The City should study the idea of relocating the Vermont Rail Yards and
facilities to a site off the Waterfront and outside Burlington’s residential
neighborhoods. The study should examine the pros and cons of moving the rail
yards and an analysis of relocation costs.
The State of Vermont currently owns more than fourteen acres of valuable
lakeshore land that is leased to Vermont Railway. While the City encourages the
expansion of passenger rail, the rail yards are a potential obstacle to
development of the Waterfront as a publicly accessible community resource.
By moving the rail yards off the Waterfront, truck traffic through
residential neighborhoods would be eliminated. Noise would be dramatically
reduced. There would be a positive impact on Burlington’s south end
neighborhoods. And the storage and handling of hazardous materials would be
eliminated. Relocation of the rail yards would provide an opportunity to create
mixed use development on those lands. The Roundhouse and other historically
significant structures would be preserved and made more accessible to Waterfront
visitors.
Since 1987, State and City officials and Vermont Railway representatives have
been considering the possibility of relocating this facilities to a site to the
south of Burlington along the railway corridor. Middlebury, Brandon and Proctor
have all been discussed as possible sites.
On the other hand, relocation of the Vermont Railway yards off the waterfront
could possibly mean the loss of rail infrastructure in the City and would
further sanitize the waterfront from its industrial heritage. The movement of
goods by rail is far more sustainable, efficient, economical and environmentally
responsible than trucking. Future opportunities to transfer goods for
manufacturing and public use by rail should not be discarded without careful
consideration.
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