MORGANTOWN — Imagine what Morgantown traffic would look like if WVU’s downtown campus was off limits to vehicles.
A steering committee of local stakeholders doesn’t want to imagine. It wants to model that exact proposal as part of an ongoing effort to gauge the impacts to vehicle and pedestrian traffic of a handful of “what-if” scenarios in and around the city’s center.
Consulting firm Kimley Horn is in the process of using collected traffic flow data to simulate various options. Those options range in scope from improved traffic signal and corridor synchronization to a combined scenario in which Grumbein’s Island is closed to vehicles, Willey Street is widened and/or realigned and one-way streets downtown are opened to two-way traffic.
A steering committee of representatives from Morgantown, Monongalia County, the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Federal Highways Administration, WVU, West Virginia Division of Highways and the Morgantown Area Partnership came up with the following list.
- Signal timing optimization and corridor coordination including bicycle and pedestrian safety and access improvements. The most cost-effective item to be explored, these changes would be primarily focused on making traffic signals work better.
- Grumbein’s Island closure. This option would essentially close off WVU’s downtown campus to outside traffic and consider a number of connected projects and traffic changes including, among others, a direct connection between Falling Run Road and Campus Drive on one end and a two-way connection between Willey Street and Beechurst Avenue on the other.
- One-way street conversions downtown opening Spruce, High, Walnut and Pleasant streets to two-way traffic.
- Willey Street improvements focusing on capacity, realignment, or both. MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said this model will be informational to future plans involving the Richwood redevelopment project (East End Village). He said it will consider the “potential relocation of Willey Street, and widening of Willey Street on the existing right of way and/or the relocation of a portion of Willey Street to a parallel right of way with a standard width and adequate pedestrian facilities.”
- Beechurst corridor improvements between 8th Street and Campus Drive, including enhanced pedestrian accommodations. This modeling will also consider standalone intersection improvements at University Avenue and Pleasant Street/Westover Bridge; Falling Run Road and University Avenue; Stewart Street/Campus Drive and University Avenue; Stewart Street and Willowdale Road.
As mentioned, the steering committee has also asked the consultant to model a scenario in which the Grumbein’s Island, Willey Street and one-way street changes are all in place.
Once those initial results are in hand, the steering committee can then request one additional “wild card” or “ultimate condition” scenario based on those results.
The consultant’s report will include planning-level cost estimates for the options considered.
“We expect the initial round of modeling to be completed in approximately three months,” Austin said. “Once the steering committee has reviewed the results we will better know when to engage the public in discussion of the alternatives.”
Kimley Horn is being paid $500,000 for the work, which began last October. Of that amount, $400,000 is coming by way of federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funds.
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