On April 27th the Selectboard hosted a discussion of suggestions and issues regarding siting of a Municipal Park and Ride at the lower parking lot at Monkton Central School. The lower parking lot was built by the Recreation Committee as a parking lot for a proposed recreational facility and as a park and ride. The meeting was sparsely attended but was fruitful nonetheless. All participants agreed that the site was suitable for a Park and Ride and that a Park and Ride would benefit the Town of Monkton. Below in some proposals and next steps.
Proposals:
- Lighting – Additional lighting for the lower parking lot should be provided. This might be similar to the lighting already present at the school entrance and the school parking lot. The draft map of the Park and Ride shows where this lighting might be.
- Bus Shelter – A bus shelter should be built if monies allow. The proposed location was in the North West corner of the lot to move it furthest away from the school parking lot and allow spacing for handicap access.
- Bike Rack – a bike rack should be part of the Park and Ride to encourage biking to the Park and Ride.
- Access – An additional curb cut (driveway) was discussed but it was decided that the Town should take a ‘wait and see’ attitude. Many of the people who use areas in town for commuting already don’t seem to be in conflict with the 7:20 am to 7:50 am peak usage time for the Monkton Central School entrance. If congestion becomes an issue in the future, adding a curb cut is not a large additional expense. The draft map shows proposed traffic flow.
- Pave Shared Entrance – It was suggested that if monies exist, paving the Monkton Central School entrance would be a good idea. This would be a shared entrance with both MCS and the Park and Ride.
- Maintenance – Care wants to be given that both the Monkton Central School and the Park and Ride have locations for snow removal that don’t interfere with each other.
- Trash – Public trash recycling should be provided as part of the bus shelter.
Next Steps:
- Contact the State of Vermont and see if any or all of the grant monies can be used for this project. Assigned to Thea Gaudette.
