Colchester Avenue Bike Lane Plans: A Conversation with Organizer Nathan Greenstein

A bike lane protected by planters on South Union street in Burlington.

Editor’s Note: The City of Burlington has been working in recent years to reduce parking spaces and increase safe bike lanes on city streets. Most recently, a project to add a bike lane on Colchester Ave has been proposed. In the coming months, advocates for the ever-expanding biking initiative are hoping to see the planning finished and move to implementation. (Past plans are here). The addition of new and safer bike lanes can encourage more members of the community to ditch their motor vehicle in exchange for this cheap, safe and sustainable option. STVT spoke to Nathan Greenstein, local organizer and STVT intern, on his role in the Colchester Ave initiative. (See also article by Jason Stuffle here).

STVT: What is the Colchester Ave project looking to accomplish? 

Nathan: So, there's going to be construction, and the bike lanes that are going to be implemented are going to be raised and separated. So it's going to be like a concrete barrier and there's going to be green strips in between the bike lanes in the street and [any other] places that there's space for it.

STVT: What is the timeframe and trajectory of this project? 

Nathan: Just recently the advisory committee, which was the group of people that have been deciding which concept to go forward with, picked which concepts for each section of the corridor they wanted to go forward with. And now it's in the transitory process: it has to go through a couple of other Burlington committees and groups… The next meeting is mid-year (late April), and that's when the next stage of the project moves forward. I think that's when it would actually begin the process of being implemented and all other selected projects.

STVT: What is your role in this project?  

Nathan: We're trying to spread awareness about what's actually going on and draw support for the concepts we're trying to get implemented, because we want to get the best alternative modes of transportation to emphasize safe [and sustainable] infrastructure.

STVT: Spreading awareness through advocacy work, like Nathan described, is essential in getting these projects rolling because taking parking away always meets with strong objections. Changing the status quo is difficult. Yet strong support from the community can make a big difference. And the bike lanes will lead to more biking which will lead to more support. We asked Nathan about the specific advocacy work he does at STVT, as well as some specific places to learn more about the project?

Nathan: So, a lot of email work, phone calls and working on getting people to sign petitions. We've just been advocating mostly through online networking, some Facebook groups, some UVM class Facebook groups… and there's a Burlington biking community Facebook group. I don't know if you've heard of Front Porch forum-- it's a community oriented neighborhood forum site. And so we've posted on some of those neighborhoods that would be relevant for the Colchester Project.

STVT: What response has the community given in regards to implementing bike lanes and improving sustainable transportation? 

Nathan: For the conversations that I've had, people seem to be mostly in support of a safer, better bicycle infrastructure. And, yes, they wanted to push that forward.

STVT: What advice would you give people who want to get involved? 

Nathan: Attending the public meetings and voicing your opinion, if one is comfortable doing that, is a huge influencer. And separately from that, just contacting city representatives and/or people on the selection committee, city councilors, etc, and just letting the people who are more influential in making the decisions know [that you support the project].

STVT: If you care about the health of our community and the environment in which we live, remember that every voice counts. Plus, you can show your support in other ways if you don’t prefer to contact representatives, managers, or advocates in the Colchester Ave project: learn more in the Front Porch forum on Facebook, where you can convey your support to other passionate community members.