The planned corner of Bank and St. Paul streets For years, Burlington residents have been pushing the city to make progress on two important goals: improved walkability, which will reduce its carbon footprint; and a healthy mix of locally owned businesses, to serve not just tourists but the people who actually live downtown. The new CityPlace Burlington project has the potential to solve both problems, according to University of Vermont economics professor Jane Knodell, a former Burlington city councilor. In the decades she served the city, Knodell says she heard from many Burlingtonians who wanted to see more stores selling the daily essentials of life. And she listened to shop owners complain about sporadic foot traffic heavy in the summer and fall, and on snowy winter weekends, but too light the rest of the time.