Pedestrian Safety Board

Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Meeting Agenda Public Safety Building – Training Room 1 4:30 – 5:30 PM June 12, 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: Chair Matt Cross, Dan Shook, Bill Reger-Nash, Stan Cohen, Jimmie Simmons, Lt Matt McCabe (six of eleven is a quorum), Ex Officio, Kimberly Hartsell, Maria Smith, Guest: William Blosser, Douglas Soule with DA, Janet Fraser, Penny Kostka (4th ward) II. Approval of May 8, 2017 Minutes. Motion by Stan Cohen second by Jimmie Simmons, Passed by unanimous voice vote. III. Action Item Follow-up • Matt Cross – Community Walking Routes and events i. Fairmont Connectivity Plan & Community Development Block Grant represents a nice model for us to follow. 1. Proposing signage for walking routes. Jimmie suggests taking one walking route and publicizing it in such venues as Channel 15. 2. Walking Routes in Wiles Hill. Jimmie will work on developing this. This concept has been approved by Damien Davis. ii. Stan Cohen reminded us that Kids Day is coming on July 15. • Maria Smith - bus shelter locations for prioritized sidewalks. See three pdf attachments. IV. New Business • Public outreach campaign – Matt has distributed flyers at WVU and Morgantown Community events. • Social Marketing (Bill Reger-Nash). If we are make an impact on pedestrian values, attitude, behaviors, polities, and environments, we need a comprehensive social marketing/social ecological approach. “People do those behaviors that the environment enables and reinforces.” o A social ecological approach includes the individual, interpersonal, organizational, institutional, community, environments, policy, and systems. Communication focused on the individual alone will not make a difference. o Social Marketing campaigns have been implements in West Virginia have successfully effected pedestrian changes. Social Marketing must be  focused (single, targeted message. If you cannot place it on a bumper sticker, it is too complex) and intense enough to capture the attention of the target population. This approach includes paid ads (such as McDonalds and Ford Motor Company) and unpaid ads (Media relations, that is, creating events that have information and a tension thereby making them newsworthy) advertisements, coordination with law enforcement, legislative policy changes, and work with health professionals. All these can come together to begin to effect meaningful and sustainable change • Postponed Discussion of potential intern for the Pedestrian Safety Board from Public Health (curtesy of Christiaan and Bobbi Sykes, the internship coordinator). • A list of prioritized sidewalks was provided to the city for the 2018 paving plan. The City intends to give a one year compliance period for code enforcement, which seems reasonable so that people can plan to amass the necessary resources. • Comprehensive planning in conjunction with the Bike Board, Mainstreet Morgantown, the Green Team and the Chamber of Commerce. o In March, City Manager Paul Brake mentioned that Dan Burden has helped communities to develop a comprehensive plan. At that meeting, someone (perhaps Drew Gaitlin?) indicated that one community group (perhaps the Green Team??) has plans to bring in Mark Fenton, who is an equivalent planning resource. Morgantown has a rapport with Mark as he was brought here in 2006 by the WVU HSC. Mark spoke at Health Sciences and to the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce. • Postponed Discussion of Create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time bound) goal team for bringing a consultant into Morgantown V. Old Business NOT DISCUSSED • WV DOH Collins Ferry/University Meeting • Sidewalk improvement incentive still available • Website Updates: o Membership list o Meeting minutes VI. Reports • Mountain Line Maria Smith: Two maps and one flyer provided on full bus shelters (see three pdf attachments). Greyline will add a third trip to Pitt airport at 2 pm. on a 3-month trial basis. Also adding evening hours and Saturday routes. o Dan Shook inquired about whether the Mountain Line provides better service to the low-income areas of the region. At this point, that information is not available. • WVU Kim Hartsell: Significant construction going on in the Evansdale Campus. Old Ag Bldg is under construction. Woodburn Circle steam line is now off limits to students. • Rail Trail Ella Belling: Not present • MPO Bill Austin: Not present but communicated that Fouad (Fred) Shoukry is the new North Central WV regional Dept of Highways Coordinator.  • City Engineer Damien Davis: Not present • City Council: We need to identify a City Council Member who will serve as our liaison. • Police Lt. McCabe: Early Departure but shared the insights about Traffic Commission with Matt Cross. • Traffic Commission Matt Cross: o Wiles Hill Neighborhood proposed circumnavigation of their neighborhood. ▪ Crosswalk needed at North Street and can be installed by the City of Morgantown, since that section of Univ Ave is under the jurisdiction of the City of Morgantown. ▪ Crosswalks can have lights at the sides as well as embedded into the street. • Dan Shook is willing to write a grant to secure funds for the crosswalk lighting. o Another dangerous crossing is area is Oakland/McDonalds. Matt Cross suggests that the cross walks there are ok but peds do not use the cross walk correctly. Next meeting: July 10, 2017, Training Room 1, Public Safety Building, 4:30 – 5:30 pm.