Marking the end of an era!
April 8th
Catch up on all the action at the Statehouse this past month!
Network Capacity Study Public Workshop
Jan 31, 2020
The Kingdom Trail Association (KTA) will be hosting a public workshop to collect input on the
community’s vision for the future of the trail system. The KTA, in partnership with the Burke Area
Chamber of Commerce, is working through a community planning process supported by SE Group—a
consulting firm that specializes in community engagement and recreation planning. The year-long
planning process will address region-wide issues and opportunities concerning trail amenities, access
points, community connections, traffic, circulation, and safety. The public is invited to share their
thoughts, ideas, and concerns as the process kicks off to help establish the foundation of the plan. The
workshop will be an open house format with no opening or closing presentations, so attendees may
drop by anytime. This is a family friendly event!
Location: Burke Town School Gym
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 11 at 5:00-7:30pm.
BACKGROUND
Kingdom Trails is a world-class trail system deeply intertwined with the local community. Local
community members have banded together to develop the 100+ mile trail system and 97 private
landowners allow trails to pass through their property. The user experience extends well beyond the
trail network itself to the community fabric and tourism infrastructure that surround it. Users drive and
ride along local roads, visit lodging and restaurants, and can overflow the village parking areas.
Over the past few years Kingdom Trails has become one of the most popular mountain bike destinations
in the United States, with over 100,000 visits per year. Visitation is growing sharply, and annual
visitation grew by 132% between 2013 and 2018. With this growth, the community has experienced
increasing impacts – both positive and negative – from the increasing number of users of the trail
system. The trail system generates tremendous economic impact for the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont
and is a fantastic recreation resource for the community. However, the existing level of use places
pressure on the community, its infrastructure, and the landowners. In December 2019, landowners
along Darling Hill Road chose to revoke bike access to trails on their property due in part to this
increased pressure.
The Kingdom Trail Association (KTA) has been aware of the issues associated with this increasing
pressure and was seeking to address them prior to the landowners’ recent announcement. The
OneBurke visioning process formally identified these emerging issues in 2017 and the KTA has since
sought funding to study and plan for improvement of the system through a community-led planning
process. Parking and circulation issues have been studied in the East Burke Village and the KTA has been
an integral partner, alongside the Town of Burke, in the rehabilitation of East Darling Hill Road.
In 2019, the KTA, in conjunction with the Burke Area Chamber of Commerce, applied for and received a
USDA Rural Business Development Grant to help fund a Kingdom Trails Network Capacity Study to help
provide an understanding of the capacity of the trail network and associated community infrastructure.
The study will also contemplate strategies to address the growing number of users and address capacity
imbalances in the system with an eye towards improving quality of life in the region.
In November 2019, KTA and the Burke Area Chamber of Commerce retained the services of SE Group, a
recreation and community planning firm, to undertake the study and planning process. SE Group has
strong experience in analyzing the capacity of recreational systems and leading community-driven
planning processes. SE Group is working with Stantec, a transportation engineering firm, to better
understand the parking, traffic, and crossing issues associated with the trail network.
The study is intended to address issues and capacity of the Kingdom Trails network and enhance the
network’s positive impact on the host communities. This study will explore a new Welcome Center
location, access portal improvements, connections and crossings, and opportunities to disperse users.
Key project elements include data collection on existing levels of use and experience in both winter and
summer, engagement with the host communities, a network analysis that includes traffic and parking,
and conceptual designs for potential improvements.
As the landowners and community are at the heart of the Kingdom Trails system and they are
experiencing this increasing pressure first-hand, input from all will drive this planning process.
Throughout, the project team will seek input from landowners, community members, and users on a
vision, existing issues with the system, and potential improvements. Given the many facets of the
Kingdom Trails network beyond the trails themselves, the study will engage local business owners,
community partners, and other stakeholders as well. The study kicked off in December 2019 and is
expected to wrap up at the end of the summer 2020 season.
The project team has developed the following goals for the project:
- Create a safer and less congested high-quality experience for those walking, biking, and driving
- Strengthen and broaden the economic impact of the trail network by improving the trail to business connectivity and spreading the economic impact across the region
- Relieve the pressure and stress currently being placed on landowners, communities, and road by planning for managed growth consistent with and respecting the quality of life in the communities
- Balance the capacities of the system components (trail network, hotels, parking, roads, etc.)
- Better disperse use and parking across the trail network and communities
- Develop necessary infrastructure to accommodate high use areas including a welcome center, enhanced access portals, trail connections, and on-road infrastructure
To begin engaging the community in this process, KTA is holding a Visioning Open House and Public
Workshop on February 11, 2020 from 5 – 7:30 PM at the Burke Town School Gym. The event is a family-
friendly open house format, where attendees can drop in at any time to provide their input. Interactive
stations will ask attendees about their vision for the trail network, issues they’re experiencing,
amenities, and other opportunities. Large-scale maps will be provided for attendees to indicate pinch
points, challenging crossings, and areas to disperse use away from and to. Members of the project team
and the KTA Staff and Board of Directors will also be available for one-on-one discussions.
Throughout this process, there will be many more opportunities for the public to provide input. An
interactive Storymap website about the study has just been launched on the KTA website. The Storymap
website includes project updates, interactive mapping exercises, upcoming public engagement events,
and opportunities to provide feedback for those unable to attend the Visioning Open House or other
future events. In March and April, the project team will hold Host Community Summits, when the
project team will tour each of the host communities; Burke, Lyndon, Kirby, and East Haven, meet with
stakeholders, and hold community open houses to delve deeper into that community’s specific issues
and opportunities. Following these events, the project team will incorporate all the public input and
analyze data to develop draft solutions to present and review with the public in July. To stay up to date
on the project process and future opportunities, go to www.kingdomtrails.org/networkcapacity
CONTACT:
Abigail Long
Executive Director
Kingdom Trail Association
PO Box 204
East Burke, VT 05832
802.626.0737
info@kingdomtrails.org
Drew Pollak-Bruce
Senior Planner
SE Group
131 Church Street
Suite 300
Burlington, Vermont 05401
802.735.9144
dbruce@segroup.com
John Kascenska
President
Burke Area Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 347
East Burke, VT
802-626-4124
burkechamber@burkevermont.com
100+ miles of non-motorized, multi-use trails for all seasons and abilities.
802-626-0737
© 2019 · Kingdom Trails AssociationP.O. Box 204 · East Burke, VT 05832
© 2019 · Kingdom Trails Association
P.O. Box 204 · East Burke, VT 05832
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