Pedestrian Safety Board

Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Meeting Minutes Public Safety Building – Training Room 1 4:30 – 5:30 PM April 10, 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 I. Introductions: Members (Quorum: NO – need more attendance): Matt Cross, George Lilley, Bill Reger-Nash, Jen McDonald, and Jimmie Simmons, and Jessica Bladow Ex-officio: Lt. Matt McCabe, Jing Zhang, Kim Hartsell, Jay Redmond, Jenny Selin, and Bill Kawecki Guest: Paul Brake and William Blosser Absent: Christiaan Abildso, Gypsie Denzine, Stanley Cohen, Jan Derry, Dwight Harshbarger, Daniel Shook, Maria Smith, Ella Belling, Damien Davis, Drew Gatlin, Amy Boggs II. Approval of March 13, 2017 Minutes. Motion by Bill Reger-Nash second by George Lilley, Passed by (unanimous voice vote). III. Officer’s Reports • Jessica Bladow will be changing jobs; so, you will be receiving emails from a different email address (same person though!) IV. New Business • City Manager Paul Brake discussed ideas on infrastructure improvement, funding mechanisms, and code enforcement. o Paul mentioned Dan Burden who is a consultant who does walking audits § Bill Reger-Nash said it’d be good to get some money together to have a weekend workshop & bring Dan Burden in to provide us guidance § Note that Morgantown has had Dan Burden’s colleague, Mark Fenton, visit o Paul mentioned that we need to find a way to offset the cost of sidewalks; there were two specific ideas mentioned: 1. Amnesty program – provide some extra time for sidewalk repair 2. Loan program – have a pay back program over time o Paul stated that if there is immediate danger of public health, safety, or welfare, then it needs to be taken care of without delay o Bill Reger-Nash asked Paul to request our committee’s input if the City is looking to give out sidewalk repair waivers  o Jenny Selin said that we need to methodically develop a sidewalk repair program that it is clear and straightforward for everyone involved o Jimmie Simmons suggests prioritizing areas for sidewalk repair. § For instance, areas near schools and civic centers would be higher on the list than other areas. § Ideally, the focus should be on enforcing the higher priority areas first and foremost. o Jing says that MPO Director Bill Austin had good news from his Charleston visit today: the state has an infrastructure initiative and is looking for low hanging fruit to improve infrastructure and we might be able to get some of these funds o Paul mentioned a pathways system that he has seen been successful in Michigan (a property tax/sales tax could fund a pathways program here too). § Generally, a pathway is about the width of a car (~7’ wide). § The Pathways Program in Michigan used the fund to pay for construction and maintenance of the path which was administered by the local government. § Could incorporate switchbacks and a direct, steep route to potentially accommodate the steep hills of Morgantown § Jimmie suggests clearing existing pathways and bringing maintenance to these areas before considering new construction (there are existing pathways that can be improved) – reiterated safe routes for schools § Bill Reger-Nash says we should keep people off the high-volume car areas § There wasn’t any lighting for the Pathways Program in Michigan unless it was pre-existing o There is an old vaults system under the streets that adds an extra layer of complication to construction work o The Morgantown Monongalia MPO generously volunteered to help us create a new/updated priority list for sidewalks within the next year • Jenny Selin is on the Chamber of Congress’ Road Committee and she mentioned that at the last meeting (held at AECOM), the subject of incorporating bike and pedestrian routes to infrastructure was openly discussed. She mentioned that this means we’re doing a great job attending roadway meetings and advocating for other users at these meetings; keep up the good work! • Jan Derry sent Matt an email about how the complete streets house bill is coming up again. Discussion was raised about the importance of not only extending this policy, but also making sure that it can be enforced. • The idea to praise residents who actively fix/shovel their sidewalks was brought forth by George and Jenny. This could be with promotion and awards for good citizens/sidewalks. The idea is to focus on and promote the positive aspects of sidewalk building for the neighborhoods.  V. Old Business • Sidewalk improvement incentive still available? • Website updates to be incorporated soon: o Membership list o Meeting minutes VI. Reports • Mountain Line Maria Smith: Absent • WVU Kim Hartsell: The demo for the Ag. Science building has begun. • Rail Trail Ella Belling: Absent • MPO Bill Austin: Jing reiterated the potential funding that the MPO is looking to obtain (see above comment about the state’s infrastructure initiative). He also mentioned that the MPO is planning on incorporating demographics into their Beechurst Study. • City Engineer Damien Davis: Absent • City Council Jay Redmond: Election day is on April 25th, and early voting starts this Wednesday, April 12th – Please get out and vote! • Police Lt. McCabe: The police force is getting ready for a lot of change in the near future (promotions, shift changes, etc.) • Traffic Commission Matt Cross: They discussed complaints about cut-throughs and speeding at the last meeting. The WV DOH will be speaking on their decision about the intersection at Collins Ferry & University Ave (weird triangle) at Suncrest Middle School on April 25th from 4-7pm – please attend if you are available! VII. Action Items • Jimmie mentioned that we should actively create a priority list and a process for looking at improving existing neighborhood pathways first, before opting for new construction. Some potential priorities would be to look for connectivity for school zones, bus routes, and areas with other civic/public buildings first before building new routes. • Jessica Bladow to research Fairmont’s connectivity plan • Bill Kawecki to attend the Green Space mtgs. on behalf of the Pedestrian Safety Board • Jing to add Matt Cross’ email to Green Space list • Bill Reger-Nash to create a written request with concrete objectives for the City/MPO/University to help provide funding for bringing a world-renowned consultant into Morgantown. Ideally, this will be someone to help us implement our ideas; not just plan them out. • Matt Cross & Bill Reger-Nash to reach out to other members and request more attendance for our committee (not enough for quorum again tonight) • Matt Cross/Bill Reger-Nash to help create a list of good examples of sidewalks (maybe get Damien’s assistance) Next meeting: May 8, 2017, Training Room 1, Public Safety Building, 4:30 – 5:30 pm. Minutes submitted by Jessica Bladow.