By Kolby R. LaMarche

The City of Burlington is asking New North End residents to engage in a second round of its community survey for the planBTV: New North End project.

The survey, accessible here, invites residents, business owners, and stakeholders in the New North End to provide input on land use, housing, transportation, and community priorities. This follows a January 2025 kickoff event and a Neighborhood Visioning Workshop, where initial feedback was gathered through meeting slides and activity boards, the city said.

The planBTV: New North End project, led by the Office of City Planning with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, aims to create a 10-to-20 year vision for the NNE. The survey builds on Burlington’s Comprehensive Plan, adopted in March 2019, which set out goals for what the city called “sustainable and inclusive development”. The New North End plan will guide zoning changes, infrastructure investments, and community enhancements, focusing on housing affordability, mobility, and greenspace access.

A housing forum, scheduled for September 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Heineberg Senior Center, will complement the survey. Hosted by AARP Vermont and the Office of City Planning, the forum will feature a panel with experts like Emily Whalen of New Frameworks, discussing age-friendly housing options such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The city also partnered with Burlington City Arts and AARP for a Pom Pom Pop-up art installation in April 2025 along North Avenue.

The plan’s impact on the New North End could be substantial. It will inform zoning amendments, including the BTV Neighborhood Code, which seeks diverse housing types like duplexes and townhouses along corridors like North Avenue, the city said. The plan could enable hundreds of new housing units over the next decade, addressing affordability challenges. Infrastructure upgrades, such as improved walkways and bike paths, will align with the 2017 planBTV: Walk/Bike Plan, enhancing safety and connectivity. The city said mixed-use development could support 50-100 new commercial spaces, boosting local employment and small businesses.

The survey’s responses will be analyzed to prioritize projects, with results shaping the plan’s completion by 2026. 

Several years ago, the NNE saw heated debates over proposed bike lane projects as part of the city’s planBTV: Walk/Bike initiative. In 2015, the Burlington Department of Public Works proposed reconfiguring a 0.8-mile stretch of North Avenue from four lanes to two, adding a center turn lane, crosswalks, and bike lanes to enhance safety and support cycling. 

The plan sparked some community backlash, with supporters like cyclist Liam Griffin arguing it would reduce accidents and protect riders, while opponents, including longtime resident Angelo Barton, prioritized maintaining parking and worried about traffic congestion. 

The city said a 2016 pilot project tested the design, collecting data through September before a City Council review in October of that year, revealing mixed resident feedback—some praised safer biking conditions, while others reported longer drive times and concerns for elderly drivers.

Despite the negative feedback, the city said support for bike infrastructure was growing, particularly among younger families and completed the project soon after.