Tuesday, November 5, 2019
A 50,000-square-foot Greater Burlington YMCA is set to open at 298 College Street on January 1 following a years-long, $28 million project to update and modernize its popular facility, according to the Y's director of communications, Doug Bishop.
To make the Y more accessible, membership rates will drop. A single adult membership will cost $49 per month, down from the current $70. A two-adult family membership will decrease from $98 to $84 per month. One-adult families will pay $74, down from $82. A financial assistance program will provide scholarships to those who demonstrate need.
The current Y, a 1934 red-brick structure at 266 College Street, is “a rabbit warren” of rooms and stairs where few spaces serve their original purpose, said Bishop. The new facility, just 150 steps from the old Y at the former Ethan Allen Club, will use space more efficiently and purposefully. It complies fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act, equipped with an elevator, wide doors and hallways that can accommodate wheelchairs. Both the lap pool and program pool will be equipped with lift chairs. Young children can enjoy a new "splash pad."
To make the Y more accessible, membership rates will drop. A single adult membership will cost $49 per month, down from the current $70. A two-adult family membership will decrease from $98 to $84 per month. One-adult families will pay $74, down from $82. A financial assistance program will provide scholarships to those who demonstrate need.
The current Y, a 1934 red-brick structure at 266 College Street, is “a rabbit warren” of rooms and stairs where few spaces serve their original purpose, said Bishop. The new facility, just 150 steps from the old Y at the former Ethan Allen Club, will use space more efficiently and purposefully. It complies fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act, equipped with an elevator, wide doors and hallways that can accommodate wheelchairs. Both the lap pool and program pool will be equipped with lift chairs. Young children can enjoy a new "splash pad."
Tags: Greater Burlington YMCA , childcare , pools , Web Only , Image
Burlington city councilors on Monday called for the Vermont Agency of Transportation to provide more information about two controversial rail projects planned for the waterfront.
A report released earlier this summer named Burlington's Union Station as the best place to overnight trains once Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express begins service to the Queen City in 2021 or 2022. VTrans and the for-profit Vermont Rail System also intend to build a second rail line between King and College streets regardless of where the trains are stored, Burlington's Public Works Department Director Chapin Spencer told the council.
The new track would displace a section of Burlington bike path, which would need to be rebuilt on the west side of the train tracks and on the city's dime, according to Spencer.
The proposals have drawn ire from residents who say the study was flawed and that a second track will bring noise and pollution to Burlington's waterfront.
"Once the second track is built ... the railroad will do whatever it wants, and we’ll be powerless to stop it," resident Ritchie Berger said, adding that Burlington's waterfront could become a second rail yard.
A report released earlier this summer named Burlington's Union Station as the best place to overnight trains once Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express begins service to the Queen City in 2021 or 2022. VTrans and the for-profit Vermont Rail System also intend to build a second rail line between King and College streets regardless of where the trains are stored, Burlington's Public Works Department Director Chapin Spencer told the council.
The new track would displace a section of Burlington bike path, which would need to be rebuilt on the west side of the train tracks and on the city's dime, according to Spencer.
The proposals have drawn ire from residents who say the study was flawed and that a second track will bring noise and pollution to Burlington's waterfront.
"Once the second track is built ... the railroad will do whatever it wants, and we’ll be powerless to stop it," resident Ritchie Berger said, adding that Burlington's waterfront could become a second rail yard.
Tags: Burlington City Council , Vermont Rail System , Amtrak , Vermont Agency of Transportation , Web Only , Image