Glossary

The process of evaluating the accuracy of a transportation model.

A service where passengers share the use and expense of a van to commute to work.

Electronic highway signs where the displayed message can be changed to inform motorists of diferent road, traffic, or weather conditions, etc.

Permission granted by a ZBA or DRB to use or alter a structure in a way that does not comply with the strict application of a zoning requirement, but which does conform with the requirements of 24 VSA 4469.

An indicator reflecting the time it takes to travel a roadway during peak periods v.s. the time it would to travel at a free-flow 35 miles per hour.

Transportation performance measure that considers the amount of time trip-making takes.

An indicator of occuring traffic, calculated using Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) multiplied by the length of a particular road in question. One car traveling one mile represents 1 unit of VMT.

An Origin-to-Destination journey by a single vehicle. A bus carrying 40 people from an origin to a destination makes one vehicle trip, while its occupants make a total of 40 person trips.

Traffic Volume or Capacity is generally expressed in “Vehicles Per Day” or “Vehicles Per Hour”.

Agency that establishes state policies and plans, and implements programs and projects, for all modes of transportation.

Organization comprised of Regional Planning Commission directors and the Chittenden County MPO director, chartered to coordinate a combination of environmental and economic planning strategies

VAST is Vermont’s non-profit, private volunteer snowmobiling organization, responsible for maintenance of Vermont trails. VAST has thousands of members and is one of the oldest such organizations in the U.S.

Initiated in 1994, under Act 204 (10 VSA Chapter 8), the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, Inc. (VCGI) is a non-profit public corporation tasked with the development and management of GIS data, and coordination of GIS activities for the State of Vermont.

Founded in 1992, the Vermont Council on Rural Development assists Vermont communities develop their capacity to create a prosperous and sustainable future through coordination, collaboration, and the effective use of public and private resources.

The State agency that provides loans to housing developers, allocates federal and State Housing Tax Credits to facilitate housing development, and provides housing subsidies to qualifying households.

Founded in 1967, VLCT is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization serving Vermont municipal officials.

An online user-friendly application to record and update bridge and culvert data for structures owned by communities in Vermont. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) was directed by the Vermont Legislature to complete and deploy an integrated software product to handle data entry, access and status reporting of town bridge and culvert inventories currently collected by Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs), the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, municipalities, and their contractors. Data within VOBCIT complies with the state “Bridge & Culvert Data Exchange Standard”.

A Vermont membership-based, non-profit organization of professional planners, citizen planners, landscape architects, engineers, housing and economic development specialists, and developers.

Instituted in 1993, VRAC was created to advise the Governor and The Agency of Transportation on rail issues. Meeting about 5-6 times per year, members are recruited from private rail industry, operators on state-owned railroads, freight shippers, environmental and economic development organizations, regional chambers of commerce, regional planning commissions, the House & Senate Transportation Committees, and travel and recreation organizations.

A grassroots network of advocates promoting greater rail mode utilization for passenger and freight in Vermont.

A privately operated railroad company.

Formally known as the “Vermont State Standard for the Design of Transportation Construction, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation on Freeways, Roads and Streets”, VSS was developed during the mid-1990’s, standardizing the physical design parameters and guidelines of Vermont bridges and roadways. VSS was initially created for two purposes: 1. To provide clear technical direction to the designers of transportation projects in Vermont. AND: 2. To achieve roadway and bridge designs which provide access, mobility and safety for users, and which are also sensitive to the social and environmental context of Vermont.

The official codification of the laws enacted by the Vermont General Assembly (i.e. Legislature).

Operator of passenger rail services.

A right vests when it becomes a right that a government cannot lawfully deny. For example, a developer may obtain a vested right after an application for a development permit is approved, so that the community cannot enforce any subsequent changes to its bylaws to compel the developer to modify the proposed development or to prevent its construction.

The area within view of a defined observation point or corridor.

According to 24 VSA 2791 (10), a Village Center is a tradition-al center of the community, typically comprised of a cohesive core of residential, civic, religious, and commercial buildings, arranged along a main street and intersecting streets. Industrial uses may be found within or immediately adjacent to these centers.

An area designated by this Plan that are recommended to be local centers for jobs, housing, and community facilities with the character of a Vermont village.

An element of a Comprehensive Plan that strives to summarize what the desired future conditions for an area or the desired future outcomes of a process should be.

A group of chemicals that reacts in the atmosphere with NOx in the presence of heat and sunlight to form ozone. Examples include gasoline fumes and oil-based paints.

An indicator of congestion levels measured by the number of vehicles per hour (volume) divided by the maximum number of cars the road is designed to handle (capacity).