WVU Tech president to deliver updates on campus corridor plan

Mar. 27—After a month of hearing from the public on the WVU Tech Campus Corridor Project in Beckley, updates to the project, based on the community feedback, will be presented at a gathering today hosted by the West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

Some of those changes include reversing the direction of the one-way street to address concerns raised by first responders and eliminating one of the proposed roundabouts so as not to impede a century-old church.

The community meeting will include a presentation by WVU Tech President T. Ramon Stuart and will take place at 5:30 p.m. today at the WVU Tech Neville Street Auditorium located at 410 Neville St.

Stuart said his presentation will not only consist of updates to the WVU Tech Campus Corridor Project but also address what led to its commissioning, with the hope of furthering the public's understanding of its purpose.

"I want to tell people where the vision started, how it was worked through more than four years ago, how we got the funding, where we are now, and ultimately, I want to end in us working together, not to do what we've always done but look to do new, innovative things in Beckley just like other cities," Stuart said.

Plans for the WVU Tech Campus Corridor Project include converting the portion of South Kanawha Street, also known as W.Va. 210, that runs through WVU Tech's Beckley campus into a one-way street between Beaver Avenue/Johnstown Road and McCreery Street.

These plans also included the addition of a bike lane, sidewalk improvements and streetscaping.

The project aims to improve traffic flow, deter speeders and make the campus safer for WVU Tech students, staff, and the community.

The estimated project cost is around $13 million and will be paid for by state and federal funds.

Initial plans for the WVU Tech Campus Corridor Project were presented to the community in February at a meeting hosted by the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Federal Highway Administration.

During this meeting, representatives from multiple emergency agencies expressed concerns that converting a portion of South Kanawha Street into a one-way street flowing towards downtown Beckley would cut off a direct route to portions of East Beckley and increase response time.

Stuart said he and others involved with the project met with emergency officials and first responders soon after the public meeting to review those concerns and work towards addressing them.

Following those discussions, Stuart said they decided to change the direction of the one-way street to flow out towards Beaver instead of into downtown Beckley.

"We have met with our EMS leaders not only at the county but also the Beckley PD, Beckley Fire, Jan-Care (Ambulance Services) and (WVU Tech) Police Department, and we presented the proposed revised plan, and it meets and or exceeds every expectation that our EMS partners had," Stuart said.

"We have not increased any response time; we still get the traffic calming features that were a desire in this coupled with the aesthetic enhancements that not only provides a different level of engagement for the citizens of Beckley but also the students, faculty and staff at Tech too."

Stuart said they will also be removing the roundabout planned for the intersection of South Kanawha Street and McCreery Street.

This intersection sits in front of Beckley Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1924. Stuart said patrons were concerned the roundabout would cause the removal of the church sidewalk with its original 1924 engraving and make it more challenging for people to enter the church's parking lot.

"The elimination of a roundabout at McCreery Street is one of the other things that we thought was not only going to help the citizens move forward, but also not create any undue burdens on anyone," he said.

While understanding that there will still be people who remain opposed to this project because of the changes it will cause, Stuart said he hopes to show the community that they did take the community's concerns and suggestions to heart and updated the project to accommodate those concerns.

Stuart said he also wants to show the community how this project could serve as a catalyst for other improvements and advancements in the city.

"I think we're positioned for this to be the start of many things that we can go after and secure in Beckley, to not only transform South Kanawha Street but also look at transformation on South Fayette and Harper Road," he said.

". . . When you look at Beckley right now, the city is divided on so many issues, and this is something that I want to see unify us."