Becka Roolf,
Going Green, Montpelier, VermontGoing
Green is a consulting firm specializing in bicycling and walking.
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Becka Roolf,
Going Green, Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier Vermont, for a small city in a rural state, is relatively easy to get to, out of, and around without a car. First and foremost, downtown Montpelier is a walking city, where pedestrians clearly have the right-of-way in crosswalks and sidewalks abound. Montpelier has less obvious bicycle infrastructure and bicycle culture (although we are working on it -- see the Montpelier Bikes Project.) For those wishing to travel without a car beyond the immediate downtown area, Going Green offers these tips for the following destinations: |
| >> Barre or Berlin: Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA) provides regular bus-service to Barre and Berlin on weekdays and Saturdays. See their website for schedules. |
>> Waterbury or Burlington: During the week, GMTA also runs commuter routes to Waterbury and Burlington -- these are called The LINK commuter buses. While these buses only run during commuter times, you may be able to "split" the day by using the Greyhound bus to travel the opposite direction mid-day.
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| >> Montreal or Boston: Greyhound Bus (formerly Vermont Transit) offers three trips each day from Montpelier north to Montreal and south to Boston (via White River Junction). Vermont Transit went out of business as a separate company in March 2008. |
>> New York, Philadelphia, or Washington DC: Amtrak is the easiest way to get to these destinations, if you don't mind spending a day in transit, curled up with your laptop (power provided in every seat) or other work to keep you occupied. Cell coverage is intermittent at best, and don't expect to get a WiFi connection. Amtrak offers one train a day in each direction: departing Montpelier at 9:42 am and returning to Montpelier at 8:12. The return trip is often late, frequently by 15-20 minutes but sometimes by more than an hour. While Amtrak is not the fastest way to travel, it can be time-efficient with increasing airport delays and time getting to/from the airport.
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>> Brattleboro: Take Amtrak to Brattleboro for the afternoon. From Montpelier, depart at 9:42 and arrive in Brattleboro at 12:31 pm. The return trail departs Brattleboro at 5:10 pm arriving back in Montpelier at 8:12. |
| Burlington Airport: The airport is accessible via inexpensive public transportation from Montpelier, if you book your flights with times to connect to the LINK commuter buses. You do need to plan this out. Keep in mind that the LINK only runs on weekdays. Confirm all schedules with transit providers, as times can change. You do need exact change for bus fares. From Montpelier, you should book an outbound flight any time after 8:45 am, based on a 5:45 am departure from Montpelier and a 7:40 expected arrival at the airport. If you want to leave Montpelier on the 7:20 am bus, book a flight around 10:30 am, as you'll arrive at the airport around 9:10 am. If you are flying a red-eye to Europe, you may want to consult the afternoon schedules to connect to evening flights to JFK or other hub airports.
Ask your LINK driver for a transfer, and you will get all the way from downtown Montpelier to the Burlington airport for an amazing $4 (what a steal). To Montpelier, you'll want to book a flight to arrive in Burlington by about 3 or 4 pm, in order to give a cushion for airport delays and still be likely to catch the The Link bus during commuting times. The earliest bus you'd ideally catch from the Airport would depart at 4:11 pm, enabling you to catch the LINK bus at Cherry St.in Downtown Burlington at 4:45. The latest bus you want to catch from the Airport would be the 5:48 bus, to catch the 6:30 pm LINK. On the return trip, you'll need $1.25 for the local bus, and then $2.75 + transfer for the LINK. Reminder: Confirm all schedules with transit providers, as times can change.
Car-rental option: Sometimes, it makes sense to book a flight that is bus-compatible going only on direction. In that case, you may find it works to rent a car to drive the other direction. Thrifty offers rentals at the airport (call for Thrifty shuttle) and you can drop-off at Bob's Sunoco in Montpelier. If you are headed toward the airport in a rental car, Thrifty is located in Barre but is often able to arrange for you to pick up your rental at Bob's Sunoco; call them to arrange. The one-way rate is typically $40 per day plus taxes and insurance. This can still be cheaper than paying for airport parking. |
| ROUTE
2 - Bridge Detour |
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| Bicycle Detour: Route 2 Bridge in Middlesex On May 30, 2008, the Vermont Agency of Transportation closed the Route 2 bridge over the Winooski River in Middlesex. The bridge has been closed due to structural concerns, and a temporary one-lane bridge is expected to be installed this fall. In the meantime, the bridge is officially closed to bicyclists and pedestrians as well. Motorists are being directed to use I-89 instead. There is a "Lover's Lane" detour that is bike friendly, over a bridge between A and D on the map below. (Zoom in on the map for a better view.) This bridge is also in disrepair and is closed for motorized traffic, so Google maps would not let me map the route across the bridge.
It's easiest to describe from the Waterbury side: Starting at point (B) on the map - turn right toward point (A) immediately before the now-closed bridge onto the dirt road called Lovers Lane. Go less than a mile, climbing once and descending once back to river level, then look on your left for a little bridge over the Mad River between point (A) and point (D). It's closed to cars but fine for bikes & walkers. Then turn Left onto 100B at point (D) and pedal along Route 100B approximately 1.3 miles to Middlesex and the junction with Route 2, point (C). Thanks to Bill Merrylees for writing up this route. The detour is about 2.3 miles long, whereas Route 2 is about 1.4 miles long. The detour is a little longer and a little hillier, so budget your time accordingly. As a reward, the rest of your ride on Route 2 is likely to be more pleasant from the reduced traffic due to the closed bridge! |
Touring With Your Bicycle in Amsterdam: Where to Lock It In 2007, I was a delegate to the VeloCity European Bicycling Conference, and subsequently conducted an on-bicycle survey of the bicycling facilities in rural Baveria, along the Rhine River Valley, and on the Long Distance (LF) routes in the Netherlands. As part of this trip, I visited Amsterdam by bicycle. Amsterdam is of course an amazing bicycling city, and bicycle is easily the best way to see it -- most of the people on foot are tourists (usually clutching guidebooks or maps). Only by bicycle can you see the city as the natives do. But, Amsterdam is also well-known for its bicycle theft. Prior to this trip, several persons had given advice to stay in the suburbs and leave my bicycle safely in a motel room. This is not the way to experience Amsterdam by bicycle! At the same time, once you arrive at destinations like the Rijksmuseum, what to do with your bicycle to keep it safe? I asked questions about bicycle locks and was assured that there was no bicycle lock capable of locking a nice quality Bike Friday touring bike securely in Amsterdam. In hindsight, here is what I discovered and would like to share with you as a tip: If you are touring in Amsterdam by bicycle, there are a number of staffed bicycle locker rooms located in the city. The lockers charge a modest fee, but their personnel provide additional security. You still use a sturdy lock on your bicycle in the locker. See www.locker.amsterdam.nl for details (in Dutch). |