MEMS Pedestrian Access Scoping Study

Dufresne Group was selected by the Town of Manchester and the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) to assist the BCRC in preparing a scoping study evaluating bicycle and pedestrian access to the Manchester Elementary and Middle School (MEMS).  This project was funded by a VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant.

MEMS is accessed by both Memorial Avenue (from the south) and School Street (from the west).  Memorial Avenue has an existing 5-foot-wide sidewalk, which is in poor condition and does not comply with ADA guidelines.  School Street does not have any existing bicycle or pedestrian facilities.  The Memorial Avenue/Main Street intersection has crosswalks across both Main Street and Memorial Avenue; however, the crosswalk across Main Street does not comply with current standards and the location is dangerous for students.    The School Street and Bonnet Street intersection has a crosswalk across School Street, but not across Bonnet Street.

The scoping study evaluated alternatives to improve bicycle and pedestrian access to MEMS.  The preferred alternative included:  bump outs at Memorial Avenue/Main Street intersection and the elimination of the on-street parking on Main Street; a new crosswalk across Bonnet Street with bump outs; and a new sidewalk along the south side of School Street.  The Town is planning to replace the existing sidewalk on Memorial Avenue as part of the MEMS Greenspace project, which was in the conceptual design phase concurrently with the preparation of this scoping study.