Pedestrian Safety Board

Meeting Minutes Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Public Safety Building – Training Room 1 Monday, May 4, 4:30 – 5:30 PM The Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board’s mission is to promote a walkable environment throughout the City by developing safe, attractive, and accessible walkways that connect neighborhoods and destinations. 4:30 pm Call meeting to order I. Introductions: a. Members: Matthew Cross, Stan Cohen, Bill Reger-Nash, Kimberly Hartsell, Dwight Harshbarger, b. Guests: Mike Pappas, Andrew Denny, Bill Austin, Maria Smith, Peter Giacobbi, Bill Kawecki, Jenny Selin, II. Approval of April 6, 2015 Minutes (Attachment 1) Motion to approve minutes by Stan Cohen, Second by Dwight Harshbarger. Passed by unanimous voice vote. III. Reports  -Mountain Line Maria Smith. Route efficiency and vehicle maintenance study. North West Virginia ADA Bus tour demo this past weekend. June 27 Touch-a-Truck fund raiser for a local needy family. Beginning June, there will be a Mountain Line table at WVU student orientation. They are interested in having Ped Safety info. There was a pleasant infrastructure change in that there is now a sidewalk which connects the Greyline lot up to Mountain Line Admin Bldg.  -WVU Kim Hartsell. Evansdale redevelopment will kick in full swing this week, as classes end for the semester. Single lane traffic restriction. The addition of a stop light on Patteson Drive is being addressed with DOH in front of CAC Bldg, although the site not yet determined. There will be an update at the next meeting as the discussion is ongoing. The new intersection at the Arboretum has a concurrent light and is working effectively. Kim raised the issue about the safety of new concurrent traffic light by Applebys (down the parking lot from the Mountaineer Station), which places pedestrians at risk.  -Rail Trail Ella Belling. Not present.  -Greenspace Rick Landenberger. Not present.  -City Council Mike Fike. Not present.  -MPO Bill Austi. University Ave Complete Streets study is being finalized. This coming Friday, May 8, Bill will be on WAJR Radio to discuss Greenbag Road: Sidewalks, reconfigurations, widening road, intersections.  -City Engineering Damien Davis. Not present.  -Police Officer McCabe. Not present.  -Traffic Commission Matt Cross. IV. Old Business  -Letter to BOE for Suncrest Primary School/Rail Trail connector. This has been written and sent out. No response. Bill will follow up with Barbara Parsons, president of the Mon County Schools Board.  V. New Business:  Stan Cohen raised the issue about the lack of attention being given to the Complete Streets legislation that was passed last year. Gov. Tomblin has not yet established oversight Board.  Ped Safety Flyer- possible $3,000-$5,000 for printing. Possible Town Gown. Bill Kawecki recommended communication with Bike Board to determine if they see their flyer had its intended impact.  Motion by Dwight Harshbarger to send Letter to City Council about pedestrian danger in the Patteson Drive crossing at Kroger. Second Stan Cohen. Discussion: Peter Giacobbi is concerned about CPASS students being at risk at this intersection. Dwight to draft letter, circulate, and submit. This dangerous intersection impacts commerce, safety for students and residents.  Mike Pappas raised the issue about the intersection at Northwestern Ave /Willowdale /Ruby / Marriot, NIOSH. Needs to be addressed. Heavily used and many near misses. Most recently, Mr. Pappas was with a group of children that were almost hit by a distracted driver.  Morgantown Coop moving to Pleasant Street at Chestnut Street, across from the BlackBear downtown. A cross walk would encourage pedestrians to cross here. It was suggested that this will still be a very dangerous crossing with the vehicles coming up the hill. The cross walk might give peds a false sense of security. However, crosswalks help establish the right for Peds to be there.  Bike to Work Day May 15. Begin at Amphitheater.  CRITICAL ISSUE: This is the year to move the Ped agenda forward as there is $100,000 in the Morgantown budget for this fiscal year.  -Multi-Media Pedestrian Safety Education campaign. As reported by Andrew Denny, grant application will be evaluated this week. Seven students from the School of Public Health.  This year’s Walk to School Day is scheduled for October 7, 2015 About Walk to School Day: International Walk to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. It began in 1997 as a one-day event. Over time, this event has become part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school and a celebration – with record breaking participation – each October. Today, thousands of schools across America – from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico – participate every October. Walkbiketoschool.org. Dates: Walk to School Day October 7, 2015, October 5, 2016 and October 4, 2017 Action Items: 1. Every member is encouraged to contact legislators and the Governor about establishing CompleteSteets Oversight Board. The Governor has not yet taken this action. 2. Ped Safety Board to write letter to Gov Tomblin. Bill Reger-Nash to draft. 3. Matthew to chat with Bike Board about their flyer effectiveness. 4. Letter to City Council about ped danger in the Pattison Ave crossing at Kroger. 5. Individual and group Letters to DOH about the importance of sidewalk on the improved Greenbag Road. Meeting adjourned at 5:39 pm. Next meeting: June 1, 2015, Training Room 1, Public Safety Building, 4:30 – 5:30 pm Minutes submitted by Bill Reger-Nash on May 7, 2015