North Street Revitalization  - Project Development and Current Status

			Current Status CEDO will work to minimize disruption for residents and businesses during construction. There was a groundbreaking ceremony on May 17 in front of the Lawrence Barnes School. All transportation improvements will be completed during the 2004 & 2005 construction season at cost of just over $6 million. Construction started at North Street and North Avenue on the south side of the street moving eastward. This construction season will primarily cover the installation of the under ground conduit system for all utilities. Sidewalks will be disturbed and there will be several road crossings that are temporarily patched over the winter. There will be occasions when a portion of the sidewalk is temporarily closed, except for resident and business access. Please cross at intersections and obey all traffic control. If street parking is temporarily closed on a block, there will be flyers and signs for notification similar to those used for regular street maintenance. The majority of construction will shut down in November 2004 leaving the sidewalks and street in a condition that can be plowed. All four utilities will work through the winter putting their wires and cables into the underground conduit systems. Starting in spring of 2005 construction will resume with new street lighting, trees, traffic signals, crosswalks, sidewalks, road surface, signs and removal of the wooden utility poles. The street will look like it is under construction for two years, then it will look great. The City and CEDO will work to minimize disruption for residents and businesses during construction, communication will be critical.
How can you find out what is going on? Contact kmerriman@ci.burlington.vt.us and ask to be added to the e-mail update list. If you have an immediate concern or have identified a pressing challenge please call 651·9688, the North Street Response line for Morrill Construction. The City will also provide regular update to the traffic update section of the City web site and to the media through press releases.

Questions/Comments

Q: How will parking be effected and for how long?
A: Parking is moved/restricted on the blocks where construction is happening.

Comment: Education to schools crossing guards is important around the construction and safety.

Q: How far in on the side streets will construction go?
A: Construction will go underground until the first pole, and then the utilities will come above ground. New paving and sidewalks will also be incorporated onto the side streets.

Q: When construction is done, will traffic go back to 2-way?
A: Yes, North Street will remain a 2-way street during construction and after construction is finished.

Q: Are there ways to protect the trees from breaking? If broken, will they be replaced?
A: There will be 48-inch high tree guards surrounding the trees to protect them. About 30 new trees will be going in at the end of the project, next summer, and the same preventative measures will be used. Branch Out Burlington works closely with City Arborist, Warren Spinner, on a Tree Keeper Program.

Q: There are places on North Street where there’s hardly any curb and people park on the sidewalk. Will this still be true?
A: Curbs should be between 4 to 7 inches. The cause of the low curb is from re-paving. The current pavement will be ground down so there will be a curb again between 4 to 7 inches. It will be much harder to park on the sidewalk.

Comment: Improvements could be made to the lot on the North and Park Street corner to prevent cars from exiting the lot over the sidewalk. There was talk of using CDBG funds to put in a fence or plantings

Q: You say this project will take 2 years, but you will be done next summer. That’s one year.
A: We talk about 2 construction seasons; this summer and next summer.

Comment: Can the City issue earplugs?

Q: What will be done about the dust created from construction? A: The construction crews have permission to hook a hose to the fire hydrants. They will be spraying down the construction site on dry days to help the dust settle.

Q: Those metal plates that are put over the street are really loud and make sleeping difficult. Do they have to use those plates? A: Due to the construction of the road, yes, the plates have to be used to allow the concrete below to dry overnight. Don’t worry, the plates will only be on your block one or two nights for each side of the street (construction goes up the south side, and down the north side). If you are concerned about what night the metal plates will be in front of your house, you can call the response line at 651·9688. We will get better at predicting the pace of the construction.

Project Development

Project development is guided by a citizen task force and has involved over 800 local residents and business owners.  An AmeriCorps*VISTA and a citizen task force engaged the neighborhood for 18 months to create an action plan for the street which included community building, economic development and public improvements.

Community Building

• The North Street Area Association, a group of interested Old North End residents, joined with Burlington's AmeriCorps*VISTAs for the annual Old North End Spring-Up on the first Saturday in June in 1998 - 2002.  Each year folks removed over 8 tons of trash and hazardous waste, painted fences, swept the street and planted hundreds of flowers, then enjoyed a block party.

• An AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Burlington Neighborhood Project works to organize residents and businesses to respond to neighborhood issues.  Contact Beth Ruzansky at 865-7187.

• The Community & Economic Development Office is targeting its Housing Programs to the project area.  Zoning is being amended to make it clear that the maximum allowable number of housing units per acre is 25 rather than 20.

• The Wards 2/3 Neighborhood Planning Assemblies, made up of citizens from Burlington’s Old North End, committed $11,351 in Community Development Block Grant funds to the North Street Revitalization Project for new signs.

Economic Development

• The Community & Economic Development Office coordinated with businesses in the North Street Commercial District to create a direct marketing campaign for local businesses and a community calendar celebrating the neighborhood.

• Zoning changes in the project area (Neighborhood Commercial District) have reduced the local regulatory process required for some small neighborhood-oriented types of businesses by increasing the number of permitted uses.

• Businesses located in the project area can access alternative financing sources available through CEDO's Business Loan Program.

• The North Street Neighborhood Commercial District was successfully nominated by the City to the National Register of Historic Places.  Income-producing historic properties listed in the National Register are eligible for a federal tax credit of 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs.  

Public Improvements

• The City began construction on the North Street Revitalization project with the installation of the new fence at Elmwood Cemetery in 2003. The majority of construction will occur in 2004 and 2005 with any final landscaping in spring of 2006.

Page last updated June 3,  2004