The Danville Village to Village Committee is located in Danville, Vermont. Learn more at https://www.v2v-danvillevt.org/.
Year/s awarded
2018
Project details
The Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) has granted the Danville Village to Village Steering Committee $1,500 through VNRC’s Small Grants for Smart Growth Program. The funds will be used to support community engagement activities around the revitalization of the 1871 Historic Danville Railroad Station in Danville Village, adjacent to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT), a four-season, multi-use recreation trail.
At an Open House event at the railroad station on Saturday, October 27, the Danville Village to Village Steering Committee crowdsourced information from local residents and LVRT users regarding potential and desired uses for the historic building, which currently serves as Danville’s community recycling center. Participants also engaged in visioning activities that provided guidance for architectural sketches of building improvements. The public was encouraged to attend to help shape the future of this unique community resource.
Danville’s work on the Historic Danville Railroad Station is a component of a larger planning process that aims to increase access and safety between the LVRT, Danville Village and West Danville; plan for a signage and navigation system for the LVRT; and identify economic development strategies to promote small business development in Danville.
“In the process of identifying and improving key activity centers in Danville, we recognized that there was an opportunity to look more closely at the Railroad Station and the role it plays in the community,” said Kate Whitehead of the Danville Village to Village Steering Committee. “The building has high potential to act as an important connection between the LVRT and Danville Village, and we’re excited to hear from community members about what they think.”
“The revitalization of the historic rail station has great potential to make this a community asset that enriches this part of Danville Village for the benefit of residents and visitors to the community,” said Kate McCarthy, Sustainable Programs Community Director at VNRC and administrator of the Small Grants for Smart Growth Program. “We’re thrilled to be able to support this project.”
Recalling the value of the railroad industry to Danville’s growth in generations past, Whitehead added: “Revitalizing this area in many ways parallels the foundational intent of years past: supporting local commerce, increasing access to multi-modal transportation options and enabling new collaborative partnerships to form in the community.”
The Small Grants for Smart Growth Program, launched by VNRC in 2018, provides seed money for community-based, local initiatives related to smart growth, including 1) advocacy for better land use through municipal planning, regulations, or advocacy in the permit process; and 2) initiatives in the following areas provided they relate to smart growth: transportation; housing; conservation, including agriculture, forestry, and historic preservation; and downtown and/or village center development or restoration. Small Grants are made possible with assistance from Beth Humstone, co-founder of the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and former VNRC Board Chair, and her son, Chris Gignoux.
To learn more about the Small Grants for Smart Growth Program, visit https://vnrc.org/programs/sustainable-communities/small-grants-for-smart-growth/. For additional information on the Danville Village to Village Project, and to sign up for progress updates, visit https://www.v2v-danvillevt.org/.