By Stephen Seitz
updated
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 08:20 AM
KILLINGTON- For decades, travelers along U.S. Route 4 have been
asking: how do you know, exactly, when you are in Killington?
Planners from the White River consulting group RSG and VTrans held
a public meeting on Jan. 25 to discuss what to do about that. The
town has been awarded a $30,000 study grant from the state,
according to Interim Town Manager Seth Webb.
"There's no sense of arrival," Webb told the crowd of 35 who
attended. "A lot of people say, 'I drove by Killington and missed
it.' We need a better sense of arrival."
Webb said that the state is an active partner in this study, the
first phase of an improvement project.
"One of the other reasons we're doing this is that we can go back
for Phase II," he said. "We may be able to get federal byway
funds."
RSG has been studying the intersection where Vermont Route 100
meets U.S. Route 4 near Killington Road. The project area is
located along U.S. Route 4 between Shady Knoll Road and Killington
Road, and Vermont Route 100 from Route 4 north to Kent Pond. The
study will examine current road conditions, and determine what can
and can't be done to achieve the project's goals.
Besides enhancing the sense of arrival, goals include improving
bicycle and pedestrian accessibility, promoting accessibility for
public transportation and improving vehicle safety.
"There is a cluster of crashes on Killington Road," RSG consultant
David Saladino said.
Travelers heading north on Route 100 cross the town line from
Plymouth into Bridgewater, and when they stop at Route 4, there is
nothing indicating where Killington is. Coming in from the east on
Route 4, there is a "welcome to Killington" sign, but after that
the landscape is dotted with businesses and homes along the road
without much 'sense of place.'
What about the large metal pedestrian bridge arching over Route
4?
"It belongs to the mountain," Webb said later. "It's private and
it's subject to billboard regulations."
Saladino said a number of factors need to be taken into
account.
"We'll have to coordinate a broad range of commercial and
non-commercial uses," he said. "We need to determine what's
possible and what's important to the community. You can drive right
through Killington and not know you're there. There is plenty of
asphalt not being used."
Killington resident Pepi Guggenberger said making the Route 100
intersection safer ought to be a top priority.
"This goes back 30 or 40 years," he said. "Since Killington
increased in size, it's become a feeder onto Route 4. In the
winter, people just shoot onto the roadway."
David Rosenblum, chairman of Killington's planning commission, said
the change in speed limits for vehicles heading west on Route 4 was
too abrupt.
"There's a line of sight problem," he said. "We need some speed
calming coming into town. Heavy trucks come down Route 4, and
suddenly the speed limit goes from 50 miles an hour to 40. Route 4
is a 1930s intersection. The biggest problem is the elevation from
Route 100 to Route 4. It causes confusion."
Afterward, a number of people stayed to share their points of view
with RSG's consultants.
"There are three entry points to Killington," said Lee Quaglia, who
owns the Aspen East Ski Shop. "The golf course, the Pico entrance,
and Route 4. If it were up to me, I'd use a crescendo of flags at
each point of entry. First you'd see one flag, then another about a
quarter of a mile after that, and so on."
Once RSG has examined the public comments, they'll be incorporated
into the study. More public meetings are planned.
Tagged:
Killington Gateway, Killington Gateway meeting
