Morrisville is a village in transition. This construction season the state of Vermont plans to finish work on an alternative truck route that will allow travelers on Route 100 to bypass the Village. Some locals think this will be the death of an already-struggling downtown. Others see it as an opportunity to create a "walkable downtown" that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly. It is to that end that the downtown group Morristown Alliance for Culture and Commerce (MACC) developed its Morrisville Alive! initiative.
The first step in that initiative was to create a survey to help shape a vision for the future of the village. Now, with early survey results in hand, MACC is holding a series of Morrisville Alive! meetings throughout the spring. A Morrisville Alive! press release states:
The makeup of Morrisville has changed in the last couple years and MACC needs your input!! We would like to hear how you would like to see the community move forward in the next 5, 10 and long term, 50 year plan. Now is the time we need to come up with a plan and start implementing the steps to make your ideas happen. Small steps do make a big difference in the long run.
The release states the first meeting, scheduled for March 24, will focus on traffic and the downtown design.
At this meeting we will be discussing what people want to see happen with the traffic and design of our downtown. Do people want to see more benches and trees, art, etc? How do you feel the traffic flow is in relation to pedestrian and bike traffic?
Subsequent meetings will focus on aesthetics and action plans. The meetings are being held at the town office building as follows:
- “Traffic and Design” Monday, March 24, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- “Aesthetics” Monday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- “Action Plans” Saturday, May 24, 9:00 a.m.-noon