Transportation Goal 3
The local highway network will provide for the safe and efficient movement of vehicular traffic to and through the community in a manner that reduces congestion, calms traffic and promotes safe access.
3.1 Limit Access to Thoroughfares
STRATEGY: Adopt regulations to minimize the number of vehicular access points from individual parcels or newly created subdivisions onto adjacent thoroughfares, and encourage Jefferson County to enforce similar regulations in the area outside of town.
JUSTIFICATION: Frequent curb cuts along major thoroughfares to provide access to individual businesses or subdivisions can negatively impact the safety, functionality and efficiency of the transportation network, especially when these access points allow full turning movements without restriction or control. As this is an issue with potential implications along roadways leading to town from unincorporated areas of the county, cooperation with Jefferson County will be necessary to help guarantee the future efficiency of the highways leading to and from town.
3.2 Require Cross Access
STRATEGY: Adopt regulations to require cross access between adjacent commercial developments that exceed a minimum traffic generation threshold and encourage Jefferson County to enforce similar regulations in areas outside of town.
JUSTIFICATION: If access limits are placed on development along major thoroughfares, alternative means of connecting to the adjacent street network will be necessary. Requiring cross access between properties, in lieu of allowing direct access to a thoroughfare, is an effective tool to both guarantee access while also limiting the number of potential conflict points along a major roadway.
3.3 Pursue Highway Capacity and Safety Upgrades
STRATEGY: Collaborate with the MPO and WVDOT to identify needed capacity and safety improvements on local highways and encourage the state to fund such improvements.
JUSTIFICATION: Since traffic on the highways leading to and through Shepherdstown has regional origins and destinations, the town should work in cooperation with state and regional partners to seek funding to improve the capacity of these regional facilities. Involvement by the town will also help to ensure that any improvements that are made are consistent with the town’s needs and desires for the design and function of the primary roads leading to and through the community.
3.4 Provide Alternate Truck Routes Around Town
STRATEGY: Work with the MPO and WVDOT to identify alternate routes for truck traffic around town to lessen congestion on Shepherdstown’s core street network.
JUSTIFICATION: The current levels of truck traffic traveling through town can lead to significant delays at key intersections in the community. This type of regional truck traffic also contributes to air pollution in to the residential areas it passes through, impacts the safety of local roads, detracts from the town’s character and increases maintenance costs on local roads. Identifying an alternate route for truck traffic on the most heavily used corridors would significantly lessen the impacts that this regional traffic has on the community.