With significant flood damage to the Colchester - South Hero causeway section of the Island Line Trail, Local Motion is cancelling the entire 2011 Bike Ferry season. Both the southern causeway section owned by the Town of Colchester and the northern causeway section owned by VT Fish & Wildlife Department sustained extensive erosion damage and will not be repaired in time for setting up ferry operation. Click here for photos of the damage.

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STAKEHOLDERS SET UP FUND FOR TRAIL REPAIR

To help trail managers fund the upcoming repairs to the Burlington Bike Path and the Colchester - South Hero Causeway, stakeholders have launched a ‘Friends of the Island Line Trail’ committee and a related charitable fund. While FEMA funding for trail repairs looks likely, FEMA funding requires a 25% local match and host communities do not have this funding in their current budgets. As a result, residents and local businesses are continuing to step up to raise critical matching funds.  2011 fundraising events included:

• July 1-3: Five area bike shops donated 7% of proceeds to trail repair
• July 4: July 4th BBQ Dance Party, Blue Paddle Bistro, South Hero
• July 15: Full Moon Dance Party w/ Joshua Panda Band, Old Lantern, Charlotte
• Aug 6: Save the Trail Soiree w/ Dirt Road, Snow Farm Winery, South Hero
• Sept 23-25: Nor'Easter Powered by Eastern Mtn Sports, Burlington Waterfront
• Ongoing: $2 from each Burl. Free Press ‘2011 Storms’ book donated to trail repair

Help repair the trail by visitng Friends of the Island Line.

REGION STILL OPEN FOR BIKING & WALKING

While parts of the Island Line Trail are closed, significant sections of the trail remain open. Local Motion can help steer residents and visitors around closed sections and find other great trails to enjoy in the region. Check out homepage for current trail status. Other trails can be found on our Trail Finder or by calling our Trailside Center (802-652-2453).

On the last crossing of the season, Captains Scudder and Ed take passengers from Brattleboro and Montreal across the cut.

Both locals and visitors were thrilled to have the Bill and Carole Hauke Bike Ferry available every weekend between July 4th and Labor Day to shuttle them across the missing link in the Colchester/South Hero causeway. See our 2010 pictures!

Although ridership was below what was hoped for, almost 3,500 riders generously gave an average of more than $8. Contributing to the financial sustainability of the ferry are generous individual donors and business sponsors, including our 2010 Underwriting Sponsor: VBT Bicycling Vacations. Other sponsors include: Earl's Cyclery & Fitness, Switchback, Old Spokes Home, Twincraft Soap, Paw Print & Mail, Marble Island Marina, Specialized, Skirack, Saba Marine, Fox Marine, the City of Burlington, and of course, the ongoing support of Bill and Carole Hauke. The enthusiastic support and dedication of time by the 120 volunteers, (including 31 City Market member workers) was also critical as it has been since the first ferry across the Winooski River in 1999. This ferry, and the development of the entire Island Line trail, is truly a community effort!

Special recognition goes out to the owners and stewards of the causeway and its' approaches - the Town of Colchester, and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. Without their support, partnership, and on-going investment in the maintenance and improvement of this truly unique linear park, the Bike Ferry would not be possible. Their efforts ensure that the Island Line Trail is a safe and enjoyable experience for all local users, as well as for visitors from around the state and around the world! We would also like to recognize the Town of South Hero for their support over the years, most recently, for taking action to make South Street safer for cyclists by lowering speed limits, installing share-the-road signage, and increasing shoulder widths by narrowing vehicle lanes, a proven traffic-calming measure.

This was a transition year between the past – years of limited schedules demonstrating the feasibility of offering this unique service on a regular basis, and the future – a vision of dependable, daily service. Predictably, the prevailing southerly winds presented a challenge again this year, shutting down operations for three of the scheduled 22 days. Next year, we expect to launch a capital campaign to help fund improvements that will enable us to overcome the constant threat of closure by high wind and waves. Those improvements include floating breakwaters to allow us to operate safely in the frequent strong southerly winds; a larger, commercial-grade vessel; and a public fishing platform. We are very close to completing the process of securing all permits right-of-way agreements. This next stage in the Bike Ferry's development will finally establish the Island Line Trail as a dependable route across the lake, connecting the Islands, Colchester, and Burlington. Stay tuned.