Burlington Has a Lot to Learn from Boulder
Posted by Chapin on May 16 2010
Tags: Best Practices, Transit, walk
I am in Boulder with 14 diverse Burlington stakeholders looking at how to keep our downtown vibrant. Like Burlington, Boulder has a great 4-block pedestrian mall.
Boulder has a good transit center a block and a half off of the pedestrian mall that features:
- A heated indoor waiting area
- Public bathrooms
- A little store
- Ticket counter
- Real time bus arrival information
- Parking garage
- Covered bike racks and bike lockers
Passengers can wait inside or under the canopy while the screens provide real time bus info.
The extensive covered bike parking and bike lockers are well utilized by commuters.
Boulder has closed some low-traffic streets to create neighborhood parks and gardens — note how the sidewalks on the side continue through to maintain walking routes.
Boulder’s pedestrian mall has many features such as fountains, raised beds, bridges and kid play areas. It is a wider street and they have less snow to contend with, but their landscaped street environment seems more intimate than Church Street’s straight 4-block corridor.
This kids rock and animal garden is a popular stop for kids on the street.
More pictures and analysis soon, but here are some of my initial take-aways:
- Boulder has a downtown-wide “business improvement district” that enables their group to focus on improving all of downtown, not just their 4-block mall. I believe Burlington could benefit from an active business district that encompassed more than just the Marketplace.
- Boulder gives commuters incentive to free up parking. Parking revenues from the business district pay for all downtown employees to have a free transit pass. Yup, it’s true. 62 percent of commuters regularly travel some other way than driving solo. This frees up thousands of parking spaces for shoppers.
- Seamless biking / walking network is a national model. 10% of commuters in Boulder go by bike –18 times the national average. Paths, bike lanes and wide sides go everywhere. I’ll post more pictures on this soon.
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3 Responses to “Burlington Has a Lot to Learn from Boulder”
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on 17 May 2010 at 9:03 pm 1.Beth Humstone said …
The Church Street Marketplace is Burlington's downtown "business improvement district." It does extend along several side streets now in addition to Church St. The Burlington Business Association covers a bigger area – I think most of downtown. I am on the board of the Portland (Maine) Business Improvement District and it covers all of downtown including the Old Port, the Arts District. As a resident, I am assessed fees to support the district. Burlington might want to consider bringing residents in to support the district.
on 17 May 2010 at 10:13 pm 2.Chapin Spencer said …
Good ideas. Many of us on the trip did discuss how Burlington could explore a larger, more encompassing downtown district. Many of us were intrigued by the thought of having businesses within the waterfront and downtown area all working together to further strengthen Burlington's commercial core. Your experience in Maine, and your knowledge of Burlington, will be a valuable resource as we talk more. Stay in touch Beth!
on 18 May 2010 at 4:32 pm 3.Kevin Kelley said …
Yes, Burl has a lot to learn from Bould, bikewise. I commuted from Boulder to Denver during the 08 Dem Con, and was pleased to see how relatively enlightened both places are in their transport policies/infrastructure. One nice touch, in addition to those Chapin and Beth mention, is the 6-bike racks on the Boulder-Denver commuter buses. CCTA should do the same, at least 6 mos of the year. I've been stranded more than once because the 2-bike racks were full. Boulder also has a better developed in-town bike lane/path system than does Burl, apart from the waterfront. Sorry to carp — and I do appreciate all of LoMo's efforts and achievements — but Winooski Ave from Pearl to Main streets is a cyclist death trap; street's in terrible condition, esp southbound and there's no space at all for bikes on a 4-lane road that's really the only convenient N-S route downtown.