Public has chance to influence future transportation safety projects in Hagerstown area

Area residents and workers have a chance to provide feedback that could influence future transportation-related safety and traffic congestion projects in Washington County and nearby West Virginia.

The Hagerstown/Eastern Panhandle Metropolitan Planning Organization, or HEPMPO, is conducting a survey to help create regional plans to address safety issues and manage traffic congestion. The local MPO is a federally mandated body assigned to help plan for transportation needs in Washington County, as well as Berkeley and Jefferson counties in West Virginia.

Road improvements: Paving improvement work on I-81, I-70 and U.S. 522 to start Sunday

The deadline to complete the online survey available through https://hepmpo.com, is Dec. 15, less than two weeks away. For those without internet access, there are options to submit comments in writing or via phone.

The last time the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization conducted this survey was in 2018.

That survey contributed to improvements along U.S. 40 in downtown Hagerstown and influenced some I-81 interchange improvements underway or planned, HEPMPO Executive Director Matt Mullenax said.

The population within the MPO is estimated by the Census to be 344,059 as of 2022.

Local MPO officials expect the population to reach 436,001 by 2050.

The group also expects the annual vehicle miles traveled to increase by almost 2.8 million miles or by 26% from 2020 to 2050.

Mullenax said the survey will help update data about the regional population, driver patterns and characteristics and changes in how people are traveling since the pandemic.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021 includes new discretionary grant programs focused on safety, including the Safe Streets and Roads For All (SS4A) program that only regional and local governments can apply for — not state transportation departments, Mullenax said.

By getting this survey done, Mullenax said he hopes to take care of one of the prerequisites local governments often need to submit with these grant applications.

Feedback so far includes concerns about driving behaviors and truck traffic

As of Friday, 361 survey responses had been completed that included 978 comments or map markers, Mullenax said.

The online survey gives folks the option of dropping a marker on a map to highlight a problem area. A comment box then pops up for respondents to provide feedback.

Mullenax said it takes at least 5 minutes to complete the survey.

While he hadn't reviewed every comment so far, Mullenax said there have been more comments this go-round about aggressive and distracted driving.

There are several comments so far about:

• Drivers "who treat red lights like yellow lights," about speeding, seeing motorists on their phones, and lack of signaling.

• The need to widen Interstate 81 to the Pennsylvania line

• Dual Highway including speeding, unsafe conditions for pedestrians and the impact on U.S. 40 when traffic is detoured due to interstate incidents.

• About Interstate 70, especially between I-81 and U.S. 40, regarding speeding, truck congestion, safety issues and the need to widen I-70.

• The growing number of warehouses and about truck stops and truck traffic.

The design work for phase two of widening I-81 is expected to be done in 2025 with construction starting that fall, according to information state highway provided in August. The estimated $96.8 million project will add a third lane in each direction from Md. 63/Md. 68 to north of Halfway Boulevard. The project is expected to be done in the fall of 2029.

Once the survey results are in, Mullenax said a study committee will run the information through safety models and develop a draft plan with recommendations.

He anticipates public meetings about the draft plan, seeking further input from residents, in the spring. There will be a meeting in Hagerstown as well as one in Martinsburg, W.Va., and in Charles Town, W.Va.

People also can submit comments for the current survey by emailing Mullenax at mmullenax@hepmpo.net, calling 240-313-2081, or mailing a letter to the Hagerstown/Eastern Panhandle Metropolitan Planning Organization, 33 W. Washington St., Suite 402, Hagerstown, 21740.

Resulting projects don't happen as fast as people would like. Once a project is prioritized, it takes time for permit and environmental reviews, designs, getting people onboard and lining up funding, Mullenax said.

Last survey influenced projects done, underway and in the works

In Washington County, the last survey results led to the state making safety improvements along West Washington Street, aka U.S. 40, from Cannon Avenue to Burhans Boulevard in Hagerstown, Mullenax said.

That work included installing ADA-compliant curb ramps, painted yellow with tactile surfacing to help warn the visually impaired of the absence of the curb, Mullenax said. Some signs along that stretch of the highway also were updated with ones that are easier to see at night.

Mullenax said the State Highway Administration also is evaluating the traffic signal system in that area to see what improvements can be made to improve traffic flow.

State highway has a "smart signal" project underway along U.S. 40 from Cleveland Avenue to Edgewood Drive, according to an email from spokesperson Danny Allman. The system uses real-time data to change signals to reduce congestion. The project will include five intersections when it's done.

Mullenax said he's not sure of the "exact weight" of influence the 2018 survey results had on work being done now to improve I-81 ramps and merging areas at Maugans Avenue. But the survey information helped with project development.

Allman said that project is on schedule to be finished by the end of summer. The contractor plans to work through winter, as weather allows.

Mullenax said the last safety survey also is helping state highway as it plans improvements at the Showalter Road interchange.

Allman said the Showalter project will go through final review in the spring and is not yet funded for construction. That project is estimated to cost $3.6 million.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Public survey could affect road safety work in Hagerstown area