Waterbury Center Better Connections project shares progress, recommendations at March 30 open house

March 23, 2026  |  By Duncan McDougall

Waterbury Center from above, September 2025. Drone shot by Gordon Miller

The Better Connections project that began in 2025 is ready to share a presentation on its progress and recommendations for improving accessibility in Waterbury Center at an open house on Monday, March 30.

The event will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Grange Hall and Cultural Center on Howard Avenue, with a presentation given at 5:45 p.m. 

In 2025, Waterbury received a $97,500 Better Connections grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation to help our community expand opportunities for walking, biking and community vitality in the core of Waterbury Center. Waterbury was the only town in Vermont to receive such a grant last year. 

The project's goal is to come up with ways to make it safer and easier for people to move between places such as the Waterbury Center State Park, Hope Davey Park, Cold Hollow Cider Mill and the Grange Hall Cultural Center.

Nine months ago, the town hired transportation consulting firm Stantec to conduct the project. Since then, the consultants and the committees created for the project have gathered input from more than 400 people through brainstorming meetings, focus groups, a public walking tour, and an online survey. They looked for feedback about the current transportation and connectivity challenges people feel exist in the core of Waterbury Center, and they asked the public for recommendations for future improvements. 

On March 30, Stantec will share the results compiled from the public input and outline recommendations for changes that they believe would enhance opportunities for walking, biking, and overall community vitality in Waterbury Center. They will also describe a demonstration project planned for this summer on the triangle green in Waterbury Center, across from the Grange Hall.

The public is invited to the presentation. Cider and donuts will be provided by Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

Duncan McDougall, who chairs Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership), has been one of the Better Connections project leaders along with Kati Gallagher from the Waterbury Planning Commission. Contact: duncan@clifonline.org