Submitted by bravestatevt t3_xxz9jb in vermont
We just released a story that answers this listener question:
“Some downtowns in Vermont are really thriving, like White River Junction. How did that happen, when they used to be so bleak?”
​
Some highlights:
- "The Rio Blanco Social Club" is a WRJ-based secret society whose members include many of the people responsible for the revitalization ("Rio Blanco" = White River, en español).
- Not everyone we spoke to agrees that WRJ used to be "bleak." ("Income issues," "cheap rent," and "underappreciated" were other terms people used to describe the town's bygone era.)
- At one point in time, WRJ was home to a dozen bars and three movie theaters (as well as a bowling alley and indoor mini-golf)
- There's currently a $5 million project to overhaul water and sewer downtown and make so-called "streetscape improvements."
- The campus of the Center for Cartoon Studies includes a former post office and a former department store.
- On top of devastating flooding due to sprinkler failure, beloved Turkish restaurant Tuckerbox is facing another serious challenge: "The lack of employees, specifically in the kitchen."
​
All music in this episode is courtesy of local artists Chico Eastridge and Matt Mazur.
Link to listen: https://pod.link/1132586596
Link to web feature: https://www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/brave-little-state/2022-10-06/whats-the-secret-to-downtown-revitalization-ask-white-river-junction
listen_youse t1_irfxuwr wrote
It helps a lot if regional and long distance traffic is not speeding through the main streets of your town. WRJ has local traffic, the rest is on the interstates. Rutland is doomed as long as 4 lanes of 40 mph traffic and a square mile of strip malls are right where the heart of town should be.