Niels Rinehart (Bicycle & Pedestrian Connectivity Committee)
Niels Rinehart: Planning for Jericho’s Future While Remembering the Past
Niels Rinehart and his wife Lauren moved from the Albany area to Jericho in 2012 after Lauren got a job in Burlington. They diligently researched Chittenden County towns and chose Jericho in part because of the schools. When their boys grew older, Rinehart felt a desire to give back to his community and after initially looking at the Affordable Housing Committee, he joined the Trails Committee in May of 2020.
Rinehart is proud of the new trail map prepared by the committee and of the kiosks which have been erected at trail heads. “That takes more work than one might realize,” he said. Rinehart noted that the committee has also done some hands-on work like removing stray pieces of metal which were littering the Town Forest.
Rinehart is pleased that the committee has changed their name to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Connectivity Committee (BPCC) in recognition of a broadened mission. “The mission is to expand our scope to investigate and advise about alternatives to driving,” Rinehart said. “It includes working with the Town Planner and trying to set up priorities in budget and grant applications. We want to talk about connectivity issues including kids being able to walk to school.”
Professionally, Rinehart’s career has had an interesting trajectory involving what he describes as his two big loves: music and archeology. “I’ve wanted to be an archeologist since I was a kid,” he said, “but I also enjoyed playing music.” Rinehart went to school to study classical archeology with an emphasis on Greek and Latin but gravitated towards music, instead. He played jazz on an upright bass, but he was also classically trained and played guitar and sang in rock bands. He headed to graduate school for jazz studies but after two semesters, he began to doubt that career choice and returned to archeology where he met his wife who was also in the anthropology department.
Initially, Rinehart worked as a contract archeologist on federal and state projects. “I really enjoyed that work a lot,” he said “but then I began to work with Vermont Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR). I’ve been there for seven years and have worked with my supervisor to create a program to help FPR comply with the federal and state regulations to protect historical resources.” Rinehart is currently working on a large project at Sandbar State Park which requires excavation to put in a new stormwater system. Most of his work is on smaller areas and trails. “I haven’t been out in the field and gotten dirty in a long time,” he said. “I miss it, but I still go out to review project areas to see if there are historic sites present.” FPR also works with architectural historians to ensure that when historic structures are adapted, they stay true to the integrity of the structure.
Rinehart is slowly returning to his musical roots. He noted that after playing six to seven hours a day, it’s hard to play at hobby level and just do 20 minutes a night. However, he has grown out the nails on his right hand and is getting back to playing classical guitar which is less physically taxing than his old upright bass.
Rinehart is happy to be on the BPCC because he enjoys being outside, hiking, camping, and skiing. “It’s great to have access to all these trails within a few minutes of my house,” he said. “Trails require an inordinate amount of work to keep them up. I don’t know if the public understands the amount of work that it takes including stormwater management and clearing fallen trees. It’s a lot of infrastructure work.” The good news is there is some carryover on trails maintenance from Rinehart’s day job which often deals with similar issues. “We have a lot more money in the state so that informs some of the potential problems including engineering issues,” he said. “There is a huge push to deal with stormwater runoff. There’s a real science to it in terms of the water bars and drainage ditches.” Rinehart noted that a lot of historic roads and old trails including some at Mills Riverside Park have become gullies because of erosion.
Rinehart has high hopes for the newly-renamed Bicycle and Pedestrian Connectivity Committee. He recognizes that there is some opposition to sidewalks, but he believes that cars in Jericho travel much too fast. “I look forward to having a town where people can walk more,” he said. In addition to sidewalks, he’d like to see more paths through the woods so kids can walk to school, and adults can access other destinations. “I know that these take years to make happen,” he said, “but I’d like to see a town which is much more connected. That might also slow down traffic.”
