MORGANTOWN — A group of citizens say they’ll continue to speak out against a planned roundabout at the intersection of University Avenue and Collins Ferry Road.
Signs placed in the area a week or so ago asks area residents and motorists to oppose the West Virginia Division of Highways’ plan for the crossroads.
“They say ‘Keep the traffic out of our neighborhoods,’ ” Sellaro Plaza owner Anthony Sellaro said of the signs. “Because that’s what this is going to do. It’s going to hurt the neighborhoods.”
Sellaro has been the most vocal opponent of the DOH’s plan to install an oblong roundabout at the location. He explained that he placed the signs on behalf of a group of residents and business owners.
According to Sellaro, he has yet to speak to anyone in favor of the plan and says he has a petition with more than 500 signatures from those opposed to the roundabout.
“I thought the wishes of the many outweighed the wishes of the few. That’s how we pick our politicians, with a vote,” Sellaro said. “It just seems like there’s a very small group of people – I believe less than 20 people – who are pushing this thing through, but the public doesn’t want it.”
Among that small group Sellaro references is the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which initially identified the intersection as a problem area more than a decade ago.
The MPO is just one of the local stakeholders to have endorsed the DOH plan. Others include Morgantown City Council and the Monongalia County Board of Education.
On the other end, Star City Council has described itself as “vehemently opposed” to the project.
Star City Mayor Herman Reid said that position has not changed.
“We sent that letter because we wanted to let them know that based on what we’ve seen, we don’t think it’s needed,” Reid said. “I just think it’s a bad idea.”
Among Sellaro’s main complaints is that the issue wasn’t properly studied by the DOH.
MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said that’s not the case, explaining that the DOH did the same level of traffic and design study on this project as any other of its size.
“The traffic study that I saw followed recognized methodologies,” Austin said. “They followed their standard procedures on it.”
The results of those 2016 studies, according to The Dominion Post archive, is an intersection with parts that were graded F, or failing. This plan, the DOH said at the time, could get it up to a service level A.
“It is primarily failing in its southbound movement from Collins Ferry onto University. That’s what the study identified,” Austin said. “But you can’t even get a real picture of how completely its failing because there are so many workarounds, including people cutting through the [Huntington] bank parking lot.”
Further, Austin said, the DOH held a public comment period and community outreach campaign despite the $1.8 million scope of the project not meeting the threshold to mandate such efforts.
One of the questions being raised is whether the oblong, single-lane roundabout previously described by the DOH is the final design.
Reid said he felt that design would make it difficult for larger vehicles, like fire apparatus, to navigate, “and what happens if there’s an accident in the roundabout? How do they get a fire truck through?”
Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos said he doesn’t have any issues with the intersection as it is currently configured.
While Morgantown previously provided a letter of endorsement for the DOH plan, city administration is continuing to watch the issue.
“The city administration, including Chief Caravasos, are reviewing the preliminary designs,” Communications Director Andrew Stacy explained. “The city plans to work with the DOH as the designs are finalized to ensure that public safety needs, including concerns with response times, are minimized.”
In December, the DOH said it was in the process of acquiring property for the project, which it said could get under way as early as mid-2019. The DOH did not respond in time for this report.
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