Rail Town (Bike town), Eco-Village,
From: “SPRAWL-FREE VERMONT
David Sellers, Cynthia Clayton, Javin Pierce and others
July 18 2007

“If we don’t change our direction, we will end up where we are headed” a sign at a Ben and Jerry’s festival.

1. The current situation
a. The evolution of development in Vermont is auto centric. In that the infrastructure for efficient and sustainable configurations doesn’t exist and is not encouraged.
b. Agriculturally viable land in Vermont is available near most growth centers.
c. There is a need for jobs and employment throughout the state
d. Many jobs in larger sectors are leaving the state.
e. Vermont has more artists per capita than any other state.
f. Vermont has existing rail beds in good conditions connecting most of the major cities and towns.
g. There is no passenger rail service connecting communities in Vermont
h. Some rail tracks have been removed in Vermont recently
i. The emerging dependence on foreign oil and goods is crippling the Vermont economy.
j. There are countless creative, capable and enthusiastic residents of Vermont who are ready for change.
2. Bike town
a. The Bike Town concept is a compact village of up to 2000 people in walking distance (3 minutes) of a town center that is based on a totally new vision for human settlement . One that has evolved beyond the traditional and historic patterns that have emerged in the US over 300 years.

These new town concepts are dependent on the following features:
b. A reliable and frequent passenger rail connection to neighboring villages and existing centers. (Passenger rail fails most of the time due to lack of understanding the essence and true value of the service-)
c. The village core of 200 acres will own and lease adjacent agriculture property of at least 1500 – 5000 acres.
d. A net-zero carbon footprint for the entire town, all buildings and transit system is a fundamental foundation of each village. This means battery powered electric vehicles including trains.
e. The entire village will be based on town-meeting democratic leadership, market driven ownership and exchange of goods and services etc.
3. If successful, what will the impact be?
a. A successful series of villages on the existing rail line in VERMONT that connects Burlington to Rutland will see an investment in permanence and commitment to sustainablilty that may well be a beacon to the entire US. And, will demonstrate that citizens can live gently on the land in a civil society with all and more of the expected assets and conveniences that modern and proven historic technology can offer. The reduction of unnecessary travel, efficiencies of communication and proximity to production will offer shorter workweeks with more discretionary time and financial resources than the current sprawl configurations spreading across the nation.
b. Financially, 6 new villages of 1000-1500 homes each at an average market price of $200,000 has a cash flow investment in Vermont of $1,500,000,000 over 10 years. The commercial and industrial investment will likely be equal to that.

4. What will make it successful?
a. Access to the State owned rail right of way, use of the track and support of the Federal government for safety and maintenance of the infrastructure.
b. Entirely new rail vehicles that are zero-carbon based, i.e.: battery powered.
c. A network of charging stations at each village, indoor stops at each town center.
d. Zoning and development regulations that support and encourage this in enterprise zones voted for and passed in each target town.
e. Statues that encourage and provide legal structure for each village to become financially self-sufficient and tax independent.
f. Bonding support for each village to finance the engineering design and infrastructure.
5. What is needed now to get started.
a. $250,000 of grant money to identify the village sites, (3 are currently identified, one is under design study), and develop the necessary communication packages for each town center to be established in their respective towns.
Support from the State Rail Board for guaranteed rail use as needed for the success of the village network