Increased Access To Saint Johnsbury's Waterfront

Details: Created on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 14:50; Written by Dylan Robichaud

Saint Johnsbury-The Saint Johnsbury riverfront could look a lot different in the coming years. Adam Kane, Director of the Fairbanks Museum, brought to the select board, an idea that a park and bike trails could be a solution to bring more tourist to the town, which would help our local economy.

“If you look around at communities that are thriving, one of the most important asset’s is that they are able to capitalize on their waterfronts, and Saint Johnsbury has an incredible waterfront, and nobody knows it, because you don’t really see it,” Kane said.

The Riverfront revitalization committee plans to summit their grant to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board in mid April, and from there it could take several months for approval, but Kane is hopeful that they will receive enough money to pay at least two thirds of the cost of the project, and the money will be a big investment in the future of the town.

“You build all the other parts of the town up, really you make Saint Johnsbury a better place to live, a better place for businesses to invest in, and it’s one more piece of why you would choose to settle in Saint Johnsbury,” Kane said.

Right now the Committee is in the process of getting several grants to make improvements to Saint Johnsbury’s water front, however, this is the only municipal planning grant that is currently active, and if it passes, then sections of the Passumpsic River from the Portland Street Bridge, towards the waste water treatment facility could see a facelift.

“It fits with the town plan, it fits with some of the initiatives the select board is already looking at, it’s just that we need to find the right mix of how to do that,” said Susan Cherry, Director of the Restorative Justice Center.

The committee is currently looking at two properties that the town owns near the bridge, those properties would need a lot of remediation before a park could be built. Cherry also says a lot of cleanups need to be done along the bank of the river before construction of a park can even begin, but once the building begins, the town will see the rate of tourist go up.

“People like to walk around the river, people like to ride their bikes along the river, because water is a nice destination, so we see people coming anyway, and if we have this to offer then people might stay longer, so that’s a big economy boost,” Cherry said.

Other top issues currently being discussed by the select board include improving our wastewater system, and improving design for bikes coming into the downtown area.