South Burlington — The City Council unanimously approved moving forward with a medium‑term plan to realign the northbound off ramp at Interstate 89 Exit 14 and asked staff to revisit the question of a two‑way, center‑median shared use path after the east‑west bike‑pedestrian bridge is built.

The council approved two motions without opposition: one directing staff to work with the Vermont Agency of Transportation to fund and expedite design and construction of the northbound off‑ramp realignment; the second asked staff to re‑evaluate the utility of a median shared use path on Williston Road after the bike‑pedestrian bridge is complete and after immediate and short‑term safety improvements are installed.

Why it matters: Exit 14 is the principal regional interchange serving Burlington and South Burlington and a gateway for commuters, transit and people walking and biking. The scoping study, led by VHB with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, framed improvements in three time bands — immediate, medium (7–12 years) and long term (20+ years) — and weighed alternatives including compressed diamond, diverging diamond and single‑point diamond reconfigurations.

City staff and consultants emphasized safety and multimodal connectivity. “This interchange is the primary entryway into South Burlington,” said Erica Quallen, deputy director of capital projects, in the presentation about local transportation goals. The study identified 369 crashes at locations around the interchange from 2019–2023 and listed several ramp merge deficiencies and tightly spaced signals as operational problems.

The advisory committee recommended an option that keeps cyclists and pedestrians separated from high‑speed ramp movements by routing them into a protected median shared use path through the interchange while realigning the northbound off ramp to create more separation from the Dorset Street signal. That alternative was presented as a medium‑term, implementable option that would require less ramp reconfiguration than a full interchange rebuild.

Council and public comment: Councilors asked detailed operational questions about signal timing, crash history and how the proposed median path would interact with the planned east‑west bridge. Public commenter Ryan Doyle, who has participated in local transportation planning, cautioned that signage alone is limited — “Signage doesn't have a big impact on drivers. It's, you know, largely performative, but it is the least we could do,” he said — and urged rigorous follow‑up design.

Votes and next steps: The first motion — advance the northbound off‑ramp realignment and coordinate funding and expedited design with VTrans — passed unanimously; the second — to re‑evaluate the median shared use path after the bike‑pedestrian bridge opens and after immediate/short‑term improvements — also passed unanimously. Staff said short‑term safety changes (enhanced crossings, rectangular rapid‑flashing beacons and raised gore/shoulder areas) will be implemented this summer and that some features can be coordinated with a VTrans resurfacing project planned for 2027.

Longer‑term study: The scoping report carries both a diverging diamond and a compressed diamond design forward for further study if long‑term funding for an interchange reconfiguration is secured. The final scoping report will be completed this fall; the council’s endorsements were framed as guidance, not as committed construction schedules.

What to watch: Bid opening for the east‑west bike‑pedestrian bridge is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m.; the results and early monitoring of bridge use will inform the council’s later decision on a median shared use path.