www.thedanvilleproject.com

Project Description

The Danville Transportation Enhancement Project is a partnership among the Vermont Agency of Transportation (Vtrans); the Vermont Arts Council; and the town of Danville, VT, to integrate artistic enhancements into the redevelopment of a portion of U.S. Highway Route 2 through the village center. The process is collaborative and draws on time-honored Vermont traditions of public meetings, civil discourse, and representative democracy. Professional artists infuse the process with a creative approach to problem-solving and an openness to new solutions.

U.S. Highway Route 2 is essentially the main artery of Danville, the community's Main Street. Included on the stretch through the town center are Danville's school, general store, several churches, and the village green, all set against the backdrop of the Presidential Mountain Range. The goal of the Danville Project is to upgrade the road conditions of the main street to provide better sight lines for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, while still maintaining the provincial nature of the town. The Local Review Committee's (LRC) mission is to bring a sense of visual unity between the highway and the already-present characteristics of the town by considering the artistic and aesthetic aspects of the area, while also addressing public safety and accessibility.

Participation by professional artists infuses the process with a creative approach to problem-solving and an openess to new solutions. Beginning with an artist-led visioning of the history and future of Danville and its central green, the collaborators have begun designing a highway with artistic enhancements that fit the human context, landscape, economic development needs, and historical values of the community. In November 2000, the first open-forum community meeting was held in Danville to gather input from town residents for incorporation into a Preliminary Design Proposal. Subsequent community meetings were held over the next 18 months to refine the proposals. At one community meeting, residents were asked to define what made living in the town special to them. Artists David Raphael and Andrea Wasserman incorporated this information into the preliminary plans for the project, which culminated in a Preliminary Design Proposal that was reviewed by the LRC in January 2001. Since then, both artists have played a key role in interviewing and circulating questions about the project to community residents. In addition, project newsletters are regularly circulated to village residents to keep them informed.

Gateways with signage, landscaping, granite posts, and sidewalk markers to alert motorists that they are entering a village center are planned for eastern and western approaches to Danville on Route 2. Streetscape design also plays an important role in the project, with enhancements such as lighting, signage, and landscaping that reinforce village character and, at the same time, improve aesthetics and human comfort.

The artists and involved citizens have planned many activities throughout 2004. In the spring, students will capture the green as it looks today with a series of photographs that will create a 360-degree panoramic view. Selected images from this project may be printed as postcards or as part of a Danville village calendar to be used at a school fundraiser. A local art teacher will help every student in the school create a carving of stone or other material within the concrete sidewalks that will stretch approximately three miles throughout the project. Wasserman, a sculptor, will assist each student in designing one marker or tile to be installed on the sidewalk. A senior class also plans to create a ceramic mural as part of a new school playground enhancement project abutting the work zone. In the fall, Touching the Tree of Community will aim to reinforce the strength of the community. Students, parents, and community members will work with local teachers and artist Maggie Sherman to create clay cut-outs of their handprints. Each participant will write their name, age, occupation, and parents' names and occupations, and will note if any family members have ever worked for Vtrans or are artists. As the clay handprints are collected, they will be attached to a tree on the green. The project will conclude with a ceremony on the green; the handprints will remain attached throughout the year to naturally biodegrade and return to the earth at the base of the tree.

Civic Engagement/Dialogue Activities

Process may be the most important product in The Danville Project. The process is inclusive, sensitive, engaging, and ongoing, from the preliminary conceptual phase to the final design, and onward through to the installations and the conclusion of the Project. The Danville Project uses a collaborative process that draws on public meetings, civil discourse, and representative democracy. To oversee all aspects of the project, from design and construction to installation and maintenance, an LRC was formed in March 2000. This committee comprises nine local residents who serve as representatives of different constituencies from the greater community. In addition, four members of the design team, consisting of artists and engineers, also serve on the committee with representatives from partner organizations Vtrans; Dufresne-Henry, Inc.; the Vermont Arts Council; the Vermont Council on Rural Development; and Kingdom County Productions, Inc. All meetings are also open to interested community members.

The Danville Project, scheduled for completion in 2006, serves as a model that can be applied to any small village facing the need to improve its transportation infrastructure. The project demonstrates that artists serving as consultants or facilitators at the early stages of a project can and do help a community define and express its goals. Further, it illustrates that where artists are involved in the design/community-facilitation process, significant savings are achieved over the life of a project. Danville is an example of context sensitivity—of protecting and preserving the character of a place, the quality of its built structures, and the overall quality of life of its citizens. It offers a methodology for involving a committee of local representatives comprising members from several community disciplines and maintaining the momentum and interest in a project.

With the project still in progress, it is difficult to determine its impact beyond its stated goals. However, John Zwick, the project director, believes that the fabric of the town has changed considerably over the past four years. He writes, "to the eye of the casual observer [i.e., nonresident], there has been an enormous change in the 'look' of the village over the last four years. I (the proverbial casual observer) have to think it has a lot more to do with a reinvigorated awareness of 'self' [i.e., community]... Property values are way up and several new very high-end businesses are setting up in town. There are a couple of interesting civic projects (new playground, children's museum) in the works that I also attribute to that awareness..."

Information Sources
The Danville Project website, Vermont Arts Council