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CCRPC Executive Committee recommends Board approve detailed edits and reprioritization in Vermont State Rail Plan
Summary
CCRPC staff asked the Executive Committee to forward a set of detailed comments on the Draft Vermont State Rail Plan that elevate several projects, request clarifications on technical topics, and strengthen funding language; the committee voted unanimously to recommend the comments to the Board.
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee voted to recommend that the full Board approve CCRPC staff comments on the Draft Vermont State Rail Plan.
Eleni Churchill, CCRPC Transportation Program Manager, walked the committee through proposed edits and reprioritizations intended to reflect local priorities and to clarify technical and funding matters in the five‑year plan. Staff recommended moving the Burlington Railyard Enterprise Project into the first priority tier, breaking Passenger Rail Station Improvements into individually prioritized projects, and elevating Burlington‑to‑Essex track improvements (including connecting the Ethan Allen Express with the Vermonter) to increase ridership and better advance the State energy goal of quadrupling Vermont‑based passenger rail trips to 400,000 annual trips.
Churchill also asked for several clarifications to the Draft Plan: explain why commuter rail is treated separately from the State Public Transit Plan; provide more detail on Positive Train Control; reference first‑responder hazardous materials training in areas where freight moves hazardous cargo; identify target years for the performance measures that are not being met; assign an ID for the Ethan Allen Express–Vermonter connection and explain how the connection would function; expand the discussion of transit‑oriented development (what municipal support would look like and roles for regional planning commissions); and make the funding discussion on p.50 more robust with possible public‑private partnership approaches.
Mike O’Brien, CCRPC Chair, asked about timeframes for second‑tier projects; Churchill said the plan currently lists no firm timeframes and that the plan is updated every five years to enable access to funding. John Zicconi excused himself from the Rail Plan discussion at 6:12 PM because of a potential conflict of interest; he rejoined the meeting at 6:28 PM.
Andy Montroll moved, and Chris Shaw seconded, that the committee recommend the comments be forwarded to the Board for approval; the motion carried unanimously.
Staff said the next steps are to forward the packet with the recommended edits to the Board for action and to incorporate any final editorial clarifications requested by the Board before submittal.
