Pedestrian Safety Board

Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Meeting Agenda Public Safety Building – Training Room 1 4:30 – 5:30 PM October 3, 2016 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 Members: Matt Cross, George Lilley, Dwight Harshbarger, Amy Boggs, Jenn McDonald, William Blosser, Jimmie Simmons, Bill Austin, Lt. Matt McCabe, Jessica Bladow, Gypsy Denzine, and Ella Belling Guests: None Absent: Jay Redmond, Damien Davis, Kim Hartsell, Maria Smith, and Bill Reger- Nash II. Approval of August 29, 2016 Minutes. Motion by Jessica Bladow second by George Lilley, Passed by unanimous voice vote. III. New Business  Arts walk this Friday, October 7th  Regina Mayolo: slope gauge – ADA requirements in place for new sidewalks; she will engage pedestrian board for future sidewalks  Sidewalks patched up all along Price Street – one benefit of new service fee  Wrote letter to City Administration about new city manager asking them to pay attention to pedestrian matters  City code to clear sidewalks after snow fall – advertisement to go on TV Public Access channel 15  Advertisement on concurrent crossing will be made into an educational video  Crossing at Oakland & University Ave is pretty dangerous due to traffic volumes (of both vehicles & pedestrians); students don’t seem to press button before they cross – there was a pedestrian accident while Matt was watching – Gypsy agrees that this intersection is dangerous  Thanks to Amy Boggs who brought 2,400 promotional flyers for us 1 -ideas encouraging parents to allow their children to walk to the new Suncrest Elementary School, which will open in the New Year o School Board is against kids walking to school; Superintendent Devono seems concerned about liability of encouraging kids to walk; it’d be good to see their specific policy on this and compare it to the state code o Parents could potentially walk to school with their kids – walking school bus idea could work here o Safe routes to school got defunded, but it’s still a viable program o Grant to build sidewalks to end of Collins Ferry Road for new Suncrest School; need to apply for this before November 18th -opinions on House Bill 648. The Traffic Commission will be discussing implementation of this bill, which allows some intersections to revert to flashing red and yellow signals from 11 pm to 6 am in order to reduce unnecessary wait time for vehicles. Pedestrian function is in question. o Beware of using this in areas where there are pedestrians -ideas to encourage a walking trail be constructed at Suncrest Towne Center. (DA article) o No sidewalk along Stewartstown Road for bus stops along the way – drainage might be an issue for adding a trail along this road IV. Old Business -WVU outreach; not discussed -city sidewalk code; not discussed o Jessica Bladow contacted Gary Clayton, the Regional District Maintenance Engineer for the WV DOH (Department of Highways), to ask about the Request for Assistance form – by the next meeting we should have an answer for how to reach out to the state for issues here in Morgantown o Jenn McDonald is working on a twitter hashtag V. Reports -Mountain Line Maria Smith – absent -WVU Kim Hartsell – absent -Rail Trail Ella Belling o Hunting on Sundays bill on the upcoming ballot which would impact the trails -MPO Bill Austin o Oct. 11th – MPO Public Mtg. for I-79 access study 4-7pm at Mountaineer Station in the lobby (14 alternatives; narrowed down to 8 total, and 3 of these 8 are preferred) o Encourage others to take their survey online (it will also be available at the mtg. on the 11th) -City Engineer Damien Davis – absent -City Council Jay Redmond – absent -Police Lt. McCabe – no news to report 2  -Traffic Commission Matt Cross o All 3 new board members approved at mtg. (Jessica Bladow, Dan Shook, and Jenn McDonald) Action Items:  Amy Boggs to ask DOH if there is a state code for the School Board about how kids get to school  Matt Cross to determine specific city code for School Board on how kids should get to school Next meeting: November 7, 2016, Training Room 1, Public Safety Building, 4:30 – 5:30 pm. 3