On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Towns of Rutland and West Rutland will host the second of several public work sessions focusing on potential improvements to the Route 4A/Business Route 4 corridor in and between the two towns. The second session will take place at 7 p.m. in the Town of Rutland Municipal Building in Center Rutland.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend to the second public work session to have a part in selecting the most appropriate set of actions and policies that will move Rutland Town and West Rutland into an even better future, organizers stated.
Participants will be able to review and comment on a wide range of alternative actions and policies that the towns and/or land owners could pursue to enhance the economic vitality, transportation, and aesthetics of the communities and the Business Route 4 highway corridor.
By the end of the session, the towns and their consultants hope to have a tentative list of preferred ideas that will become part of the final set of reacommendations for improving the area.
A Steering Committee is helping to guide this work. It includes local land and business owners in the corridor from both towns, along with town officials, regional planning staff, and state officials. The Steering Committee is being assisted in the work by hired consultants.
The project is funded by a joint grant program between the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, along with local funds contributed by both towns. As described by the towns, the study will “… integrate (future) land use and transportation along a major regional and local road, addressing safety and multi-modal travel, by connecting and strengthening activity centers. This integrated transportation plan will provide increased mobility for all users as well as encourage well-planned and sustainable growth along this area. This smart growth connection plan will identify short and long term goals related to transportation improvements, streetscape enhancements, redevelopment scenarios and business development opportunities.”
In addition to the transportation and future land use recommendations, the towns have expressed a strong interest in “connecting and strengthening activity centers.” In particular, they note that the overall study will include “Market Analysis that will provide a detailed market snapshot of the current market conditions in each activity center (West Rutland and Rutland Town), identify gaps, retail leakage and opportunities for new development, retail and office opportunities and provide the overall market condition for each activity center and the entire study area.”
To view a summary of the draft set of recommendations, visit https://broadreachpd.com/west-rutland-rutland-town-smart-growth-connections-plan/)
