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ELKINS – There will be a “Sidewalk Audit” event on Thursday to raise awareness and come up with ideas about ways to make pedestrian traffic more safe along Randolph Avenue.
Those wishing to take part in the audit are asked to meet at the All-Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Randolph and Railroad Avenue at 11 a.m. Those attending the event will walk the route from the Memorial to the Kroger store on 11th Street.
Elkins resident Carol Schuler dreamed up the audit concept after discussing the issues during a meeting with the Vibrant Elkins Committee.
“A lot of people get frustrated with Randolph Avenue because it’s so difficult to get across it,” Schuler said. “As a pedestrian and a bike rider, I often don’t feel safe when I’m walking the sidewalk along Randolph Avenue. A lot of people have shared with me that they would love to see more crosswalks on the stretch of Randolph Avenue from Walgreens to Kroger.”
Schuler said that Randolph Avenue gets most of the traffic in Elkins and that it is not a pedestrian-friendly stretch of road.
“Randolph Avenue is kind of the front door to Elkins and it gets more traffic than any other road in the city,” Schuler said. “It goes right through the middle of our town and we need to find a way to make it safer.”
Schuler said she recently received a survey from the West Virginia Department of Highways about pedestrian and bike safety issues in the City of Elkins.
“When I wrote the DOH back they sent me some suggestions on what to do,” Schuler said. “So I went to the Vibrant Elkins Committee meeting and asked them what we could do with Randolph Avenue. I talked to the mayor (Jerry Marco) about it and it was suggested that we do a walking audit, so I volunteered to organize it.”
Schuler said she has put together some surveys she will be modeling Thursday’s audit on to gather information.
“We want to see how people really feel about it (Randolph Avenue),” Schuler said. “I know we really want to bring people downtown and make Elkins a pedestrian-friendly community. So this audit is just inviting people to walk the route and provide feedback. I know I feel uncomfortable walking on Randolph Avenue because of the traffic and the very narrow sidewalks. So we are just going to gather information from people and go from there.”
Topics of discussion during the audit will be “where walking is easy and where traffic makes it difficult.,” “Where street crossings can be made, should be made, or can’t be made,” and “Traffic flow, signage, and safety issues.”
“After the audit I will get back with the (Vibrant Elkins) committee to figure out what is next,” Schuler said. “I will also reach back out with the Department of Highways and find out what are the possibilities for making improvements.”