HUNTINGTON Ƶ A traffic study for the area surrounding Southside Elementary and Huntington Middle schools was completed after nearly a year of observing congestion, parking, safety and mobility around the schools, which sit in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Donna Hardy, senior transportation engineer with Mead & Hunt, which she said was contracted by the KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission to complete the study, presented the findings and recommendations from the firm during a meeting Tuesday at Southside.
ƵGoing back to when the school was originally slated to be on this location ... this is something the community wanted here Ƶ our Southside and our middle school together on this location,Ƶ Superintendent Tim Hardesty said following the presentation. ƵAnd of course, with that comes some limitations. One thing I can tell you is that we are excited to be within the city limits because this helps our community, it helps our school. ItƵs a fantastic location.Ƶ
But Hardesty said it was clear from the presentation what the issues are with the area, and whatever Cabell County Schools can work out with the city to put in place, it will take providing education to parents and the community to understand how to resolve the problem.
The findings
Hardy said, over the course of the year, Mead & Hunt representatives met with the Cabell County Board of Education, the schools and the City of Huntington to identify and brainstorm ways to resolve traffic issues along 3rd and 2nd streets and 9th and 10th avenues during school pick-up and drop-off times.
They also heard from attendees at a fact-finding meeting in January; Hardy said parents with children at both schools said it was difficult to navigate traffic in the mornings and afternoons.
Hardy said there were also concerns that first responders would be unable to make it through the heavy traffic in the event of an emergency during those times. Attendees told the firm four-way stops at each of the property corners are not respected, crosswalks are not respected or not visible and there are not enough handicap and/or parking spaces in general for staff.
The firm observed walking zones for each of the schools, the role of varying dismissal times in traffic patterns, connecting alleyways, and the possibility of separating buses from regular traffic.
From the City of Huntington, Hardy said the firm learned it was open to exploring the possibility of establishing one or more one-way routes around the school, trimming vegetation to increase visibility and working further with the Huntington Police Department to find solutions.
From the TTA, Hardy said the firm found there were concerns about changing traffic patterns and transforming 9th Avenue into a one-way road, as it would affect city bus routes.
A safety study survey through KYOVA found several concerns of traffic violations, including distracted driving, speeding, blocking crosswalks and running stop signs. Survey takers also asked for additional parking to relieve street congestion, adding crossing guards, staggering school start times or creating one-way streets.
Mead & Hunt observed traffic around the schools in August when there were no students but all staff reporting, and again in September, December and May.
Hardy said the firm observed vehicles rolling through stop signs, parking on both sides of tight streets, limited parking, jaywalking, more vehicles and less pedestrians, long pickup queues and parents arriving early, as well as several other issues involving traffic patterns 3rd and 2nd streets.
Hardy presented data from KYOVA, which reported three crashes between 2021 and 2023 near the schools during drop-off and pick-up times. All three involved vehicles going southbound on 2nd Street, and two involved vehicles attempting to pass parked vehicles. Two were side-swipe crashes, and one was a right-angle crash with a vehicle exiting an alleyway.
Lynn Edmonds, who attended TuesdayƵs meeting, said parents often park directly in front of her house on 9th Avenue. She said she and her husband often have to plan their day around bell times to ensure theyƵll have somewhere to park when they arrive home.
Edmonds said she also notices parents speeding, parking in no-parking zones on 9th Avenue and loading their children in the car while facing on-coming traffic. She said, while one of her children attended the former Cammack, and her two youngest attended Southside, it seems the traffic issues are newer.
ƵThis is new with the consolidation. It just seems to get worse every year,Ƶ Edmonds said, adding although she experienced the Southside traffic with her two younger children, Ƶit just seems to be more annoying.Ƶ
Possible solutions
In the short term, Hardy said her firm is proposing installing high-visibility crosswalks and signage from 8th Avenue to 11th Avenue and from 1st Street and 4th Street. She mentioned the possibility of adding raised crosswalks that double as speed humps.
ItƵs also proposing installing flashing lights on all school zone speed limit signs, adding traffic control to alleyways to run one way during school hours and converting 2nd and 3rd streets to one-way pairs from 10th and 9th avenues during bell times. It proposes adding ƵBuses OnlyƵ signage to 3rd Street, ƵNo ParkingƵ signs to 10th Avenue and working with law enforcement and sending out fliers and information to enforce rules.
Hardy discussed the idea of removing trees on school property to create additional parking to alleviate more congestion from the roadways, while painting curb extensions on the road to identify those areas as Ƶno parking.Ƶ
Some additional long-term solutions the firm came up with was designating additional handicap parking spaces on 3rd and 2nd streets, separating school drop-off/pick-up times, encouraging staff to park at least a block from the school, developing continuous bike/pedestrian routes, finding crossing guard volunteers and changing dismissal bell order.
Hardy also brought up several ways the school district could pay for these improvements, including West Virginia Department of Highways matching grants and other state funds, or going through the School Zone Flasher Program to be reimbursed.
She said the online survey asking for feedback on the traffic surrounding the schools or the suggestions made by the firm is still open by visiting .
Hardesty said, with knowledge of the Cabell County Board of EducationƵs strained budget, everything on the firmƵs list still seems feasible taking into account grants and working with the city. But he said the district still needs to take into account the possible repercussions for any of these solutions that may create another problem for the Southside neighborhood.
Possible fallout
Hardy said, for some of the ideas, the schools may have to choose between their traffic problems or raising another possible issue.
For example, removing trees or green space to create more parking could be controversial, and adding raised crosswalks could lead to drainage or snow plow issues and noise complaints. On-street parking bans along 2nd and 3rd streets could negatively affect parking for residents.
One attendee said making paired one-ways in the area during only certain portions of the day could be confusing for drivers.
ƵI know thereƵs no magic bullet here. I know that. I know as a parent, I would be frustrated. I get that. But that is, unfortunately, the uniqueness of your area. In order to fix one problem, thereƵll be unintended consequences elsewhere, so we just all have to look at what those are and make a decision of, ƵWhat did we do that was the best,ƵƵ Hardy said.
