Hinesburg
Trails Committee Minutes
Issued:
Updated:
Wednesday,
Place:
Time:
Came to order:
Adjourned:
Present:
Unable to attend: Cathy Ryan
Special guests and Public: Jane Sheldon (Committee Member in waiting), Steve Fisher
1) Minutes of February meeting approved
2) Resignation of Bobby Kennett, due to health and family issues. Bobby's resignation was accepted with regret. Jane Sheldon was chosen to replace him, subject to formal approval by the Selectboard.
3. Trail Trekking
Articles for the
THISTLE HILL TRAIL COMPLETION by Michelle Fisher for next
issue of the Record due by
There was a discussion on getting our articles under the “Trail Trekking” masthead on a continuing basis so the community will have a focused place to look at our activities. Jane said she would work on this.
4. Committee members
were invited to attend the Select Board meeting being held on Monday, March 22nd
for Town Committee Chairs of all the Town’s Committees at
The agenda for this meeting is:
Meeting with Chairs of
Volunteer Boards/Commissions/Committees
Over the past month, the
Selectboard has been discussing the role of volunteer
boards/commissions/committees in our Town government, and how to support the
important work and input these groups provide. Our goal is to ensure that
a structure exists where these various groups can work collaboratively and
constructively to the benefit of our community, and we believe that the most
effective first step to achieving this goal is to provide an opportunity for
dialog between the Selectboard and you, the Chairs, to get your feedback and
input on a variety of issues.
To that end, we invite you
to a special meeting on Monday, March 22nd at 7:30 pm in the Ground
Level Conference Room of Town Hall. Proposed agenda items for this
meeting include:
§
Discussion of a protocol for providing input
to other boards (i.e. – the DRB)
§
Methods of communication between boards, and
between boards and the community
§
Establishing annual work plans
§
Levels of staff support available for
volunteer boards
§
Review of statutory language relating to
quasi-judicial and advisory boards
§
Review of mission statements – are revisions
warranted?
§
Support & training for chairs as team
builders and leaders
5. National Trails WORK DAY, Saturday JUNE 5 Possible project: completion of the Russell/Thistle Hill trail system: signage----kiosk entries and other work as Howdie Russell might suggest. (Stew to call Howdie). Jason volunteered to head this up and we are planning to use our funds for the needed materials as well as our stock of trail direction signs. Jane suggested that we work up items that children could help with to spur more townspeople to help us out as “worker bees” on this day.
6. Volunteer
recognition dinner, Wednesday, April 22nd, town hall, 6:00 to
7. Report for Planning Commission - COMPLETION OF TOWN PLAN
Lenore presented the work of
her subcommittee (Greg and Launa) concerning the narrative review and map
requested by Alex and the Planning Commission.
These two works were received
with acclamation. The committee also authorized Lenore and her other
subcommittee members to act on the Trails Committee to provide the requested information
to Alex and the Planning Commission, tweaking information and wording as
required, without going back to the full Trails Committee for input.
Narrative
In 2007 the Select Board established the
Hinesburg Trails Committee, charging it with the mission “to support the
development and maintenance of an interlocking set of trails and dirt roads for
recreational and non-motorized transportation uses. The Committee will work to assure that
Hinesburg is a community where sidewalks, trails, and unpaved roads provide a
safe way for residents to travel, to connect with each other, and to enjoy both
the village and surrounding rural area by foot, bicycle, and on horseback.”
Within and proximate to the village area,
sidewalks and bike lanes provide alternate transportation options between the
village and commercial centers, creating a friendly, walkable community.
Outside the village area, unpaved roads and
trails provide opportunities for walking, biking, horseback riding, skiing, and
snowshoeing. Both formal and informal
trail networks exist within both state owned and locally conserved parcels and
between village and rural residential centers.
The primary trail networks are within the “Old”
One of the major transportation and recreation
challenges facing Hinesburg is to stitch together the existing sidewalks,
unpaved roads, public trails, and private trails into a safe, well thought out,
interconnected system. The challenge is exacerbated by 1) existing paved roads,
which deter travel by foot, bicycle, and horseback because, almost without
exception, they lack sidewalks, bike lanes, wide shoulders, signage, etc., and
2) lack of legal access to private unpaved roads for purposes of public,
non-motorized recreation.
Future
Sidewalks and Trails
Future sidewalks and trails in the Village are
shown on the Official Map adopted by the Select Board in 2009.
In 2006 the Trails Committee began the process of
planning a town-wide network of interconnected sidewalks, trails, unpaved
roads, and pedestrian-friendly paved roads by identifying major gaps in the
existing system. In 2009 the Committee
sought public input via a trails charrette, which focused on identifying
residents’ priority recreational destinations and connections. What has begun
to emerge is the concept of a trail network that looks a bit like a wagon wheel
with the village being the hub, a peripheral trail near the town boundaries as
the rim, and connections between the village and the peripheral trail serving
as the spokes. The “rim” trail would
connect popular destinations such as the “Old”
Objective 3.4 To strive for safe and well-designed transportation
systems; to develop and expand a sidewalk network; and to encourage development
of alternative systems such as trails, bike paths and greenways.
Objective 3.4 To strive for safe and well-designed
transportation systems including an interconnected network of sidewalks,
trails, bike paths, and greenways.
5.4.1) To optimize management and use of existing
Town recreational facilities and programs.
·
Maintain ownership and control of the
·
Investigate posting
or other measures to reduce the adverse impacts of ATVs, mountain bikes and
similar recreational uses in the
·
Explore creation of an Official
Map and/or Capital Program that includes present and desired future recreation
areas and facilities. Create
an Official Map that includes present and desired future recreation areas, facilities,
and trails.
·
Evaluate Town recreational needs in cooperation with the school to
allow for joint use whenever possible.
·
Make Recreational activities easily accessible to pedestrians by
linking the resources of the Town Hall, playing fields, schools, parks, and the
Library.
·
Recognize that class 3&4 dirt roads are used extensively for
recreational activities such as walking, biking, and horseback riding. Ensure that these uses are considered when
road improvements are made. Maintain
public access to all town road corridors, active or inactive.
·
Work with the VT Department of Fish and Wildlife to facilitate use of
state-owned land for recreation and hunting, including
the development of trails.
·
Develop a trail system connecting all public lands and private conserved lands, when appropriate.
5.4.2) To seek additional
recreational facilities to serve Town residents.
·
Conduct a study of current and future recreational needs and identify
locations for parks and other facilities, paying particular attention to
high-density residential areas.
Coordinate with willing landowners to explore recreational uses on
privately conserved lands (e.g., land trust holdings).
·
Identify and plan for recreational paths that link residential areas to
the Village (see also 6.7).
·
Explore mechanisms for making private unpaved roads
available for public, non-motorized recreation.
·
Work with the local snowmobile club to open snowmobile
trails in Hinesburg to skiers and snowshoers.
Sidewalks and Bike Lanes: Within and proximate to the
village area, sidewalks and bike lanes provide alternate transportation options
between the village and commercial centers, creating a friendly, walkable
community.
Rural Footpaths: Outside the village areas,
both formal and informal networks of trails exist within both state publicly owned and locally conserved parcels and
between village and rural residential centers.
Most state
owned land is NOT conserved, i.e. not protected by conservation easements. One important component of these
networks is the VAST (VT Assoc. of Snow Travelers) trail system for
snowmobilers. VAST trails do not fit under the heading of “Rural
Footpaths.” Landowner permission has
been obtained only for WINTER access by SNOWMOBILES (i.e. not for walking,
skiing, snowshoeing.)
While
the majority of transportation concerns challenging Hinesburg are due to motor
vehicle traffic, alternative transportation networks such as sidewalks, bike
paths, footpaths and trails also must be addressed to create a more walkable,
friendly community. (p. 54) In many instances paved roads are impediments to
non-motorized transportation because they provide no accommodation for
pedestrians, cyclists, etc.
·
Work with the State to Implement the Route 116 Scoping Study
Recommendations for Route 116 from Buck Hill through to
·
Whenever improvements to major paved roads (e.g. Rte, 116,
·
When appropriate, coordinate road improvements and path
development with adjoining towns (e.g. Charlotte).
·
Implement suggestions from the Route 116 scoping study for the village
to create a walkable community
·
Investigate providing additional crosswalks, cross walk markers /
signage at the town hall, and other points.
·
Implement current plans for bike paths between
·
Develop a sidewalk or recreation path system along
·
Consider upgrading class IV roads to
class III roads to benefit town connectivity and create alternate
transportation paths between arterial highways and rural arteries
·
Improve selected Class IV roads to function better as recreation
and alternate transportation paths as components of the town-wide network.
·
Coordinate the formation of Develop
a system of footpaths and trails throughout the town in conjunction with
the rural development portions of this plan.
·
Include provisions in the Subdivision and Zoning Regulations to protect
or conserve right of ways for current or future trail connections identified as
important by the Town. Develop a map of
current and desired future trail networks with substantial public input to aid
this process.
·
Develop legal mechanisms to allow public non-motorized
recreational use of private, unpaved roads to facilitate connectivity between
existing and planned trail segments.
Top
10 Priority Goals & Recommendations
·
Create a truly walkable Village by improving crosswalks as well as
adding and improving sidewalks (3.2.3 & 6.4f,g)
·
Timeline: Crosswalks - 1 year; Sidewalks - 2-3 years
·
Responsible Parties: Selectboard, Village Steering Committee, VT
Agency of Transportation, Trails Committee
·
Plan for the formation of Create a system of trails throughout
the rural areas with connections to residential developments, the Village, and
public lands throughout town (6.7a)
·
Timeline: 3 years
·
Responsible Parties: Trails Committee, Recreation
Commission, Planning Commission, Conservation Commission”
“Trail Network Vision: Existing and Potential Future Routes” Map
which uses information gathered at the November 2009 charrette.
In 2009 the Committee sought public input via a
trails charrette, which focused on identifying residents’ priority recreational
destinations and connections. What has begun to emerge is the concept of a
trail network that looks a bit like a wagon wheel with the village being the
hub, a peripheral trail near the town boundaries as the rim, and connections
between the village and the peripheral trail serving as the spokes. The “rim” trail would connect popular
destinations such as the “Old”
Lenore will approach David Carse (after chatting with Alex)
for permission to include a trail (Currently show on the Fellowship of the
Wheel website for bikers and walkers) across his
8. Report on the DRB March 16th meeting by Lenore who attended the meeting for the Trails Committee and came back with many documents pertaining to the Lyman/Kinney Drug and the Bissonette-Champlain Oil proposal. Two very large projects are in process: The Kinney Drug project has been delayed because of a sudden interest in affordable housing.
The Kinney Drug application was discussed, particularly, in regards to sidewalks. The Trails Committee needs to find a way to be represented at the first stage of any DRB process to offer input concerning trails, trails possibilities and sidewalks. The need for sidewalks going from CVU to town, the Library, and to Texas Hill was discussed. The primary focus was on safe connectivity as well as connectivity in general.
The
Bissonette-Champlain Oil project, a replacement gas station for Ballard’s store,
is seeking a larger site to support a larger convenience store and diesel pumps
for large trucks. This will also affect the need for sidewalks going from CVU to town, and the
Library.
It is not exactly clear how the proposed roads, sidewalk requirements, and the trail shown on one of the sketch plans will tie the two projects together in a safe and unified manner.
As a result of these discussions, Colin will be drafting a letter from the Trails Committee that will ask the DRB that as a condition for approval, careful provision for safe pedestrian movement north and south, to and from town, be made. It would be helpful if the DRB could get the parties leading the two respective projects provide the DRB with a joint plan to address these issues of concern.
9. The committee
decided that before any action is taken concerning the “missing portion” of the
Eagle Trail in the
10. Jane brought up the issue of hunting and
safety on the trails during hunting season and whether we should try to keep
hikers and hunters apart during hunting season by designating some areas as no
hunting and others as no hunting.
11. Stewart was at a recent Selectboard meeting where it was noted that the Conservation Committee is current down to 4 members with 5 openings. The Conservation Commission rep and the Recreation Committee rep left the Selectboard meeting with the areas for a recreation field narrowed down to two and plans to focus on evaluating those two options.
New Items:
Interspersed above.
Tabled Items:
1. Treasury Report:
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Town Budget |
Privately Raised |
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Money |
Money |
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Money |
Money |
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Total |
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Date |
Item |
In |
Out |
Balance |
In |
Out |
Balance |
Available |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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10/1/09 |
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|
$500.00 |
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|
$ - |
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10/1/2009 |
Contribution |
$ - |
$ - |
$500.00 |
$12.86 |
|
$12.86 |
$512.86 |
|
10/1/2009 |
RM138
Refreshments |
|
|
$500.00 |
|
$12.86 |
$ - |
$500.00 |
|
11/18/2009 |
Forum
Refreshments |
|
|
$500.00 |
$9.98 |
$9.98 |
$ - |
$500.00 |
|
12/14/2009 |
Kinko's |
|
$16.16 |
$483.84 |
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|
|
$483.84 |
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Totals |
|
|
$16.16 |
|
$22.84 |
$22.84 |
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2. Goals for Trail
Committee work: (found in the
3. Member Formal Reports Tabled for April to make time for Planning and Charrette follow-up.
Selectboard
Stewart See above
Town
Administrator
Colin
Conservation
Committee DRB Cathy
See above
VAST Colin
Planning
Commission: Launa See above
Fellowship
of the Wheel Jason
Four Wheelers (ATF) Colin
Next meeting
date:
(Third Wednesday of the month)
Submitted by Stewart Pierson, Secretary