Pedestrian Safety Board

Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Meeting Agenda Public Safety Building – Training Room 1 4:30 – 5:30 PM January 9, 2017 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 by Chair Matt Cross I. Introductions: Members Quorum present - Matt Cross, Bill Reger-Nash, Jan Deery, George Lilley, Jimmie Simmons, Dan Shook, Lt McCabe, Jen McDonald, Dan Shook, Ex-officio: Bill Austin, Lt McCabe, Damien Davis, Jay Redmond, Guest: William Blosser, Absent: Stan Cohen, Jessica Bladow, Kim Hartsell, Christiaan Abildso, II. Approval of November 2016 Minutes. Motion by Jan Deery, Second by Jen McDonald, Passed by unanimous voice vote. III. Approval of December 2016 Minutes. Motion by Jen McDonald, Second by Dan Shook, Passed by unanimous voice vote. IV. New Business -Election of Officer • Chair: Reger-Nash moved that Matt Cross be nominated for Chair, Second by Jan Deery. Passed by unanimous voice vote, • Vice Chair: George Lilley moved that Bill Reger-Nash be nominated for Vice Chair. Second by Jen McDonald. Passed by unanimous voice vote. • Secretary Jan Deery moved that Jessica Bladow be nominated. Second by Jen McDonald. Passed by unanimous voice vote. -Membership • George Lilley moved that the following be removed because of inactivity. Michael graham, David Small, Ilana Chertok, Dan Harris, Martha Summers, Second by Jimmie Simmons. Passed by unanimous voice vote • Matta Cross will follow up with Mary Gutmann and Margaret Stout to determine their interest in continued membership -2017 Goals • Need to revise Pedestrian Safety Plan -WVU Coliseum • Motion by George Lilley that Matt Cross, as chair of the Pedestrian Safety Board, make an appointment with Athletic Director Shane Lyons to discuss the WVU 1  prohibition of community residents to use the Coliseum for walking. Second by Jen McDonald. Passed by unanimous voice vote. • Motion by Bill Reger-Nash to authorize Matt Cross to write a letter on behalf of the Ped Safety Board. Second by Jan Deery. Passed by unanimous voice vote. V. Old Business Students crossing Morgantown roads • It was noted that The Dominion Post journalist Ben Conley did a clear and informative article calling drivers’ attention to the presence of students in our roads. Snow Removal • A Public Service announcement is running on Channel 15 about the obligations of property owners to keep sidewalks clear after a snowfall. VI. Reports -Mountain Line Maria Smith Absent Damien Davis • An Intent to Apply for a million dollar grant is being submitted to develop a sidewalk in the vicinity of the new Suncrest Elementary School. o Suncrest Elementary School must be annexed for city to accept grant. • Eight downtown intersections signals are being reconfigured to better accommodate pedestrians and vehicular traffic. • New signage will be installed. • City paying for upgrades to make signal poles and signs more attractive. • Current signals are not linked to one another. New signals will be tied into the entire corridor in order to improved traffic movement. Project to be advertised in Jan, Bids in Feb, construction April/May. o Question by Jimmie Simmons: Can something be done at the Intersection of Walnut and Spruce. Traffic turning right from Spruce has a continuous green arrow. Jen McDonald raised same issue. Mr. Davis indicated this will be corrected. • The downtown cross walks will be repainted with 2’ by 6’ with 2’ gap, except for brick crosswalks on High Street, which will have the outside re-striped. • Cars must yield to pedestrians, but pedestrians cannot walk out in traffic. o Damien will prepare summary sheet of ped and driver responsibilities. -WVU Kim Hartsell Absent -Rail Trail Ella Belling absent -MPO Bill Austin • When posed a question about a sidewalk going up the hill to the University Towne Center Mall, Mr. Austin indicated there is no current funding for this sidewalk, although the city of Granville is interested. MPO unified plan and work program: • Two major projects for the MPO for 2017: o Item 1 -In house update of the 2010 Ped Safety Plan with a particular emphasis on the connectivity of downtown sidewalks. o Item 2, A $7.5M Spot Improvement of the Beechurst corridor. DOH plans engineering study and plan development in 2019, Construction in 2021. Winter Spring, for #2 o MileGround Improvements Public Hearing scheduled for Jan 25 4-7 pm at airport 2  o On Jan 26, there will be a I-79 Access Study Public Meeting at Mountaineer Station. This access is critical to the Transportation Plan Update (projected project cost of upward of $140M). o February 9, Public Hearing Information needed here. -City Councilman-Jay Redmond • List of problem intersections is forthcoming. • 2017 goals Prioritized list of sidewalks is relevant. City Council needs a comprehensive plan, Matt Cross will recruit and establish Sidewalks Priority List Sub-committee. This group will include Bill Austin and Jing Zhang. • Walking at Coliseum – Councilman Redmond indicated that it is likely that the most significant concern is liability and the cost of insurance. Insurance costs will likely be reduced if there are no walkers in the Coliseum. He also indicated that many universities consider athletic facilities off limits to the public. • Mr. Redmond reported that several candidates for the Morgantown City Manager position commented about the lack of adequate street signage. -Amy Boggs - Absent -Police Lt. McCabe • Three Morgantown police will not be entered into the January academy, meaning that the police continues with reduced numbers. • Lt McCabe expressed concerns about walkers being excluded from the Coliseum. He pointed out the paradox of the Athletic Department expressing safety concerns about walkers in Coliseum yet they permit and even encourage basketball game attendees to park on the Beechurst highway and walk to the Coliseum without a sidewalk. Dan Shook • Addressed the issue related to better lighting of dangerous intersections. -Traffic Commission Matt Cross Meeting adjourned at 5:39 pm. Minutes submitted by Bill Reger-Nash Next meeting: February 13, 2017, Training Room 1, Public Safety Building, 4:30 – 5:30 pm. NOTE: We are moving from the 1st Monday to the 2nd Monday of the month This change needs to be made to the City Web Page. 3