Latest news with #Kimley-Horn
Dominion Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- Dominion Post
MPO accepts Don Knotts pedestrian bridge feasibility study
MORGANTOWN — In October 2023, the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization was prepared to steer $400,000 in Transportation Block Grant dollars into engineering a pedestrian bridge spanning Don Knotts Boulevard. After all, the connection has been identified as a Tier 1 priority by the MPO Policy Board and a wish list item on every relevant planning document produced by the city of Morgantown in recent history. The span would create a safe, direct connection between a significant portion of the city's population, riverfront amenities and the rail-trail network. But the state — more specifically, engineers with the West Virginia Division of Highways — had serious concerns about whether or not an accessible facility could be reasonably built to traverse the rapid drop in elevation from the 1st Ward side of Don Knotts down to the trail side. So, in December, the MPO Policy board spent $37,200 to have consultant Kimley-Horn determine whether the project is feasible. The body received those findings earlier this month. As for feasibility, Kimley-Horn Transportation Engineer Colin Frosch said the project can be built for an estimated cost of range of $7.4 million to $11.1 million depending on the level of amenities desired. 'This trail is certainly feasible, and while $11.1 million and $7.4 million are certainly high costs, we're trying to predict for the future. We're at a very high feasibility level with this study and there are very many opportunities for value engineering that could be implemented when this goes into design,' he said. 'Cost could vary based on how minimalistic you want to go or how much landscape architecture and lighting you want included.' Note that Frosch used the word 'trail.' That's because the feasibility design selected counters the challenging topography with an approximately 1,300-foot, seven-foot-wide paved trail starting at the corner of Callen Avenue and Lawnwood Street and running parallel to Callen at a federally-acceptable 5% grade down to the bridge, which would deliver pedestrians and cyclists to the rail-trail access and parking lot near Mountaineer Heritage Park. On the rail-trail side, a spiral ramp structure as well as, potentially, a set of stairs, will get users down to ground level, and vice-versa. In addition to a well-attended public meeting held last month, Frosch said 177 surveys were completed in regard to the project. Of those, 94 were very much in support of the project. Their reasoning typically came down to the difficulty in getting across Don Knotts Boulevard and the importance of connecting neighborhoods to the rail-trail and riverfront. 'For people who advocate for a system throughout the city, this is the lynch pin. This is the spot people focus on,' Morgantown City Councilor and policy board member Jenny Selin said. The information presented by Frosch indicated 48 respondents were strongly opposed to the idea. Their concerns centered around public safety, the high cost and the likelihood of drawing more noise, traffic, light and other unwanted impacts into a relatively quiet neighborhood. 'Most of the concerns we were receiving were from people who lived adjacent to the trail. I'll make the generalization that as your place of residence got further away from the trail, you were more likely to be in favor of the trail,' Frosch said. The policy board voted unanimously to accept the study. MPO Executive Director Bill Austin offered a reminder that the report doesn't represent a final design or guarantee the project will move forward. It was simply meant to answer the DOH's concerns about whether or not it could be reasonably built. 'This process will give the city a report that they can work with to approach grant applications and those sorts of things, or if the MPO decides to take it up, we have a design in our back pocket as to the type of facility we would be considering,' Austin said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MPO accepts Don Knotts pedestrian bridge feasibility study
May 27—MORGANTOWN — In October 2023, the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization was prepared to steer $400, 000 in Transportation Block Grant dollars into engineering a pedestrian bridge spanning Don Knotts Boulevard. After all, the connection has been identified as a Tier 1 priority by the MPO Policy Board and a wish list item on every relevant planning document produced by the city of Morgantown in recent history. The span would create a safe, direct connection between a significant portion of the city's population, riverfront amenities and the rail-trail network. But the state—more specifically, engineers with the West Virginia Division of Highways—had serious concerns about whether or not an accessible facility could be reasonably built to traverse the rapid drop in elevation from the 1st Ward side of Don Knotts down to the trail side. So, in December, the MPO Policy board spent $37, 200 to have consultant Kimley-Horn determine whether the project is feasible. The body received those findings earlier this month. As for feasibility, Kimley-Horn Transportation Engineer Colin Frosch said the project can be built for an estimated cost of range of $7.4 million to $11.1 million depending on the level of amenities desired. "This trail is certainly feasible, and while $11.1 million and $7.4 million are certainly high costs, we're trying to predict for the future. We're at a very high feasibility level with this study and there are very many opportunities for value engineering that could be implemented when this goes into design, " he said. "Cost could vary based on how minimalistic you want to go or how much landscape architecture and lighting you want included." Note that Frosch used the word "trail." That's because the feasibility design selected counters the challenging topography with an approximately 1, 300-foot, seven-foot-wide paved trail starting at the corner of Callen Avenue and Lawnwood Street and running parallel to Callen at a federally-acceptable 5 % grade down to the bridge, which would deliver pedestrians and cyclists to the rail-trail access and parking lot near Mountaineer Heritage Park. On the rail-trail side, a spiral ramp structure as well as, potentially, a set of stairs, will get users down to ground level, and vice-versa. In addition to a well-attended public meeting held last month, Frosch said 177 surveys were completed in regard to the project. Of those, 94 were very much in support of the project. Their reasoning typically came down to the difficulty in getting across Don Knotts Boulevard and the importance of connecting neighborhoods to the rail-trail and riverfront. "For people who advocate for a system throughout the city, this is the lynch pin. This is the spot people focus on, " Morgantown City Councilor and policy board member Jenny Selin said. The information presented by Frosch indicated 48 respondents were strongly opposed to the idea. Their concerns centered around public safety, the high cost and the likelihood of drawing more noise, traffic, light and other unwanted impacts into a relatively quiet neighborhood. "Most of the concerns we were receiving were from people who lived adjacent to the trail. I'll make the generalization that as your place of residence got further away from the trail, you were more likely to be in favor of the trail, " Frosch said. The policy board voted unanimously to accept the study. MPO Executive Director Bill Austin offered a reminder that the report doesn't represent a final design or guarantee the project will move forward. It was simply meant to answer the DOH's concerns about whether or not it could be reasonably built. "This process will give the city a report that they can work with to approach grant applications and those sorts of things, or if the MPO decides to take it up, we have a design in our back pocket as to the type of facility we would be considering, " Austin said.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Roundabouts, changes to Grumbein Island, Willey Street recommended
May 25—MORGANTOWN — The intersection of Beechurst Avenue and 8th Street. The multi-pronged intersection of Stewart Street, Protzman Street, Van Gilder Avenue and Hoffman Avenue. And, potentially, the intersection of U.S. routes known locally as University Avenue, Pleasant Street and the Westover Bridge. Roundabouts have been recommended for each of the above intersections following a two-year study of vehicle and pedestrian movements in and around downtown Morgantown. The findings were recently presented by Colin Frosch, a traffic engineer with consulting firm Kimley-Horn. The $500, 000 study is based on microsimulation, in which data on vehicle and pedestrian movements was gathered at dozens of locations and plugged — along with regional travel demand model traffic counts — into software allowing Kimley-Horn and the study's steering committee to see how various proposed changes would impact traffic flows. "The purpose of this study was to assess the existing safety, parking, congestion issues within the downtown Morgantown network with a primary focus on congestion from a metric standpoint, but then also understanding if we make safety and pedestrian improvements, are we adversely affecting the congestion that's in Morgantown, " Frosch said. But roundabouts are just the beginning. The removal of vehicle traffic at Grumbein Island — the University Avenue mesh point of pedestrians and vehicles between WVU "s Mountainlair and Martin Hall — is also on the list. The restriction would include closing University Avenue to vehicular traffic between College Avenue and Beechurst Avenue and aligning Willey Street with a new connection to Beechurst. Further, it's recommended that Willey Street lose the U.S. 119 designation and become a local connection while a new stretch of U.S. 119 is constructed through the Richwood Avenue "loop " to align with Snider Street. Other recommendations from the microsimulation study steering committee include changes to the intersection of University Avenue and Falling Run Road ; restricting a portion of Monongahela Boulevard down to two lanes and various signal timing optimizations. It's a lot to take in. And the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization would like to hear your thoughts on it as part of a future update to the MPO's Metropolitan Transportation Plan. "We are going to take the recommendations from this study to the public as part of our outreach for the transportation plan update so we can more fully examine and discuss with the general public the recommendations of this study, and the policy board will be able to understand the reactions that we've received to this, " MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan is a long-term planning document for local transportation infrastructure and policy. A link to Frosch's PowerPoint presentation is available at the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization website, There's also a link to the MPO's YouTube channel, where you can watch him present it during the MPO Policy Board's May meeting.
Dominion Post
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Dominion Post
Roundabouts, changes to Grumbein Island, Willey Street recommended
MORGANTOWN — The intersection of Beechurst Avenue and 8th Street. The multi-pronged intersection of Stewart Street, Protzman Street, Van Gilder Avenue and Hoffman Avenue. And, potentially, the intersection of U.S. routes known locally as University Avenue, Pleasant Street and the Westover Bridge. Roundabouts have been recommended for each of the above intersections following a two-year study of vehicle and pedestrian movements in and around downtown Morgantown. The findings were recently presented by Colin Frosch, a traffic engineer with consulting firm Kimley-Horn. The $500,000 study is based on microsimulation, in which data on vehicle and pedestrian movements was gathered at dozens of locations and plugged – along with regional travel demand model traffic counts – into software allowing Kimley-Horn and the study's steering committee to see how various proposed changes would impact traffic flows. 'The purpose of this study was to assess the existing safety, parking, congestion issues within the downtown Morgantown network with a primary focus on congestion from a metric standpoint, but then also understanding if we make safety and pedestrian improvements, are we adversely affecting the congestion that's in Morgantown,' Frosch said. But roundabouts are just the beginning. The removal of vehicle traffic at Grumbein Island – the University Avenue mesh point of pedestrians and vehicles between WVU's Mountainlair and Martin Hall – is also on the list. The restriction would include closing University Avenue to vehicular traffic between College Avenue and Beechurst Avenue and aligning Willey Street with a new connection to Beechurst. Further, it's recommended that Willey Street lose the U.S. 119 designation and become a local connection while a new stretch of U.S. 119 is constructed through the Richwood Avenue 'loop' to align with Snider Street. Other recommendations from the microsimulation study steering committee include changes to the intersection of University Avenue and Falling Run Road; restricting a portion of Monongahela Boulevard down to two lanes and various signal timing optimizations. It's a lot to take in. And the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization would like to hear your thoughts on it as part of a future update to the MPO's Metropolitan Transportation Plan. 'We are going to take the recommendations from this study to the public as part of our outreach for the transportation plan update so we can more fully examine and discuss with the general public the recommendations of this study, and the policy board will be able to understand the reactions that we've received to this,' MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan is a long-term planning document for local transportation infrastructure and policy. A link to Frosch's PowerPoint presentation is available at the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization website, There's also a link to the MPO's YouTube channel, where you can watch him present it during the MPO Policy Board's May meeting.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Developer proposes affordable Live Local Act townhomes in northwest Orange County
Editor's note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. The Croson Townhomes development has been proposed under Florida's Live Local Act affordable housing initiative at 6936 Old Hwy 441 in unincorporated Mount Dora, located south of East Crane Avenue in northwest Orange County. The project on 1.8 acres would consist of 21 three-story units at a total square footage of 15,000 with 45 parking spaces, according to a Kimley-Horn conceptual plan. Read: What's open and closed on Memorial Day?Charles Croson of Lake Mary-based Croson Investment Partners, on behalf of Old 441 LLC, filed for pre-application approval with the Orange County Technical Review Group (TRG) and Development Review Committee (DRC) on May here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal's here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Read: What's open and closed on Memorial Day? Charles Croson of Lake Mary-based Croson Investment Partners, on behalf of Old 441 LLC, filed for pre-application approval with the Orange County Technical Review Group (TRG) and Development Review Committee (DRC) on May 15. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal's website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
