Greater Morgantown

Metropolitan Planning Organization

180 Hart Field Road

Morgantown, WV 26508

www.plantogether.org

 

 

 

 

Technical Advisory Committee

August 15, 2006

Morgantown Municipal Airport

2nd  Floor Conference Room

1:30 – 3:30pm

 

MINUTES:

 

        I.      Attendance:

 

The meeting began at 1:30 in the 2nd floor conference room of the Morgantown Municipal Airport.  Those in attendance were:  Donald Williams, Donald Bailey, Ron Kyle, John Jeffrey, Terry Hough, Chris Fletcher, Mac Warner, Dave Bruffy, Rick Colebank, Richard Warner, Asel Kennedy, Ann Ogoreuc, Bill Troe and Mark O’Brien.

 

 

      II.      General Announcements:

 

No announcements at this time.

 

    III.      2030 Regional Transportation Plan

 

    The process for designing packages was based on the overall number of transportation issues, the impact components and the cost of the projects.  These concerns were then put together in an interactive system.  The results are the creation of maps that show the theme based concepts that URS has concluded.   The themes that were put together were intended to address as many transportation needs as possible based on the funding.  Terry Hough asks if the monetary figures were based on today or in the year 2030.  Bill Troe responds that all monetary figures are based on today.

 

     Bill informs the group that an area of focus needs to be how much should we allocate to transit and how much should we allocate to bike/ped.  These are alternatives that could greatly impact transportation in the area.

 

     Much discussion was directed toward the removal of the Beechurst Expansion Project in the packages.  Proponents for the removal cite the freeing up of funds for additional projects.   Opponents are still concerned about the amount of congestion along Beechurst Avenue.  Bill advises the group that one of the main focuses should be on one of the “big four” projects: either the expansion of Beechurst, the Northern Outlet, the Inner Loop, or the Falling Run project. 

 

     From a consultant standpoint, Bill states the Concept 8 is the engineering solution for the region.  It provides a mixture of some Transportation System Management (TSM) projects as well as some of the more regional projects that will provide the most benefit.  He also believes that expanding Beechurst Avenue to a five lane corridor is the best solution.  Concept 8 will also include the creation of the Inner Loop which would provide a connection from the Mileground down to WV 7.  It will also create an improved three lane facility on the Greenbag Road.  Concept 8 also includes the Falling Run Corridor. It also addresses the location where there is the high intensity of traffic as well as balance the budget.   However, it does not include the Northern Outlet.  Bill informs the group that some of the alternate concepts that tried to address congestion exceeded the budget.

 

     Some discussion was held about the benefits of having a user fee to fund additional transportation projects.  It was stated that the user fee would have to be passed for a specific item such as the 705 Connector and not for a general category such as transportation.

 

     Bill suggests that the group take Concept 8 and modify it so that it included the connection to the river. He believes that it would alleviate some of the congestion along the Collins Ferry and the Van Voorhis areas.  Some members of the group are concerned about the support for such a project.  Bill’s thought the construction of the Northern Outlet would help develop some of that land for industrial or retail use. 

 

     Chris Fletcher, the City Planning Director, proposes that the group starts with Concept 8, but remove the Beechurst Expansion Project and instead increase the amount of TSM projects.  Bill states that the removal of the Beechurst Expansion Project will add about 40 million dollars to the Concept 8.  He strongly suggests that part of that money be earmarked for the bike/ped and transit alternatives.  Asel Kennedy, County Commissioner, agrees that any money that could be used for bike/ped and transit alternatives would be beneficial especially to the University students.   

 

     Bill suggests that the members take one more week to review Concept 8 and he will begin revising it, primarily removing the Beechurst Expansion Project.  Any comments need to be emailed to Chet within the week.    

 

 

IV.   Next Meeting

       

The next meeting of the TAC will be held on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 1:30pm on the second floor conference room of the Morgantown Municipal Airport.

 

        I.      Adjournment

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:28pm.