No Tolerance for Impaired Driving
From our friends at the VT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition:
Within the span of one week earlier this month, drivers in VT and NH struck bicyclists who were riding single file in organized events. In both cases, the motor vehicle drivers crossed the center line to hit the bicyclists. Some bicyclists were seriously injured and others were killed.
The VBPC intends to take steps to address the epidemic of impaired driving. We are counting on our supporters to speak up to help us get the message to lawmakers that the status quo in VT is not acceptable. There are six upcoming opportunities at which you can share your views. The state’s Transportation Board is gathering comments on “Bike & Pedestrian Issues” and “Roadway Safety” among other topics. Dates, times, and locations are listed below. If none of these dates is convenient for you, you can submit your thoughts at the Board’s web site (live link provided below).
Brief messages in your own words are ideal. Please remember to include your name and town of residence and why you care about this issue. Impaired driving is such dangerous behavior that we, as citizens of VT, must have zero tolerance for it. You should be able to go for a bike ride and not end up in a hospital or a morgue because more and more drivers are turning cars into lethal weapons.
We need action, not more talk. Thanks for joining the VBPC and speaking up.
Transportation Board Schedules Six Public Hearings
MONTPELIER – The Vermont Transportation Board this fall will hold six public hearings at various locations around the state for the purpose of gathering public comment about transportation-related issues that face the State of Vermont.
Working with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) as well as the state’s 11 Regional Planning Commissions, the Board identified six transportation topics on which it would like public input. While these six topics will be discussed at every hearing, time also will be provided for Vermonters to broach any additional transportation topic they wish.
“The Transportation Board each year travels around the state to meet with Vermonters and discuss important transportation issues,” said Maurice Germain, Chairman of the Transportation Board. “We have identified specific topics that are timely and currently under discussion within VTrans and at the Legislature. But we also want people to let us know whatever is on their minds.”
These six topics are:
- Transportation Revenues and Energy
- Bike & Pedestrian Issues
- The Future of Both Freight and Passenger Rail Services
- Park & Ride Expansion
- Roadway Safety
- Public Transit – Intercity Service and Service for the Elderly
At each hearing, the Board will present background information regarding each topic to set the stage for discussion and comment. Following the hearings, the Board will submit a written report to both VTrans and the Vermont Legislature. The Board also will post the report on its website.
Public hearings will be held on the following dates:
1. October 16 in Springfield at 6 p.m. at the Springfield Town Hall, Third Floor Selectman’s Meeting Room, 96 Main Street, Springfield, VT.
2. October 22 in Bennington at 6 p.m. at the Bennington Fire House, Second Floor Meeting Room, 130 River Street, Bennington, VT.
3. October 23 in Morristown at 6 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at the Morrisville Town Office Building, 43 Portland Street, Morrisville, VT.
4. October 30 in Newport at 6 p.m. at the Gateway Center, 84 Fyfe Drive in Newport, VT.
5. November 14 in St. Albans at 6 p.m. at the Green Mountain Room of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites, 813 Fairfax Road, St. Albans, VT.
6. November 20 in Middlebury at 6 p.m. at the Addison County Regional Planning Commission Offices at 14 Seminary Street in Middlebury, VT.
“These locations were chosen with the help of the state’s Regional Planning Commissions,” Mr. Germain said. “Each year, the Board changes the locations to provide as much geographic diversity as possible.”
People who cannot attend a hearing can submit written comment by visiting the Board’s website at http://tboard.vermont.gov/.
The upcoming hearings are being conducted according to Title 19 V.S.A. § 5(d)(8), which charges the Transportation Board to work together with the Agency of Transportation to hold public hearings “for the purpose of obtaining public comment on the development of state transportation policy, the mission of the Agency, and state transportation planning, capital programming and program implementation.”
For more information, contact the Board’s Executive Secretary John Zicconi at john.zicconi@state.vt.us or by calling 802-828-2942.