Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission discusses local ordinance, pending lawsuit and a proposed state bill limiting pedestrians in roadways; resident public comment on flooding and pan‑s.
Summary
Commissioners discussed a county pedestrian/vehicle safety ordinance that is the subject of a lawsuit, heard from a resident about flooding and panhandling, and reviewed a proposed House bill that would prohibit pedestrians from standing in roadways if enacted statewide.
During reports and public comment at the Feb. 26 meeting, commissioners addressed community concerns about flooding, panhandling near businesses and ongoing legal and legislative activity related to pedestrian safety.
A resident raised two items during public comment: ongoing flooding near his business and questions about the county’s current protocols for people soliciting funds in intersections. The commission said it typically reserves response during public comment but indicated staff would address the resident’s questions in later remarks.
Commissioner Bloom and others later described existing Monongalia County Commission ordinance regulating pedestrian and vehicle safety and said Mountain State Justice has sued the county over the ordinance. Bloom told the meeting the ordinance remains on the books.
Commissioner Bloom also read the text of a two‑paragraph House bill (referred to in the meeting as House Bill 2892) that would prohibit pedestrians from standing in roadways or rights of way, citing legislative findings that such presence creates a public safety hazard; the commissioner said if enacted statewide it could affect local issues.
"The legislature finds that the presence of person standing in the middle of the roadway on right aways or near the roadway creates a significant public safety hazard for those individuals and motorists," Bloom read. He and other commissioners said they had raised the county’s concerns with delegates while in Charleston and were forming an informal "large county caucus" with other larger counties to share information.
Commissioners said they had also received constituent requests about large trucks using River Road and discussed forwarding those concerns to the state Division of Highways for possible signage because independent truck drivers rely on GPS routing.
County staff said they would address the resident’s flooding question during staff reports later in the week and that planning commission and building commission appointment applications were under review; no formal policy changes were made at the meeting.
The discussion combined public comment, elected officials’ reports from meetings in Charleston and a readout of pending state legislation; commissioners did not take a formal vote on local ordinance changes during the session.
