Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee

The Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee is an advisory committee of seven to nine volunteer citizens of South Burlington, who are appointed by the City Council. The mission of the Committee is to oversee the general operation of the city's many recreational paths, including field trails and sidewalks, and to advise the City Council of operational needs and future development plans for the path network. 

Part of South Burlington's Comprehensive Plan is to develop a safe and efficient transportation system that supports all roadway users.

South Burlington has nearly 24 miles of shared use paths to explore. The path is maintained year-round and is almost always a wonderful place to enjoy some time outside walking, rolling, jogging, stroller pushing, dog walking, or bicycling.
To learn more about the South Burlington paths and trails click here.

Current Members:                                 

Agendas and Minutes for the South Burlington Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee
To access all city meeting documents, click here.           

Committee Resources
2022 Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee Annual Report- To view the entire City's Annual Report click here
FY23 Priorities and Work Plan
Council Approved Committee Mission & Duties 

Bike and Pedestrian Improvements
With the passage of the Pennies for Paths initiative last August, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee has been busy identifying and prioritizing pedestrian and biking improvement projects. With the aid of staff, we are estimating cost, the possibility for matching or other funds to help implement our long list of priority projects to help fill the gaps and enhance the safety of our bike-pedestrian infrastructure.  Top on our list of projects we are hopeful can be started this year are:

1. Upgrading all pedestrian crossing lights (also called Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons  or RRFBs) so that each pole has lights facing both directions of traffic. These strategically placed lights are located in 32 places throughout the city. There is the potential for half of them to be upgraded this year.
2. Installing a pedestrian-activated crossing light at the intersection of Swift and Spear similar to the light at Dorset and Swift. While the crossing light is lit “white” for pedestrians to cross, traffic in all directions would be stopped and no right turns on red allowed for cars turning south onto Spear or east onto Swift. This will be one of the first projects undertaken as soon as the ground thaws.
3. Painting crosswalk, fog and bike lane striping on roads before June 1, weather permitting, to allow maximum benefit to walkers and bikers. The DPW has a huge job each spring cleaning up our roads and sidewalks from winters insults.  So repainting in a timely way is always a challenge. 
4. Allocating 3-5% of the city paving budget to repaving sections of our aging recreation path system where and when needed.  Accomplishing this will be a balancing act between streets that need repaving, potholes that need to be filled and the bike path needs.  First on this year’s list will be removing the tree abutting the path at the corner of Nowland Farm Road and Dorset Street. The roots have pushed the path up into a series of waves that can be hazardous for the unsuspecting cyclist. This will be done as soon as the ground has thawed. There are other sections of the path than need work and will be prioritized as funds and time allow.
5. Installing a creative solid barrier of some kind on the east side of Dorset Street heading north, from Faith United Church and Songbird Lane up to the section where the recreation path is raised and separated from the street to prevent cars from using the path as a third lane of traffic. During rush hours traffic backs up because of left turning cars at Songbird or right turns at Grandview and Kennedy Drives. This section of path is used by kids going to and from school and to and from Veterans Memorial Park as well as walker, joggers and cyclists of all ages.

                                                 

Some of these projects will be funded partially or totally by Penny for Paths money, but many will be funded by the city’s regular maintenance allocation.

Think Spring!
Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee 

Share the Road
The City is working with the Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee to promote a new initiative that was originally created by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.  It is called: Share the Road.
As the City works to create a bikeable and walkable downtown, we feel it is important to remind all users that safety is a personal responsibility. There are many laws and rules that govern our roadways to provide us with a framework for safety and help guide us in the decisions we make on the road or rec path.  We invite you to take a look at the VTrans Share the Road brochure, which highlights many of these laws and guidelines that will help make our community safer. 
Whether you utilize the City’s infrastructure as a motorist, pedestrian, or bicyclist, please be mindful of others that are using the same infrastructure and remember to Share the Road.