Another snowy and pretty cold day. Not a lot of snow fell, but enough to perhaps make the back roads slippery if anyone was going a little too fast. The fishing shacks are out on the pond and there has been quite a bit of snowmobile activity recently. I'm not sure it's legal, but I've seen some using W. Shore Road. There aren't as many trails connecting the area as there used to be, so I guess riders have to use extreme measures . . .

Fred and Elizabeth can gleefully say tonight, "mission accomplished!" Michael's flight arrived on time at Burlington airport and all is well. Apparently he used the time in Detroit to do some sightseeing and took the delay in stride. We were wondering last night how the weather here in Vermont would compare with Alaska's, but today Michael said Alaska has about the same amount of snow as we have here. I guess the weather is unusual in lots of places . . .

I had an interesting response to my comments yesterday about the Rt. 2 Project. Sam Lewis, a JPA member who lives on Sandy Beach Road, made some good points:

Today, I read your BIog regarding the Route 2 project and would like to comment. While I was not actively involved in the project activity while at the Transportation Agency, I did follow it closely as it impacted me as a commuter on Route 2 as well as impacting my maintenance operations at the Agency.

This project has been in the works for many, many years. One of the reasons that this project has been discussed so much over so many years is that there are impacts and nobody was comfortable with going ahead. In an attempt to address these concerns, the project was the focus of a major design charrette in which the town (elected officials as well as other interested parties) was involved in an attempt to design the project in a way that both lessened the impact on Danville and provided amenities that were beneficial to the town. The collaborative process was valuable in that all who wished to provide input had the opportunity to do so. There were very lively discussions. Not all ideas were adopted. Social, environmental, design and financial impacts all played roles in the adoption or rejection of suggestions. At the end of the process (which was very expensive and took a long time) the character of the project was established. Since that time, the design activities have proceeded, bringing the project to the point that we are at today with construction imminent.

It is not surprising that with the project this close to construction, the reality is sinking in and people are concerned about impacts during construction. The impact and the concerns are real, however they are hard to avoid in that the road goes through the town. Danville is typical of Vermont towns that have developed around the transportation facilities of the area. Both towns and roads have had to adapt as the way we travel changes. There is a parallel in our own lives as we remodel and improve our houses to adjust to our changing lifestyles. During the process we are willing to put up with the change (say, not having a kitchen) and inconvenience in order to reap the future benefits.

Recently the idea of using the rail bed as a detour was raised. While on the surface it seems possible, when you look at what is necessary, the idea becomes less attractive. The rail corridor would have to be extensively improved to handle the type and amount of traffic. Those improvements would be equivalent in scope and cost and local disruption to building a partial bypass around the town. Additionally, there would be extensive permit amendments necessary which would take an incredible amount of effort and time. I do not remember, but I suspect this idea was brought up during the decades of discussion on the Route 2 improvements.

My experience with the personnel at the agency is that they are very attuned to the impacts of a project on a community. The reticence to change design details at the eleventh hour is not as a result of them having a lack of common sense but rather a realistic knowledge regarding the viability of those changes and the constraints of the system they work in.

As with anything we do in our lives, there will indeed be impacts and inconvenience during the process. I do believe that the long term benefits will be worth it.

I'm glad Sam took time to respond. Thanks, Sam, for your reasoned, logical, common sense comments.

I'm sure the people who are struggling to present and work through these last-minute details are knowledgeable and have good intentions. For the townspeople - the merchants, organizations and commuters who are faced with the reality, it's suddenly worrisome, at the very least. They understand they will be inconvenienced, and some worry they will be economically devastated. At this point, everyone has an opinion.

As as a result of the lengthy process, now there are some different players, different circumstances, and hugely different costs. It's too late to reconsider and weigh the pros and cons of going through town or around it. The choice has been made. We can only hope that, as Sam says, the long term benefits will be worth it.

For some background on the Rt. 2 Project, here's a link: Rt. 2 Danville Project