NORTH FERRISBURGH — At their Feb. 21 meeting, members of the Ferrisburgh selectboard reviewed the latest response from the Agency of Transportation to the board’s request for a study of the Route 7-Stage Road intersection that could lead to its signalization.
Residents have petitioned the board to lobby VTrans for a light, and the board had even before gone back and forth with agency officials on the issue.
In an email, one official said work done a couple years back to install a left-turn lane and limit curb cuts for the gas station at the intersection was as much as VTrans could do without installing lights. The email stated it was now up to the town to request a full scoping study, starting with the Addison Country Regional Planning Commission.
Selectboard Chairwoman Loretta Lawrence said board members are not optimistic the agency will act anytime soon.
“The board’s take on this is that the state is kicking the can down the road, without further commitment, at this time,” Lawrence said in a Wednesday interview. “They want the town to request a study. We would need to apply to regional planning for a grant, for this coming year, to do a feasibility study. Even after a study, who knows if the state will even commit to the findings.”
Also at the meeting, the selectboard gave permission to resident Nick Patch and Ferrisburgh Central School students to tap maple trees on the town’s Route 7 Union Meeting Hall property, as they have in the past.
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at [email protected].