Fletcher Allen Makes Parking Garage Improvements

BURLINGTON, VT - Throughout the coming weeks, Fletcher Allen will be making several changes to improve traffic flow and signage in the new Ambulatory Care Center parking garage, with the hope of making it more visitor-friendly.

"We heard suggestions from the community, and we are responding to them," said Fletcher Allen President and Chief Executive Officer Melinda Estes, M.D.  "Obviously we want to ensure that our patients' visits go as smoothly as possible.  We hope that these changes will help people park more easily."

The improvements will only be made to the top level (Orange) of the garage and, depending on their success, may also be implemented on the other levels in the future.

They include:

• SIGNAGE - The most visible change in the garage will be the replacement of all the current directional signage.  Fletcher Allen will replace the existing blue signs that hang from the ceiling--and are difficult for visitors to see--with new yellow-green reflective signs.  The new signs will direct visitors to the exits and to more parking.  Also, more than a dozen standard highway signs will be installed to help direct drivers.  Special signs will also be posted to direct people to lower levels of the parking garage for additional parking.
• ONE-WAY TRAFFIC - Following concerns voiced by visitors about the awkwardness of the two-way traffic in the garage, Fletcher Allen will convert all lanes on the Orange level to become one-way only.  The lane nearest the ramp will be one-way toward the exit, while the other three lanes will be one-way into the garage.  Four-foot-high reflective poles will be placed at the end of each lane, ensuring people continue to follow the flow of traffic.
• HANDICAPPED SPACES - To address visitors' concerns about a shortage of handicapped-accessible spaces, Fletcher Allen is more than doubling the amount available on the Orange level, increasing from 10 to 24 spaces.

Already this year, crews have removed half of the retaining wall at the top of the exit ramp, creating a second exit lane.  Also, the curbing adjacent to the far-right entrance lane was removed, widening the lane to give visitors more room to maneuver past the ticket booth. And during weekdays, between the peak traffic hours of 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., one of the two garage entrance lanes is converted to an exit lane, resulting in three lanes for visitors exiting the garage.

Last fall, Fletcher Allen contracted with Resource Systems Group, Inc. (RSG) of White River Junction, a traffic design engineering firm, to conduct a parking and traffic study to determine what changes should be made to the garage, based on concerns expressed by patients and visitors.