WVU Campus Connector Meeting

[Jonathan Rosenbaum]

I thought I would give everyone who hasn't already heard a heads up.
Today, immediately after the Pedestrian Safety Board meeting there will
be a separate meeting devoted to the the WVU Campus Connector. Many of
you heard Robert Moyer speak briefly about the connector near the end
of the last meeting.

At this meeting there will be some City Officials like Jennifer Selin
who has been given permission by the City Manager to work on the
project, as well as a few Bicycle Board members from the WVU Committee,
and a few Pedestrian Safety Board members who have already expressed an
interest. It's going to be an important meeting as we work to clearly
define a winning plan to act on in the near-term. If you are
interested, feel free to attend.

Agenda (rough draft):

1. Discuss prior attempts at realizing the Campus Connector, looking at
costs and technical solutions. (est. 20-30 min.)

2. Target strategies and necessary steps to take. (est 20-30 min.)

3. Put together formal plan (including a time line) to implement our
strategies and steps. (20-30 min.)

-Jonathan

[Rick L]

This is a great idea, Jonathan. When I was a graduate student in
forestry in Percivla Hall I used to take the existing 'path' (the gas
pipeline) to the short, steep climb that connects the pipe line to the
back yard of President's house. Tthe last section was slippery and a
bit of a challenge; I fell more than once. Probably ten years or so
ago there was a very rough plan to connect the pipe line to a moderate-
grade trail that switched back once or twice before topping out
between the WVU Greenhouses and Percival rear parking lot (I think
that's where it was supposed to terminate). In any case, it was deemed
too expensive. Maybe WVU would fund the connector, along with the
Sunny Side Up organization?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Jonathan Rosenbaum]

Rick, you are the perfect representative for what the Campus Connector is all about!

At the meeting this Monday we looked at the City Study you are referring to.  Greg Good began the original push behind the CC.  When the City did the original study they took the most expensive engineering route possible.  For instance, a 10 foot wide trail, ADA compliance, special amenities, etc.  However, as Greg has pointed out, the ADA requirement is adequately represented by a Van service WVU provides.

You are right on the mark when you say we should engage WVU and Sunny Side Up.  Executive Director Jim Hunt of Sunny Side Up supports the proposed Campus Connector, and there is quite a bit of support at WVU.  The City is very interested in working with the University, and I have heard the same from WVU administrators.  I want to point out that the Bicycle Board's WVU Committee's implicit purpose is to facilitate this sort of relationship.

Today, we took a tour of the region.  We did some serious bushwacking; one thing that became obvious to me was that it is possible to build a connector in a way that will make fitness advocates, bicyclists, and pedestrians all happy.  Plus there is the scenic view that the City considers of significant value.   Present were City Council members, Jennifer Selin and Don Spencer, Assistant City Manager, Jeff Mikorski, advocate (tour guide) Greg Good, WVU Student Representative to the Bicycle Board, Tyler Pearson as well as Nick Hein and me from the Bicycle Board.

I put together a presentation that provides a good overview of what is presently happening.

You can view this presentation at http://osenergy.org/cc/ccexploration.xul#eva,page1 , please give it some time to load up.

You do need to view the presentation with a free mozilla based browser like FireFox at http://www.mozilla.com/firefox .

Thanks for the interest!

-Jonathan