Burlington Public Works agrees to modify design of intersection

We're waiting to find out when Burlington Public Works will begin modifying an intersection that many of you told us made your commute more frustrating and dangerous.

Tuesday night, public works announced it will modify the bump-outs at the intersection of Maple and St. Paul streets that people said were hard to navigate. They said following public comments and an engineering review, they were going to make what they're calling minor modifications.

They're going to shrink the bump-outs and soften the angle and edge of the granite curbs at the southern two corners. They're not touching the northern side, at least not now. Those corners are already done, so it would cost more to rip and redo.

So, they're asking drivers to test out the modification once they're done, to see if that will do.

Public Works Director Chapin Spencer said on Tuesday night that the work would begin Wednesday.

We drove the intersection Wednesday, but so far, nothing visible had changed.

Our Celine McArthur called Max Tracy, the City Council member who chairs the transportation committee for some details, but had not yet heard back when this story was published. She also reached out to Chapin Spencer with the same result.

People who live in and drive through that area have been extremely vocal about this issue, some asking who will pay the extra cost to fix the intersection.

Public works said the fix would cost about $20,000 or possibly more.

The City Council asked where the money was coming from and Spencer said they currently had a $60,000 balance in a contingency fund, but he wasn't sure how much would really be there. He wasn't on top of the money, so we're asking those questions and we'll let you know what they say.