Raceway Road Demonstration Project

The Jericho Bicycle & Pedestrian Connectivity Committee (JBPCC), with support from the Town of Jericho, is planning to install temporary posts along the eastern 1/3 mile of Raceway Road to provide a protected path for pedestrians and bicyclists. Depending on support from VTrans, this project will also look at ways to improve the crossing between Raceway Road and Rt. 15 at Jericho Market with fresh paint to make it safer for pedestrians to cross.

Read on to learn more about the project, and take the community input survey  here .

• You can join us for a short public comment section at the Jericho Town Hall on Monday March 10th at 7 PM (join virtually by looking for the agenda here, when it is posted). Since this public comment section will be part of the JBPCC's meeting, there will be limited time for discussion.
• We will also be hosting a larger public forum at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library on Saturday March 22nd at 1 PM.

In April, 2024 the Jericho Selectboard approved of a plan for Raceway Road to serve as a key bicycle and pedestrian connection between Riverside and Jericho Corners. This connection makes sense: This section of Raceway supports dozens of homes, including the Jeri Hill independent living facility, and connects this neighborhood to important destinations like the Jericho Market, Browns River Middle School, and Deborah Rawson Library, as well as other community spaces including churches, a post office, and parks.

This route is popular with school children, elderly, and people walking their dogs or exercising along Raceway Road. However, the road lacks protection or dedicated space to make walking or biking along it safe or accessible.

The intersection at the Jericho Market has long crossing distances, wide turning radii, and a lack of dedicated space for pedestrians on Raceway Road. This allows high-speed turns off Rt. 15 and limited visibility or protection for pedestrians. This is a key intersection for connecting families on Raceway Road to the grocery store, schools, and other destinations.

While the Jericho Bicycle Pedestrian Connectivity Committee is still exploring designs for Raceway Road and the intersection, the fundamental goal is to create a protected pedestrian/bicycle path along Raceway Road from Willow Lane/Valleys Edge east towards Route 15. This protected path will likely be constructed from flexible delineator posts, such as those shown here.

These posts can be used on any road surface, and allow for easy installation, removal, and—if needed—alterations during the demonstration projects duration. They can also be reused for future demonstrations in Jericho after this demonstration is completed.

Depending on grant funding, the project team also hopes to revitalize the walking path between Raceway Road and Jeri Hill in order to better serve the community that lives there.

In order to minimize the demonstration's impact on the town's budget and labor hours, the Jericho Bicycle and Pedestrian Connectivity Committee is volunteering their hours to develop the demonstration, alongside support from  Local Motion .

The committee and Local Motion will organize volunteers to install, maintain, and remove the demonstration project (want to get involved? Reach out to jack@localmotion.org!).

The materials used in the demonstration will come, in part, from Local Motion's " Pop-up Trailer " and from grant funding that the committee is working hard to obtain. The committee is currently applying to grants from  America Walks  and  AARP . We'll keep you updated as we know more!

During the Winter of 2024-2025, the project team will continue to reach out to the public, residents, and organizations along the project area culminating in a public forum or open house in the early Spring.

Depending on the source and timing of grant funding, the goal is to have the demonstration project installed as early in the summer as possible. Excepting any significant challenges, the demonstration project is planned to stay up until Mid-Fall.

The project team hopes to work with Browns Middle school to organize a large walking bus on National Walk and Roll to School Day on October 8th!

After the demonstration has been installed, another community input survey will be shared to get feedback on what worked and what could be improved about the project. The project team will use all of this to create a recommendation to the town for permanent improvements to Raceway Road to protect pedestrians and bicyclists.

You can provide feedback using the Community Input Survey  here . The survey should take 5 minutes and will ask your relationship to the road, how you use it, and your vision for the road's future.

The Jericho Bicycle & Pedestrian Connectivity Committee also invites you to join the discussion about this road and project!

• You can join us for a short public comment section at the Jericho Town Hall on Monday March 10th at 7 PM (join virtually by looking for the agenda here, when it is posted)
• We will also be hosting a public forum at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library on Saturday March 22nd at 1 PM.

You can reach out to  jack@localmotion.org  with any additional feedback or questions, or to request regular updates on the project.