Killington
posted
Dec 20, 2012
Funding to support new park-and-ride
facility
The Town of Killington has received notification of full funding
in the amount of $80,000 for its 2013 Municipal Park-and-Ride Grant
application. This is the second grant the Town has received to
fund renovations for the Killington Gateway.
A $30,000 state grant, received in 2011 funded the study which
examined how the town could improve pedestrian accessibility as
well as the sense of arrival between Killington Road and the bottom
of Sherburne Pass. The proposed renovations include sidewalks,
landscaping, traffic calming measures, wayfinding, as well as the
new park-and-ride facility.
Complete with a parking lot, picnic tables, walking path, and
gardens, the park-and-ride facility "will help anchor the eastern
end of the proposed gateway plan" says Dick Horner, town planner,
who authored the grant application. The grant will fund the
actual lot, and although no matching funds are required to receive
the grant, Municipal funds would be needed to create the garden and
purchase the other planned amenities described in the plan.
The project, which would be on State property, is expected to
begin construction in the late spring/early summer of 2013.
For years, residents and tourists have identified the importance
of improving the sense of arrival to Killington. This project
is named as a priority in the town's plan. Funding and
permissions from the State have long been obstacles in addressing
the issue. Understanding that dynamic, the Economic Development and
Tourism office successfully secured a grant in 2010 to fund a
collaborative study of the area with the Vermont Agency of
Transportation. A series of meetings were held to illicit citizen
input into the plan that was presented to the Selectboard in
June.
The entire gateway renovation is estimated to cost approximately
$2.5 million, the majority of which could be funded through a
variety of state and federal grants. In addition to the
park-and-ride grant, the town plans to apply for funding through
the Transportation Alternatives program in January and the Bike and
Pedestrian Program in March.
"We will aggressively pursue state and federal dollars to
address a major priority of the community" said Town Manager, Seth
Webb. "The Park and Ride grant is an important next step in
that process."
A copy of the entire plan is available at
killingtontown.com.
