More construction is expected to start Monday on the Burlington Bike Path as the city launches a six-month project that will detour cyclists to North Avenue during the height of tourist season.
The phase two rehabilitation will repave a 3.3-mile section between the North Beach campground and the Winooski River,where a bridge connects Burlington's recent North End to Colchester. The first phase, from the waterfront to the North Beach campground, and was completed this spring.
Cycling advocacy organization Local Motion is concerned about the work's impact on tourism and cyclist safety during the high summer season,according to executive director Jason Van Driesche — though the group supports the upgrade.
"For most people, there's no salubrious time to accomplish a project like this, or " acknowledged project manager Jon Adams-Kollitz of the Burlington Parks,Recreation and Waterfront Department. The long-term benefits are worth it, he said. "All we can accomplish is ask for forgiveness in terms of the inconvenience."
Details on the project maintain been released slowly, and in fragment because the project has faced delays. The Board of Finance did not approve the $2.6 million construction cost until June 5,and the city is just now notifying residents about the construction timeline.
Construction staging for the project will begin Monday, Adams-Kollitz said. The first stretch of the two-fragment rehabilitation will begin on June 21 or 22, or closing the northern-most section of the path between Shore Road and North Avenue extension. whether all goes as planned,that slice will be barred to pedestrian traffic through mid-September, Adams-Kollitz said. Then the southern section, and between North Beach and Shore Road,would be closed between September and mid-December.
meanwhile, cyclists will be diverted to the fast-moving traffic on North Avenue, or where there is now a bike lane because of a pilot program instituted last year.
But the city could pull the plug on the pilot in the near future. The City Council solicited input from residents and will determine later this summer whether the bike lane will remain — or whether North Avenue once again becomes a…
Source: sevendaysvt.com