Bike, pedestrian lane considered on Williston Road

South Burlington wants to make one of its busiest roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The city obtained an $800,000 grant from VTrans in 2017 for the $2.4 million Williston Road Streetscape project. The improvements include a separated bicycle facility and sidewalk, a landscaped snow storage buffer, and pedestrian-oriented lighting on the south side of Williston Road between Dorset Street and Midas Drive.

Currently, there are no designated bike or pedestrian lanes on that street. But South Burlington City Council Vice-Chair Meaghan Emery says that’s going to change come 2022.

“A lot of people do use this corridor as a commuting corridor even on their two-wheelers so I think it’s a really important thing that we’re doing,” she said. “When you have White Street connecting to Williston Road, it’s a very dangerous corner where you don’t have right angles coming from north and south and so a lot of people are really sitting there wondering if they should even dare turn right if they’re coming from White Street onto Williston Road. So it will really clean up that intersection, not only for bikers but also for drivers.”

Emery says she's one of many people who has biked on Williston Road before and didn't feel safe sharing the road with cars. That's partially because there's a lot of curb cuts which are the openings that allow cars to turn in and out of parking lots. Emery says the city has an agreement with businesses along the road to take land from their properties to create designated space for bikers and walkers.

“It will have a dedicated spot. There will be a separation from the road so you will not be just inches away from moving cars,” Emery told WCAX News.

But some people are worried pedestrians and drivers will still be in harm’s way. The city council hosted a public meeting in October to get the community’s feedback on the project. According to City Councilor Tim Barritt, the reaction was mixed and some people expressed concern that drivers may make abrupt turns into the parking lots without acknowledging the people to their right.

"The concern that was expressed by some of the business owners who have curb cuts for their driveways included the fact that some drivers might be paying more attention to their phones for GPS directions than they would be to pedestrian activity to their right. So they’re seeing there’s a turn imminent, so they're really concentrated on getting into that driveway so there are some challenges that people are going to experience. But again, if you're on foot or on a bicycle, every curb cut should be treated very cautiously on any road,” said Barritt.

City councilors are urging everyone, whether driving, walking or biking to be defensive when commuting.

“It's part of living in a multi-modal community,” said Emery.

The city also has plans to build a pedestrian bridge that will run adjacent to the bridge over the I-89 overpass near the Staples Plaza. The federal government denied them funding this year but they plan to resubmit a request next year.