicle crashes citywide between 2013 and 2017 happened along the avenue, which has been identified as problematic in several city plans and studies dating back to 2000.
RSG, a consulting firm hired by the city and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, came up with 13 proposals for segments of the corridor. All include bike lanes. Some propose traffic-calming measures, such as mini roundabouts at dangerous intersections, to make travel safer for pedestrians. One plan maintained all 340 parking spots but would have eliminated the street’s greenbelt — the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the road. That would have required relocating utility poles and rebuilding curbs, a costly proposition that was ultimately nixed.
In the business owners’ worst-case scenario, the Old North End would lose 109 parking spaces between Riverside and Pearl Street, just short of half the parking stock on the heavily traveled stretch. The 87 spots between King and Howard streets would stay, but 12 spaces between Main and King streets would go.
If enacted, the plan would be the most ambitious makeover for a city stretch since 2016, when officials started a pilot program that reduced 0.8 miles of North Avenue from four lanes to three and installed bike lanes. Project opponents petitioned to stop it and convinced the city council to put an advisory question on the ballot that March. The measure was defeated by a wide margin and, in 2017, the bike lanes became permanent. A traffic study found commute times increased by three minutes, but there were fewer crashes overall.
More recently, the city has begun its Great Streets initiative on downtown roadways. The plans eliminate dozens of parking spots and create narrower streets, but they widen sidewalks and include bike lanes.
Griffin, the bike commuter, has lived in the New North End for six of his 20 years in the Burlington area. He owns a vehicle but primarily uses his cargo bike in town, even to shuttle his two kids to their school in the Old North End. He participated in the North Avenue study but thinks the Winooski Avenue corridor will be more contentious because of parking: The city removed 157 spaces from North Avenue, but they were only used 3 percent of the time. On Winooski Avenue, the parking utilization rate averages 68 percent, according to Burlington’s senior transportation planner, Nicole Losch.
And while far more Old North Enders walk to work than their northern counterparts, they’re also more than three times as likely to live in a multiunit dwelling than a single-family home, according to data from four U.S. Census tracts in the neighborhoods. Griffin estimated that there are more cars per housing unit in the Old North End than elsewhere in the city, and not every rental includes off-street parking.
That’s the case for 22-year-old David Dalton, who lives on a one-way section of North Winooski. The triplex where he lives can house up to eight people, but there’s only off-street parking for six vehicles. It’s difficult to find on-street parking, Dalton said, though he supports the city’s efforts to create sustainable transportation options.
“They’re doing the right thing,” he said. “Whether that right thing is convenient for me is a different issue altogether.”
Just up the street from Dalton’s place is the Mawuhi African Market, which has its own parking woes. On a recent snowy afternoon, shop manager Charles Narh and a customer, Jackie Abeneto, complained that clientele for North Winooski’s new restos have crowded out parking.
“It’s good you have all the varieties around, but if you come and have nowhere to park, it becomes a problem,” Narh said.
Abeneto, who lives in South Burlington, said the market draws shoppers from as far as St. Albans and Montpelier. They need a parking spot nearby when they’re hauling bags of groceries, she said.
The same is true down North Winooski at Feeding Chittenden, according to Rob Meehan, the food shelf’s director. Many clients have physical disabilities, Meehan said, and the 10 spaces in its lot are usually full.
“Folks who are struggling just to get by are going to have a harder time without places to park,” Meehan said. He’s called city officials multiple times to register his concerns.
Other locals brought theirs — about alternative transportation and reducing carbon emissions — to a November 13 meeting at the Old North End Community Center. “It should have been done years ago,” Jason Van Driesche, the former deputy director of cycling advocacy group Local Motion, told the packed room. “This is the right plan, and it’s the time, and it needs to happen.”
Another attendee agreed: “I’m scared biking on Winooski Ave. I cannot safely bike there,” he said. “And I’m scared of climate change. This is a serious issue.”
Public Works’ Spencer said officials are taking the feedback seriously. The city council’s transportation committee will review the concepts before the full council considers them in early 2020, after the draft report is issued. Already, the city has committed to doing an in-depth parking study before any paint touches the pavement.
That’s not good enough for some. Christopher Adams, an employee at Dolan’s Auto, told his fellow business representatives at the November 6 Butch + Babe’s meeting that the issue should be put to a citywide vote instead of being left to the whims of officials.
If councilors get to decide, he said, “We’re all gonna be screwed.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Park or Ride | Burlington reacts to a Winooski Avenue redo that could eliminate 121 parking spots”
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This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2019.
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I can’t wait to ride my bike when it is -10 and icy. Personally I believe cars should not be allowed in the winter on the streets. They could slide into some unsupecting biker.
When are we going to realize that the streets of Burlington are for bikes only.
The city of Burlington is for bike safety?
Have you seen the sign on South Winooski Avenue just north of Howard Street that says bicyclists can ride against one-way traffic?
That’s safe?
The public-works director needs to be replaced – ASAP.
The Burlington City Council must act swiftly to redo Winooski Avenue. Parking is an emotional issue for a vocal minority of people (mostly those with too much free time). Serve the majority!
The fix is in . The consulting firm hired by the city “came up with 13 proposals for segments of the corridor. All include bike lanes.” .
This plan is more greenwashing by the Mayor as a cover to get traffic in and out of the downtown quicker. Two way traffic on N. Winooski Av ,as depicted in this sketch is something the Church Street oligarchs have wanted for a while now. It is less safe for the locals but Miro is unconcerned, of course, because the locals are mostly poor folks whom he wants to displace out of the ONE so it can be gentrified. Depriving the Food Shelf of parking or putting a traffic rotary there makes that intersection intentionally unsafe for those who use the Food Shelf. The 3 way stop works fine as it is.
Those restaurants mentioned like Butch and Babes, plus the Chubby Muffin, Taco Gordo, Pizzeria Ida, et al , were never meant to serve their immediate neighbors, they are for the cool, groovy hipsters and more affluent folks who want to go bohemian. This is all part of Miro’s plan to economically cleanse the Old North End of its lower income residents, which is the bedrock of DNC neo-liberal economics, the kissing cousin of greedy scorched earth RNC economics.
An interesting contrast to the removal of on street parking is the contention by planners who say that developers don’t need as much parking as they are required to provide (Butch and Babe’s/Redstone). South Burlington recently relaxed parking requirements for new developments. Winooski would like to do the same. Where do all the cars go? Onto the streets, of course! Removing parking and taking back the streets for ALL users seems right. If there are safer places for folks to walk and bike, more people will walk and bike no matter the weather.
Established routes for cyclists are underused. Traveling up and down North St. many times each week, folks on bikes are seldom seen. The rec path remains more desirable. Then there is “The Wiggle”, the greenway through the ONE with speed bumps, “temporary” bump outs and impossibly cramped intersections. And always plastic warning posts. Have those who drive city buses, recycling trucks and snow plows been asked about how difficult these barriers make their jobs? For that matter, anyone attempting to assess the added expense of these inconveniences to the city? As a tax payer, I would like to know and have more of a voice in these decisions. I have requested several times for information on various initiates yet received no response. Regarding “The Wiggle”,they, for example, state that they will compare before and after cyclist traffic to determine the route’s effectiveness. When asked for the before data (which I doubt even exists), I received no response. Regarding Winooski Ave. proposals: one of the longer term options is for the city to entirely remove the greenbelt on the western side between North and Pearl. The little bit of green space and trees folks have would be gone for the sake of what would appear a green initiative. Residents use to a green buffer would now immediately be met with a busy street. Going on and one with pent up frustration as the mayor moves forward with what outwardly appears to be progressive initiatives while city streets and sidewalks are not maintained. How about we start with making sure people especially the young and elderly can use our sidewalks without tripping or slipping due to uneven or poorly maintained surfaces. And safe roads without potholes that were never repaired from last winter. Let’s start with the basics.
I’m okay with bike lanes for where it makes some sense. But I think the minority bike lobby has overreached, buoyed by having one of their own leading the DPW.
Be honest: The mayor puts a bike helmet on his head whenever he wants to hand developers a way for them to gain more units per square foot. Higher density residential development suits his donors and his worldview. The fact that this article opens with the views of Liam Griffin, who I would characterize as THE biggest bicycle advocate in the city, is telling.
I wish the bicycle lobby would be honest and just admit that there are only a limited number of riders that will bike all year and even during the summer as their primary source of transportation. And that the amount of infrastructure we create for them should be commensurate with their usage. Like much development, they will argue if you build it, they will come… but in this climate? You might see a slight increase. But not enough to warrant the large expenditures and the loss of business and inconvenience for residents.
They are a minority lobby that is well heeled and active enough to wield undue influence. And that is what makes me most uneasy.
I wish there was more honest disclosure regarding the vote and scam forced on the New North End (NNE) regarding the bike lanes and restructuring the traffic to 2 lanes from 4 with a center turning lane. Almost everyone who lost on street parking was ignored and while there might be a few bike riders who do use the special lanes, there is no mention about handicapped drivers & elderly who can’t ride bikes and need parking spaces. Nope, the fix is in, no comments or resistance will be cared about, it’s coming and you better grab your ankles.
Ok so it’s obvious that Miro doesn’t care about what people think or want.. He just thinks that he’s right all of the time! Let the people ride their bikes on the sidewalk like in the old days before the cops came up with the new idea they could make money off tickets for making riding them on the sidewalk illegal.. And I almost shit my pants when I read a plain cheese pizza for $33 dollars.. But Miro is determined to make Burlington into the big city he so much wants! I could say a lot more but the only other thing is that I’m handicapped myself and this mayor not caring about that drives me batshit and all I can do is hope he gets voted out of office! If I write anything else it will be considered to be hate mail that would be against the terms of service..
And Happy Thanksgiving everyone🍽
More jargon-laden conspiracy theories by a class warfare poster who hates it that some people who want to live in Burlington have jobs and money. Sorry, young professionals, youre not allowed to live here!
Why in the world did this pass through the editors: “Around the corner on Riverside is Pizzeria Ida, where a cheese-and-tomato calzone will cost you $25 and a plain cheese pizza goes for $33” The language is unflattering and disingenuous. It seems like a jab against a popular business, whom I am a regular patron of. Their “plain cheese pizza” is laden with high quality ingredients. It is a sentence that has nothing to do with the issue at hand; the author seems to have a hard bias against this specific enterprise.
The other day, I was out riding my $1,000 bike to pick up my $33 cheese pizza, and I saw a poor person! I couldn’t believe it. I thought we had those removed?!
And happy Thanksgiving, Gil!
Hi there, Sumpty – “jargon-laden conspiracy theories” right back atcha.
[Though I was not the guy who wrote the Objectionable letter.] Positive suggestions? Got any?
I don’t think it would take a miracle for this city to work for everyone, but…pretty close.
It’s understandable that there’s tension between different levels of society, but we’ll never have just One level. I would hope that “young professionals” can find a place here soon, and housing Is being built.
Poor old professionals want places too, and so does everyone else.
I do find it hard to believe the $33 pizza!
I am definitely getting old…when I started eating pizza in Brooklyn, it was 15 cents a slice. Sigh…
Maybe the city could safe money and not allow any cars within the city limits. Create a large parking lot and have bike stalls for people to ride. it seems that is the way the city is going, they are just doing it small pieces at a time, which costs more money.
I just saw something on here put out by wcax that a city worker said regarding parking. He said there are a lot of empty parking spaces in Burlington on the streets! I would like to know where????
Hi Gil,
I heard that line about the parking a few years back – they did a survey. Turns out that when people go to work, their driveways are unused parking spots! Also, when you are far away from downtown, it’s easier to find parking – and you’re still in the city limits. Does that answer your question?
I smacked my forehead when they announced that, but I suppose they’re still saying it?
I really wonder sometimes how much city planning is enacted just to give Handy’s more towing business…