Christopher - When would you suggest this project to happen? This is a 6+/- month project, it's not a 2 week deal. Asphalt plants are only open April through early December. It's not like you can opt to do it in November-April, when less cyclists would be outside. About the only complaint I'd have is that from an amateur's eye, it looks like they could have closed/detoured shorter sections, completed that work, then moved on to the next section. For example, stage equipment/supplies in the vicinity of Starr Farm, take the section from Starr Farm to North Ave Ext down, complete that section, keep everything else open. Then take Starr Farm to Staniford down. Etc. 6 sections that I see, a month each section, keep the rest of the path open while that specific section is being worked on. What's going to drive me nuts, and I'm sure a lot of other people too, is to see a big section closed and no work being done on it for weeks at a time.
Looking at where this park is located, the majority of the pedestrian traffic is on the diagonals, people cutting through from the corner of Main/St Paul northbound to Church St, or from College/St Paul southbound to Church/Main (or vice versa on those diagonals. Based on that, I don't see how meandering paths are going to work unless fences or prickly bushes force walkers to stay on those paths. For someone who is looking to hang out and enjoy the park, meandering paths might be ok.
I like the Parks & Rec design better, but I'd like to see the fountain stay. The quote "choked with leaves" indicates to me that appropriate maintenance isn't being done, so get on with it!
Tiki, are there really frequent accidents on North Ave? I've lived out there since 1990, drive the avenue pretty much daily, although not usually during rush hour. I hardly ever see any collisions, and when I do see them I don't see any difference in frequency or severity between those in the 4-lane area and those outside the 4-lane area. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a collision on North Ave. VTrans data says 219 "crashes" in the 4-year period of 2003-2007 in the 4 highest crash locations on North Ave. That would be about 1/week, but I certainly don't see 1/week. In an overlapping 4 year period, VTrans notes that 6 collisions involved pedestrians or bicycles. I wish VTrans would further define the severity of crashes... are we talking CRASHES or are we talking fender benders and minor bumps? I only ask because I have always expected to see more collisions on North Ave than I do.
The perception that North Ave is an unsafe street, I will grant you that perception certainly exists. If our leaders solved the issue of 2-lanes-into-1 at Shore Rd and installed some of those flashing yellow lights for pedestrians like Pine St has I think it would go a long way towards helping residents feel that North Ave is safer.
The critical distinction is in how you define "intern" vs "employee". To me, if you are working for a business as an "intern", the most critical part of that job is the educational experience you are receiving. That an intern is earning any pay is a bonus. While interns certainly do a lot of work that may be core to whatever business it is, the reason the position should exist with the title of "intern" is for that person to receive educational experience. If the job doesn't have that component, then the business shouldn't define it as an "internship".
From what I've read, the push to raise the minimum wage would apply to workers defined as "employees", but not necessarily to "interns". I don't see that as unfair - as long as the business isn't falsely creating "internships" that lack an educational component. As for Bernie, if this is the biggest issue the other candidates can put on him, they are in trouble!!
Re: “Green Mountain Transit: Driver Broke Protocol, but Actions Weren't Race-Based”
Hi Stella - I don't think GMT necessarily wants to be in the school bus business. BSD, being an urban district, doesn't run buses the way suburban and rural districts do, leaving the local public bus operator (GMT) to fill in that gap. As a public operator, I would say that GMT has even more ability to kick passengers off their buses than an internal school bus program would. Those that choose to utilize GMT as a transportation option, children or adults, have the responsibility to act in a manner that doesn't threaten fellow passengers, potentially damage the bus, or make a driver fearful of causing a problem on the road.