Town Meeting Voters Approve Transportation Study Committee

BURLINGTON, MA — Town meeting approved an article to create a transportation study committee, at Monday's meeting. The article was submitted by Precinct 3 member Mildred Nash, and rewritten ahead of the meeting: initially it called for spending $1,000 on a consultant. Town moderator Bill Beyer, who will appoint the committee, said at the meeting that Nash would be a member.

The rewritten article reads: "To see if the town will vote to instruct the moderator to appoint an ad hoc committee to study and report to town meeting the problems of transportation in the town of Burlington and compare with other communities' possible solutions."

One town meeting voter noted that the $1,000 initially proposed would be insufficient to hire a consultant, but Nash said she appreciated input she received ahead of the meeting, which helped her rewrite the article. She pointed to the coming end of the B-Line bus, the transportation subsidy pilot program and the fact that the town is in the first year of a new school bus contract as reasons to conduct the study now.

"It's a good time to do this," Nash said. "Gridlock is the name of the game."

Town meeting voters approved all other articles, including four changes to the high rise industrial zoning district and a resolution opposing a sign license on a town right-of-way.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.