Letters to the Editor (12/25/24)

A Spoonful of Humor’

Here’s to Rachel Noyes of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, who clearly understands that a spoonful of humor helps the healthy driving guidance go down [“Signs of the Times: VTrans Makes the Season Bright — and Safe — With Funny Highway Slogans,” December 11]!

Nice to see another Vermont hero in the Seven Days spotlight. Thanks for reminding us of the pundamentals of traffic safety. Hope you can come up with something to calm some of the cowboys on I-89!

Bridget Ahrens

Winooski

‘Your Bias Is Showing’

“Hanging in the Balance” [December 11], regarding president-elect Donald Trump, is misleading, one-sided and filled with fearmongering.

First: You use words like Trump “could” and “may” to push fear and support your agenda and do not allow for any other viewpoints but your own. If I were allowed more than a 250-word response to this large, multipage article, I would gladly break down each section, tell you why I voted for Trump, and share my viewpoints regarding migrants, LGBTQ+, drugs, pollution, schools, health care, tips and more. Your truths and opinions are not everyone’s.

Careful: Your journalistic bias is showing.

Bonnie Barrows

Bristol

United States of New England?

I am stunned, as are many, that Donald Trump won the election to return to the White House. [“Hanging in the Balance,” December 11] does an excellent job of listing the concerns. I respect those who may have voted for him, but I cannot in my own mind reconcile a liar and convicted felon holding that position. The six New England states, with their Electoral College votes, agree.

Perhaps, rather than a wall along the Mexican border, we should erect one around New England to keep Trump and his loyalists (not already living in New England) out. (Did Trump ever pay the Flynn for the use of that venue in January 2016?) There are a lot of smart people in New England who could figure out logistics, finances, protection and other factors so that New England would survive with such a border wall!

Roger Crouse

Shelburne

Wealthy Pay Plenty

The state legislature’s plan to alleviate the property tax crisis by shifting education funding from property taxes to income taxes is nothing more than a shell game [“Vermont Teachers’ Union Pitches Income Tax to Fund Education,” November 22]. VT-National Education Association political director Colin Robinson says this would result in the wealthy paying “their fair share,” but the plan would have enormous unintended consequences that would ultimately adversely affect all Vermonters.

The wealthiest 1 percent of Vermont taxpayers currently pay 26 percent of the state’s total income tax revenue, and the top 10 percent pay nearly 60 percent, or six times their proportional share. While few would disagree with a progressive tax structure, Vermont already has one of the highest state income tax and property tax rates in the country. So many wealthy-ish former Vermont taxpayers have fled to tax-free Florida that Naples, Fla., is now sometimes jokingly referred to as “southern Vermont.” Driving even more high-income taxpayers out of the state is not the answer.

In short, Vermont doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. We currently spend more per student than any other state in the nation except New York (56 percent more than the national average), and yet our test scores have been falling steadily since 2013. Vermont needs to look hard at creating union schools, consolidating school boards, sharing administration and other resources, and generally making hard decisions that have been kicked down the road too long. Simply shifting the cost to “others” ignores the real work to be done.

Dan Morris

Shelburne

Psych Unit Is Crucial

[Re “UVM Health Network Announces Service Cuts, Blames Regulators,” November 14, online]: I am a new clinician working toward becoming a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Vermont, and I oppose the closing of the Central Vermont Medical Center psychiatric unit as an underdeveloped response to the limits the Green Mountain Care Board placed on the University of Vermont Health Network revenue.

Inpatient psychiatric units are vital to our community and something that cannot be sufficiently replaced by any urgent care facility and, more obviously, a trip to an overloaded emergency department. I, and many of my fellow clinicians, have worked with clients that have been profoundly helped by a stay in an inpatient setting. Some of them are still alive today because of that stay. An inpatient stay provides stability, safety to themselves and others, and access to psychiatry, therapy and other resources while going through a mental health crisis or an increase in their symptomology.

Mental health care is just as vital as medical care, and I urge UVM to find a way to keep this facility open, for the benefit of our family members, friends and community.

Danielle Kangas

Montpelier

‘Ruining a Great City’

Burlington Progs: Well, you’re well on your way to accomplishing a goal that some of you wished for: abolishing the police. Your votes, overemphasis on negative stories and lack of foresight have now caused an effective police chief to announce his resignation [“Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad to Resign Next Year,” November 19, online].

Chief Jon Murad tried, but you made his position and that of the department almost untenable.

The Burlington City Council Progressives, who seem beholden to a rigid ideology that doesn’t adapt to facts on the ground, are on their way to ruining a great city. A shame.

Nothing I can do about it other than sympathize with those who aren’t captive to your agenda and avoid going downtown after dark.

Rob Mann

Colchester

Is Burlington Above the Law?

On November 18, the Burlington City Council passed a resolution and an ordinance which would ban possession of firearms in any establishment that sells liquor [“Burlington Will Try Again to Ban Guns in Bars,” November 19, online]. By taking those two actions, the Burlington City Council broke Vermont law.

The law, 24 VSA § 2295, is clear: No city, town or village can pass an ordinance or resolution that regulates the possession or carrying of firearms.

In creating that statute, the legislature wisely decided that Vermont would not become a patchwork of conflicting ordinances that change at town lines.

The creation of a “gun-free zone” — that is not enforced — is nothing more than a false sense of security to anyone who chooses to enter. Unless and until guards are present, along with expensive scanning machines and bag searches, passing a law that says “No guns allowed” does nothing more than to create a “zone of illusionary protection,” which is no protection at all. Beyond that, this is not just “guns in bars”; it is guns in any establishment that sells alcohol, which would also mean restaurants and other venues.

In a utopian world, there may not be any need for firearms, but in today’s world that is not the case. Innocent people are being horribly affected by violent crime across Vermont, especially in Burlington, and people have a right to defend themselves.

At this juncture, it would seem appropriate for the Vermont attorney general to inform the Burlington City Council that it has broken Vermont law.

Chris Bradley

Northfield

Bradley is president and executive director of the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs.

‘No Farms No Food’

[Re “Entrepreneur Paul Ralston Is Investing in Local Food Access,” November 27]: It is correct to say that a lot of us are more familiar with calamity than we wish. The disastrous flooding of the past two summers damaged homes, schools, businesses, bridges, roads, forests and farms. It was more than families, businesses, communities and the state could handle.

Damage to farm fields and crops was particularly severe, and many farmers were unable to get aid until long after their crops were lost. The lag between damage and assistance affects farmers doubly. When a farm field is flooded, not only is the current crop lost, the next year’s crop is in jeopardy as well. Why should we all be concerned that farmers have the means to restore production in the face of natural disaster? The bumper sticker “No Farms No Food” says it all.

Farmers’ stewardship of the land produces our food. They are an iconic part of Vermont culture. Wendell Berry put it this way: “Farming itself, like life itself, is different from information or knowledge or anything else that can be verbally communicated. It is not just the local application of science; it is also the local practice of a local art and the living of a local life.” Is it conceivable that Vermont could be Vermont without farms?

Support the Northeast Organic Farming Association lobbying efforts to create a Vermont farm disaster impact recovery fund. You can contact your state representative and voice support. You can help ensure Vermont’s farmers can recover from unanticipated natural disasters.

Chris Rice

Lyndonville

‘A Wiser Way Forward’

It is a tragedy whenever human lives are lost on the roads [“Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]. But reconfiguring Shelburne Road because it is an especially dangerous road for reckless cyclists and jaywalkers is not the answer.

In fact, Erin Sisson, deputy chief engineer of the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s highway division, notes that since 2019, all but one of 10 crashes on Shelburne Road involved “unsafe or erratic behavior on the part of the pedestrian or the cyclist.”

The very notion of downsizing busy (30,000 drivers a day) Shelburne Road from five to three lanes is yet another example of a disproportionate reaction by well-meaning but naïve do-gooders to an emotionally charged issue.

A wiser way forward is to make sound decisions based on empirical studies and analysis, such as the Shelburne Road Corridor Study.

Jack Scully

Colchester

I Crashed on Shelburne Road

[Re “Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]: It’s hard to believe that nothing has been or is about to be done to improve the current situation. In 2020 I was riding on Shelburne Road in the “bike lane” near Pauline’s Café in the exact spot where Joseph “Byrdman” Allen was later killed. I had front and rear lights, it was broad daylight on a clear and sunny day, and nobody involved had been drinking. Yet I got crowded by a tractor trailer that encroached into the “bike lane,” hit a sewer grate that takes up the right third of the “bike lane,” lost control and crashed. I ended up with a fractured scapula. It could have been worse; the last thing I recall was I was either going to hit the curb or land under the tractor trailer.

Living off of Shelburne Road — behind the soon-to-be “Crombach development,” which will only make things worse — my only way out is by getting onto Shelburne Road. Now when I want to ride my bicycle somewhere, my bike goes into my car, I drive up to Spear Street, and I start riding from there. Hardly ideal, but I think you can understand why.

There is a relatively easy solution: Take the existing sidewalk on either side, slightly widen it and put a layer of asphalt on top of it to create a bike lane that would be safely separated from traffic.

How many more people have to be killed before something is done here?

Pete Serisky

Shelburne

Cars Kill

I appreciate the words of the activists being shared in [“Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27], about how unsafe non-car commuting is in and around Burlington, but this article chooses to muddle the impact of this much-needed call for better infrastructure by insisting that changes would be a “complicated, yearslong process.” As several citizens gracefully stated before city council that night, this is an issue that could be solved tomorrow. Turn one of the driving lanes into a bike lane.

Citizens are being murdered by automobilists. Why have we become so numb to the lethality of cars?

The city has responded to pedestrians crying out in fear for their lives by saying it intends to change nothing about Shelburne Road’s dangerous design. This is expressing that there is a price in human life that our officials are willing to pay to avoid further traffic wait times. That disturbs me. I hope it disturbs you, too.

Griffin DeMatteo

Burlington

Tear Down That Church

The likely demolition of the former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception this winter couldn’t happen soon enough [“Supreme Court Approves Demolition of Burlington Cathedral,” December 6, online]. In October the Burlington Police Department announced a large presence at the church for training. One can guess — active shooter, hostage rescue, mass shooting? Even surrounded by fence and chained gates, the grounds are still vandalized by intruder trash and graffiti. Graffiti almost reached the roof supporting the cross that proclaims it’s a church.

Preservationists chided the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington for exercising doctrine in deconsecrating the church. They fuss over the honey locust trees on-site planted in straight rows 20 feet apart. These trees are no different from the ornamental trees lining the Church Street Marketplace.

The preservationists demanding the building, trees and open space be given over for another purpose is similar to strangers demanding the Cathedral Church of St. Paul one block away be torn down because its brutalist style of architecture is offensive. “The customer is always right” is invalid, because they are not customers or owners.

In their dreams, they see open space. The abutting bus terminal street is notorious. The interpretive signs memorializing the loss of Burlington’s Little Italy to urban renewal within the three-block radius are defaced. If preservationists had pressed their credo in the ’60s and ’70s, there would be a neighborhood and parish alive there today.

Roger Donegan

Hinesburg

Whither Weatherization?

[Re “Cold Discomfort: Burlington’s Goal to Weatherize Hundreds of Apartments Is Imperiled by a Lack of Workers,” November 13]: The City of Burlington could use other strategies than relying 100 percent on a private-market solution, which has never worked in the energy-efficiency sector.

Long ago, the city-owned Burlington Electric Department opted out of Vermont’s statewide energy-efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont. Vermont ratepayers pay a small fee on our electric bills for energy-efficiency services. In Burlington, ours goes to Burlington Electric. Vermonters without a municipal utility pay Efficiency Vermont. Efficiency Vermont’s value is an R&D arm that designs and delivers comprehensive programs with incentives to “transform the market” to net emissions. Efficiency Vermont coordinates the right hand working with customers and the left hand working with contractors and equipment vendors.

Burlington lacks this coordinated program design and delivery. Even worse, the city now has two energy-efficiency utilities, which bifurcates program design, delivery and incentives. Two entities with different cultures and missions must trip over themselves to align their services and incentives while customers wait for good advice.

What would overcome our weatherization workforce shortage woes? A single energy-efficiency utility that educates the market, mandates then pays for energy audits, completes 100 audits at a time, signs tariff-financing agreements with building owners, then puts 100 buildings out to bid to weatherization contractors in the region. A bulk bid under a single contract could incentivize contractors to staff up and train workers.

This proposal is not without challenges and is not the only solution, but right now we lack vision and leadership for a comprehensive approach at scale.

Liz Curry

Burlington

Let’s Talk About Milk

[Re “Vermont to Begin Testing Milk Supply for Bird Flu,” December 10, online]: Let’s start the conversation about milk. Real milk comes from mammals — in particular, female mammals. Soy milk is not milk! Almond milk is not milk! Rice milk is not milk! Oat milk is not milk! Coconut milk is not milk!

Humans have been drinking milk for thousands of years prior to pasteurization. That meant they were drinking raw milk. There was no government interference. Local dairy herds were the primary source. The dairy farms were local and mostly small family operations. Today, this facet of dairy farming is disappearing. Large mega-industrialization of milk production is increasing. This increases the chances of problems in our food chain. Can you keep count of the number of food recalls on all types of processed food products? Too numerous to keep track of.

Forty-seven out of 50 states allow for the legal sale of raw milk, Vermont included. When milk testing takes place for bird flu, let’s be sure that it is accurate, using guidelines that fit and are not inflated to ensure that the outcome is in favor of big agriculture at the expense of the local dairy farmer.

Bart Hauser

Newark

Editor’s note: In recognition of the year’s end, we are clearing out the 2024 Feedback file. Look for more letters to the editor online at sevendaysvt.com.

Another Cellphone Addict

As a high school student, I can definitely say that cellphones are a huge distraction in class [“No Phone Zones: To Limit Distractions and Encourage Student Interaction, More Vermont Schools Are Restricting the Use of Digital Devices,” September 4]. Teachers at my school have tried everything from blocking cell service and restricting Wi-Fi to asking students to keep their phones out of sight or in their backpacks. Yet many students still hide their phones under desks, texting or Snapchatting during lessons. It’s not just a few students, either; it’s most of the class.

I’ll admit, I get distracted by my phone, too, and I know I’m not alone. As a procrastinator who gets distracted very easily, I’ve even had to ask my family to take my phone away at home until I finish my homework. It’s unfortunate that, even with reasonable requests in place, so many of us students still can’t resist pulling out our phones.

Social media and screen time are addictive, and it’s clear that taking a break from our phones during class can actually help us focus. While there are times when teachers take our phones away, I actually appreciate those moments. They help me focus more, pay attention in class and understand exactly what I need to do for my assignments.

In the end, it’s not just about rules; it’s about giving ourselves the chance to be more present and productive in school.

Holly Lian

Hinesburg

Burlington Needs Tough Love

[Re From the Publisher: “Bad News Burlington,” August 28]: Proponents of social programs cite stats that support their work: Diseases are cut in half in the addicted population, and some people access rehab. What they don’t cite are the stats about how few of the homeless are even remotely interested in rehab. All the ones I am aware of who have gone to rehab start using drugs again the day they get out. They are useless as workers, in my experience, and awful as renters of apartments.

Telling us that they are mentally ill or that addiction is an illness, although true, is not helping us help them. The only solution is to imprison offenders long-term in a county prison. It could be a nicer prison, since most are not violent offenders. And then those inclined can help them all they want within the prison system. The state has decided not to imprison most who are nonviolent offenders. But that policy has made Burlington’s livability and economy slide downhill rapidly.

We must find the money to house and confine our homeless addicted population involuntarily.

Mark Williams

South Burlington

Pro Psychedelic

Anne Wallace Allen thoughtfully explains the complicated topic of legalizing psilocybin for psychedelic therapy in [“Vermont’s Studying Psychedelic Therapy, but Approval Would Take Time,” October 2]. As perspectives on drugs shift in the wake of statewide cannabis legalization, there has been a growing conversation pertaining to the potential legalization of previously illicit substances. While proponents see many possible benefits, many are disappointed by how long the process is taking the state. Allen also explains the possible upsides to psychedelic therapy, as well as the doubts many individuals have, taking a notable pro-legalization stance while allowing room for the reader to form an opinion of their own.

I believe that legalization of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes could be vastly beneficial for those focused on trauma healing. With proper oversight and informed therapists who provide medical use of these substances, Vermont could be at the forefront of an American therapeutic revolution.

Andy Martin

Burlington

Liberal Policies to Blame

Seven Days has always been a liberal-leaning publication. And whether Burlington followed Seven Days or Seven Days followed Burlington, I cannot say, but what I am sure of is that the liberal policies of Burlington are what is responsible for Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas and other businesses closing [“Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas in Burlington to Close,” November 8, online]. It is a shame that the jewel of the Champlain Valley has become such a haven for lawlessness, but it has! I wrote the mayor in 2018 and again in 2019 telling him that he and the city council were turning Burlington into a city like Detroit, and here we are!

I abandoned downtown Burlington before the pandemic. Before 2019 I regularly spent multiple days a week on Church Street, spending thousands of dollars at restaurants and area businesses. I often had dinner on Friday or Saturday evening at the Daily Planet and then caught a movie at the Roxy. When people say elections have consequences, they are right. And the consequences of voting for progressive liberal policies can be seen in the decay of downtown Burlington.

Black Lives Matter, “defund” the police, decriminalize small amounts of drugs, abandon policies that kept citizens safe, raise parking prices out of greed. What do you get? You get what you have today! The story shouldn’t be about the Roxy closing; it should be about the progressive liberal policies that are at the root of the large abandonment of Burlington by the many that used to flock there! The decline will continue for the foreseeable future!

Michael Grubb

St. Albans

Changing View of Burlington

[Re From the Publisher: “GoPro Bro,” October 30]: I love Burlington. I have been defending the ongoing criticism of the drug problems in the downtown area, saying, “Yes, it’s there. It’s a city. But it’s still a great place to spend time. The shop owners need your business, the stores and restaurants are great, the waterfront is worthy of tourism from all over the world, the Flynn provides some of the best entertainment,” etc.

My opinion is, sadly, changing. The drug problems seem to be growing exponentially. It makes me so sad, but what makes me sadder is the fact that our tax money isn’t going toward large facilities that can rehabilitate and help people get off the drugs. Same goes for the homeless issues, some of which are probably intertwined.

If people had more places to go where there was professional care, a place to sleep and bathe, and real help with addiction, we’d all be better off. All the temporary bandages are costly and wasteful. The motel shelters come to mind immediately.

I keep hearing: “The drug problem is so bad, I won’t go to downtown Burlington anymore.” My response is: “The drug addicts aren’t going to fix the problem, so that leaves who?”

I also love Seven Days! It’s the best. But as far as Peter Santenello’s YouTube video: No, it’s not professional journalism, but neither was the footage from the brave woman who filmed the murder of George Floyd. I’m grateful to those who film real situations.

Cathy Hartley

Milton

‘Give the Homeless Homes’

[Re “Downtown Dilemma,” August 14]: I have a solution to the homeless, drug and crime problem in Burlington and worldwide: Give the homeless homes.

Not sell; give.

Not tiny homes; people are not tiny people.

Perhaps people are doing drugs because they are depressed about not being able to find good work to buy a good home? But if they were given a home, perhaps they would get off the drugs, with or without help, and also stop being criminals.

Some people, out of greed, might say: Why should we give people homes? You don’t have to; you can just let the homeless continue to mount up until there are 20 people sleeping in every storefront in Burlington and continue the revolving criminal jail system that has failed since the presidency of Richard Nixon.

There are seven times as many unoccupied homes in the U.S. as homeless people, but due to the greed and evil of bankers, landlords and others who want to keep the prices up, the supply is cut off.

We have seen the results of greed for 50 years, and it’s been a horrible failure. Some have way too much, and others nothing at all. That is out of balance, and everyone knows it.

Some people are very efficient at playing the system and excluding others. Maybe it’s time to fix that.

Wally Norton

Burlington

Taxes From Both Sides

[Re “Leaders Support Education-Funding Reforms — but Are Mum on Plans,” December 11]: Ah, the much-anticipated December 1 letter, in which taxpayers find out how much more the state wants from us. I understand the need for education funding and a solid school system for Vermont’s children. But after the state decides how much it wants, the city comes along and decides what it wants to hit taxpayers with, as well. So taxpayers are hammered from two sides, and neither one talks to the other.

In 2021 my taxes went up 20 percent for the reassessment; homeowners took the brunt because businesses were hit by COVID-19. Now we are paying for a new high school for which the city raises taxes again. There are significant cost overruns, of course, so things are going to be very interesting as we get bled to pay for that.

We were lucky with 6 percent in 2022. In 2023 it was nearly 11 percent. Vermont legislators and city leaders need to talk to each other. Maybe it is time to consolidate some school systems to cut the administrative bulk down. Vermont has the fifth-highest property tax rate in the country. But the legislature and towns keep coming back for more.

Christine Grant

Burlington

Seniors Should Pay Less for Schools

[Re Last 7: “Another Way to Pay for Schools,” November 27]: Yes, let the games begin in Montpelier! Will the ice jam finally be broken so we can have a civil and balanced debate and real legislative action on state educational funding?!

As a senior, I am not a “wealthy Vermonter.” My home value has increased, but this can be easily offset on a fixed income by paying ever greater taxes: for home upkeep, insurance and utilities, the list goes on.

Let’s see a tax formula that says those with children in the system pay more! Not just those homeowners with school-age children, but renters as well!

Don’t insult us by creating more token tax breaks for a greater number that only increase taxes unfairly on others.

Here in Jericho, the Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District agreed to cut $5 million from the current school budget that ended up producing a 13.5 percent increase!

What was the $5 million “cut”? It was for yet-to-be-named future infrastructure and building and maintenance improvements. In other words: “Give us this $5

million to spend up front, on what we will determine later.”

This was completely an insult and disingenuous to us taxpayers. Cut spending! Tax less!

Robert “Bob” Devost

Jericho

‘A Better Way’

Unfortunately, I was too involved in election-related activities to notice when the Burlington City Council came up with a ridiculous ordinance to address graffiti and hateful stickering.

Are these things problems? Absolutely.

Is this the way to address it? Absolutely not.

Prospects of a citizen suit are unlikely to deter such activity and, worse, would turn residents into litigious snitches, clogging up an already crowded court system. It also destroys community by othering both the complainant and subject of the complaint. It is the antithesis of restorative justice.

There’s a better way; [“A Group of Burlington Neighbors Is Painting Over Graffiti Themselves,” May 29] hints at it. Repeated suggestions to councilors and the mayor that the city look to Philadelphia’s solutions have been ignored.

The project’s approach includes limiting sales of spray paint to minors, locking up display paint to avoid shoplifting, increased penalties and — here’s the important part — alternative forms of punishment, including community service graffiti cleanup and encouraging violators to join a Mural Arts Program, funneling creative painting urges into designing/painting murals with community-member neighbors. This avoids a record and, by having graffiti artists work with the community, increases a sense of ownership and belonging. Burlington wouldn’t need additional bureaucracy. Instead, activities could be incorporated into already existing programs, such as Burlington Parks and Rec, Burlington City Arts, or Restorative Justice at Burlington Community Justice Center.

I implore the city council to look at this much more positive, less costly and more effective approach — everybody wins.

Nina McDonnell

Burlington

Control Your Pets

[Re “‘Moose’ on the Loose: A Prosecutor’s Dog Is Biting People and Pets in Burlington,” September 25]: The situation described in the article reminds me of an experience I had recently at Walmart. While I was shopping, a large dog nearly bit me for reasons that I still do not understand. Pets are trained to behave, but that doesn’t mean those animals will not have moments of aggression — just like humans can lose control of their minds. Pet owners must recognize this and take responsibility for their pets’ actions to ensure the safety of everyone around them.

People should not have to live in fear of pets, like Moose and others, that may act aggressively. Encourage city leaders to enforce the rules that protect our community and have more programs to educate pet owners about responsible care. All pet owners must be held accountable.

Kitutala Baptista

South Burlington

VTrans Dodges Accountability

[Re “Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]: I appreciated Seven Days‘ writing about the risks of trying to get places without a car in Vermont, something I and many of my friends have experienced. (I’m a former Burlingtonian.)

I also found this article frustrating to read, mainly due to the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s continued refusal to accept responsibility and commit to even modest safety improvements for facilities like Route 7. Deputy chief engineer Erin Sisson alleges in the article that a process of change should start with local planning officials. Such a process is impossible, given that VTrans retains ultimate control over the design of Route 7 from Shelburne through South Burlington. If local planning officials wanted to make substantive changes, then the towns would have to assume responsibility for the cost of capital improvements and continued maintenance and plowing (with minimal state assistance).

For cash-strapped Vermont towns, doing so might bankrupt them. Instead we have a situation where towns have to put up with VTrans’ abject refusal to prioritize walkers and bikers while obviously dangerous stretches of road go completely unaddressed. People continue to get killed by poor design, local officials take the heat as residents demand change, and VTrans dodges accountability.

State departments of transportation in the U.S. have historically not been allies to walkers and bikers. Some places, such as Massachusetts, are slowly changing, and others are not (Texas). Will Vermont’s department stay stuck in the past? Change is possible, and necessary, for a safer, healthier future.

Colin Larsen

Cambridge, MA

Look at Road Design

I was disturbed to see the Vermont Agency of Transportation downplaying the role of its infrastructure in deaths along the corridor in [“Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]. It may be true that many of the people killed had broken laws or were intoxicated, but that doesn’t absolve road design. As Jessie Singer reports in her 2022 book There Are No Accidents, cities that have reduced traffic deaths have done so by recognizing that humans are going to make mistakes, whether driving, riding a bike or walking. It should be the job of traffic engineers to make sure those inevitable mistakes don’t become deadly — by narrowing lanes to reduce speeds or separating bike and car traffic with curbs. The fact that our state’s transportation agency shifts blame onto the most vulnerable people it serves suggests that it doesn’t even understand the problem.

Philip Kiefer

Burlington

Fix Shelburne Road

Thank you for the important story, [“Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online], about the urgent need to modify Vermont’s roads to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Kudos to Jonathon Weber and Local Motion for keeping a spotlight on this. The Sierra Club of Vermont’s Transportation Committee endorses Weber’s recommendations.

It is essential for government to both protect us all, including those who travel without using cars, and encourage healthy lifestyle choices. Toward that end, we urge the public to contact Joe Flynn, Vermont’s secretary of transportation, and your state legislators.

We also urge the public to contact town officials, especially those in Shelburne, South Burlington and Burlington, to see to it that Route 7 south of Burlington gets immediate attention.

Finally, concerned citizens can represent their town at their regional Transportation Advisory Committee to make recommendations to Regional Planning Commissions, as well as the state. See if the representative position is filled for your town and, if so, by whom.

David Ellenbogen

Calais

Ellenbogen is a member of the Sierra Club of Vermont’s Transportation Committee.

Slow Down

[Re “Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]: With all due respect to the Vermont Agency of Transportation, it is inappropriate to explain pedestrian deaths by “erratic behavior.” Let’s build roadways with pedestrian access that doesn’t require professional-level cycling to stay alive.

VTrans must be required to build protected pedestrian/bike infrastructure. In the past 10 years in Richmond, two bridges have been redone on Route 2 that, while marginally wider than they used to be, have no protected pedestrian lanes. (The state argument is that the town doesn’t have any sidewalks connecting to the bridges. The obvious flaws to this argument lead to no pedestrian infrastructure leading up to, across or beyond those bridges for 80 more years.) Unacceptable. When you upgrade roads, bridges and infrastructure anywhere, add protected lanes. When left to its own devices, VTrans will underbuild.

Also, speed limits must be based on the local use of the road, not the 85th percentile rule, where speed limits are set to the speed of the 85th percent-fastest driver on that road. This is stupid and outdated. When a road is a street, don’t average the appropriate speed; make the speed limit appropriate for the slowest user — and enforce it. Lower speed limits, and install speed cameras to ensure compliance. Maybe that inconveniences the commuters, but it keeps the locals alive.

If we truly care about reducing our environmental impact, we have to make roads safe to walk or bike on. That starts with the deputy secretary for engineering.

Roger Brown

Richmond

‘A Flawed System’

[Re “Crash Course: Activists Want to Reshape Shelburne Road After Another Cyclist Is Killed in South Burlington,” November 27; “Two Pedestrians Critically Injured in Shelburne Road Crash,” December 12, online]: On paper, the Shelburne Road corridor, measured from Shelburne’s town center to Burlington city limits, is strikingly similar to the North Avenue corridor: Both corridors are about five miles long, relatively flat and serve as the primary north-south roadway for approximately 10,000 people.

In reality, the two corridors couldn’t be more different in terms of their suitability for bike commuting. North Avenue has buffered on-road bike lanes in most places, has just one vehicle travel lane in each direction and generally has a maximum speed limit of 25 mph.

Shelburne Road, on the other hand, has a posted speed limit of 40 mph on most of the road and two vehicle travel lanes in each direction (ballooning to a maximum width of six lanes, or 80 feet, at the Fayette Drive intersection), yet still identifies that cyclists are to ride on the shoulders of the highway.

That road design is mind-bogglingly unsafe and puts unprotected cyclists just inches from two-ton vehicles that routinely exceed 50 mph. Given this grossly irresponsible design, and the lack of an alternative north-south route, it is no wonder that deaths are so common on Shelburne Road.

The quote given for this article by Vermont Agency of Transportation deputy chief engineer Erin Sisson, which blames cyclist/driver error for recent fatal crashes, is ignorant and illogical. As noted in Jessie Singer’s great book There Are No Accidents, predictable and preventable negative outcomes cannot be classified as “errors.” Rather, they are the inevitable by-products of a flawed system.

Marty Gillies

Burlington