Crossroads at the Barge Canal
Crossroads at the Barge Canal
Three years ago almost to the day, a group of friends and neighbors gathered together at the Barge Canal for a ritual of gratitude. Cold rain poured down that day on Pine Street, near the FOR SALE sign that announced “Prime Development Land.”
The altar that we built from found materials and the last flower stalks from our gardens was visible beside the road all winter.
Since it was Thanksgiving, and since the land was now again under threat of further exploitation, our aim was to acknowledge the Barge Canal land for all that it was providing already.
We were a cold, wet, scraggly band of twenty or so that November day.
In the three years since then, Friends of the Barge Canal (FBC) has grown in our numbers and in our work. Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, the land is cleared now of the layers of accumulated trash that had blanketed it for 3 decades.
The original petition to conserve and protect the Barge Canal, written three years ago, has been signed by almost 700 people. We are launching a new petition, and we hope you will sign on.
You may have heard of the development proposal for a Nordic Spa and bathhouse on one of those so-called “prime” sites (453 Pine St) at the Barge Canal. You may also have heard that, as of July, 2024, the proposal for a Nordic Spa has been withdrawn, joining a long list of failed development projects for that parcel over the last 3 decades. It seems that the cost to “develop” the Barge Canal far exceeds whatever profits the city, the developers or the state hope to make from the land.
FBC believes that the Barge Canal long ago reached the limit of what money could/should be extracted from it. It is time for a new assessment:
Wildlife habitat, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, containment/transformation of toxins and a vibrant wildlands in the midst of the proposed expansion of the South End’s commercial and residential development - are these not valuable resources the city is already receiving?
The Barge Canal is at a crossroads and there are key questions to consider.
What is the value of the wetlands and forest of the Barge Canal in the face of climate change?
Shall we continue along in a development-as-usual path or shall we change direction?
What are our priorities now in the age of accelerating climate change?
What has changed in the 30 years of failed attempts to build on this land?
Please sign our new PETITION asking for a reconsideration of Burlington's goals for the Barge Canal land and proposing a conference of all concerned parties to consider what kind of “development” will most benefit all the stakeholders (including human and non-human residents of Burlington).