FERRISBURGH — Vermont Agency of Transportation officials told the Ferrisburgh community in early in 2019 that traffic lights at a dangerous Route 7 intersection could be installed “in a couple years.”
Those lights should be place by this fall, according to a VTrans email.
Ferrisburgh selectboard Chair Jessica James told the board on March 16 about the email from VTrans Project Manager Erin Parizo.
It was Parizo who made that promise at a January 2019 meeting attended by about 70 residents concerned about safety at Route 7’s North Ferrisburgh intersection with Old Hollow and Stage roads.
At that 2019 gathering, VTrans officials disclosed their research had uncovered 21 crashes in the intersection’s vicinity duting the previous five years — showing it clearly needed further safety improvements.
In Parizo’s March 16 email, she told James and North Ferrisburgh resident Judy Chaves that VTrans had hired Don Weston Excavating Inc. to do the work, and the company was “getting ready to start work this summer,” adding, “I’m optimistic they will be able to meet their completion date of Oct. 15.”
Dozens of residents at the 2019 gathering talked about the difficulty of getting onto the state highway from the side roads, especially during summer and peak traffic hours. They also expressed concerns about pedestrian traffic from the businesses in the area, including Cookie Love and the Mobil Short Stop; the post office; and bus stops.
Some also said they were worried about the many cyclists, especially those on tours, who pass through the intersection.
In other business at Ferrisburgh’s March 16 meeting, the board:
•  Heard from Road Foreman John Bull that his budget is in good shape, and that he has plenty of winter road materials remaining.
•  Heard from James the town will receive around $270,000 in funding from the recently passed federal American Rescue Plan. James said there are strings attached on how the money can be spent, and she’s researching options.
•  Re-elected James as the chair of the board and Clark Hinsdale as the vice-chair.
•  Made a series of appointments: Arabella Holzapfel, Tim Davis and Steve Huffaker as Addison County Regional Planning Commission representatives; David Olson as an Addison County Solid Waste Management District representative; Huffaker as an Addison County Transportation Advisory Committee representative; Cliff Mix as Tree Warden; and Norm Smith and Diane Nadon as Zoning Board of Adjustment members.