Studies and Reports Database

Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), Green Mountain Transit (GMT) and United Way of Northwest Vermont (United Way) worked with the Chittenden County Elders and Persons with Disabilities Transit Program partners (E&D) in order to answer the following challenges: How can we support Chittenden County’s E&D partners in their role as program administrators to help create a rider-informed and equitable paratransit service for all Chittenden County residents? How can Chittenden County’s E&D providers modify services to increase rider satisfaction and optimize limited program funds? The project evaluated Chittenden County’s E&D program from the partner perspective and generated opportunities for shared learning and collaboration between all Chittenden County’s E&D stakeholders.

The goal of this update to the CCRPC's Active Transportation Plan (ATP) is to produce a region-wide Plan for existing and future bicycle and pedestrian facilities and programs that will serve as the active transportation element of the CCRPC’s long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). This plan update builds upon previous plans and projects and ensures that ongoing active transportation initiatives are coordinated across the County to provide a cohesive and useful pedestrian and bicycle network.

Beginning in 2021, the CCRPC embarked on an update of the Chittenden County Park & Ride Plan. This plan identifies opportunities for improvements to the existing facilities and evaluates the potential for new facilities that will benefit commuters and residents throughout Chittenden County and the adjacent communities. The Plan created a vision statement for the purpose and function of park & rides, completed an inventory of existing facilities, prioritized a list of park & ride and intercept facilities, and created an implementation plan. The updated Plan incorporates elements from the 2011 Plan using a revised approach to account for the many changes in the demand for park & rides, remote work, and general changes in travel behavior.

CarShare Vermont used UPWP funding to support our efforts to better meet the transportation needs of households with lower incomes by conducting outreach about the expansion of our carsharing service at four affordable housing developments in the Burlington area, and to promote awareness about our MobilityShare membership, which provides free memberships and subsidized driving rates to residents of the properties (and to all income eligible households in the community). This study helped inform an MTI grant awarded by the Vermont Agency of Transportation in late 2020 to introduce electric carsharing onsite at the affordable housing sites to improve access to both our service and to EVs, recognizing that EV access through ownership may be impossible or undesired for many individuals and households.

2022 marks the first year of Park Your CARbon, an updated and re-imagined version of the previous Way to Go! Challenge. Park Your CARbon is an awareness campaign encouraging Vermonters to park their vehicle for one trip, one day, or one week in an effort to curb carbon emissions and promote the use of other transportation modes.

Born out of the I-89 2050 Study, this assessment reviewed two interchange concepts, one in Milton near the West Milton Road bridge over I-89, and one in Bolton near the Bolton Valley Access Road. Both locations have previously underwent some form of study. However, the previous studies date back to the late 1980s/early 1990s. This assessment served to review modern geometric design standards and environmental requirements as they pertain to each conceptual interchange.

In 2017, the CCRPC completed an update of the region’s Active Transportation Plan (ATP) with the goal of creating “a safe, comfortable, and connected regional network of pedestrian and bicycle routes that appeal to all ages and abilities.” Developing a “robust” bicycle count program was one of the key non-infrastructure recommendations in the ATP. The UVM Transportation Research Center (“TRC”) was contracted to evaluate current bicycle data collection efforts in the region, identify gaps and limitations, and make recommendations on how to develop a comprehensive bicycle count program that could better support the region’s bicycle planning objectives.

With the passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is expected to be a 35% increase in transit funding above the FAST Act investment levels; additional resources at the local level to serve as matching funds will likely be needed. Rather than just continuing to lean on existing sources of revenue, this renewed need for local funding offers the opportunity to overhaul how transit is funded both in the Chittenden County metropolitan area and in the rural parts of Vermont.

The UVM Transportation Research Center (TRC) evaluated the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission's 2017 Active Transportation Plan (ATP) to determine the current implementation status of the Plan’s recommendations and develop a strategy for implementing and prioritizing the ATP’s remaining projects and recommendations.

This report details the school-year focus on Vermont schools, the addition of new events and statewide challenge, and overall results of the 2020/2021 Way to Go! program, outreach and marketing efforts, program results and winners, challenges to changing transportation behaviors, and lessons to consider.