Getting Acquainted with the Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Plan

 

The Pedestrian Safety Plan is a comprehensive, detailed document which has involved much work by the Pedestrian Safety Board and input by neighborhood people in Morgantown. It was first “finished” in December, 2008, but nearly each month, changes have been made to make the document more complete.

 

The Plan is designed to be an ongoing system for pedestrian infrastructure improvement  and increased neighborhood safety. The Plan is designed to accommodate change

 

After a detailed Table of Contents and an important list of Appendices, there is a two-page Executive Summary of the Plan on pages 5 and 6.

 

This is followed by information on the development of the Plan, information on sidewalk and crosswalk standards, and then on page 27 information on how Morgantown sidewalks and greenways have been classified.

 

The goal of this Plan is not to try to pave every sidewalk in the City. The goal is, first of all, to designate, pave and upgrade a “connecting network’ of sidewalks and greenways to enable people to walk to destinations throughout the city.

 

Secondly, the goal of the Plan is enable citizens in neighborhoods who do not live on one of those “connecting network sidewalks” to have a means for having the sidewalk on their block paved.

 

And thirdly, the goal of this plan is to create a responsible financial system which will support the on-going costs of maintaining sidewalks and greenways as well as two other investments which will make the city safer for pedestrians: traffic calming and walkway lighting.

 

In order to build the connecting network (see connecting network map on next page, also on page 28), the Plan identifies approximately 150 projects by neighborhood on pages 29-35. The projects are then evaluated and rated according to criteria (page 36-37). The rating creates priorities 1) within each neighborhood (“Hood”) and within the city as a whole (“City”). These ratings are found on pages 38-42, and then the projects are mapped, again by neighborhood, on pages 43- 55.

 

A one-page projected cost estimate for the sidewalk and safety projects are found in Appendices I on page 111. The financial plan for meeting the costs (annual $1 per front foot for private residential property) is in Section 10 which is found on pages 72 -75.

 

Other vital sections of the Plan are plans for the “6 Es” including evaluation of progress are in Section 7 (pages 58-68), improvement of school access safety (Section 8, pages 69-70), ADA accessibility (page 71), and sidewalk maintenance (page 76).

 

Thank you for evaluating and supporting with us an important means for making a safer Morgantown and a strong community in which to live.

 

                                                            Morgantown City Council

                                        Pedestrian Safety Board

                                        Morgantown Traffic Commission