On Monday, March 17, the Region 9 Planning and Development Council announced that $662,500 has been allocated to Shepherdstown in order to create a new bike path along West Virginia Route 480. According to The Journal, $610,000 of that money is being provided by the West Virginia Recreational Trails Fund Program and the Federal Transportation Alternatives Program while the Shepherdstown council will contribute nearly $52,000 to the project.
When I learned Shepherdstown was receiving this money I should have been happy and appreciative. However, the giant list of other things that Shepherdstown could be using the money for to benefit a significant number of students and town residents came to mind.
The bike path will be approximately a half-mile long and will run between Minden Lane and the other existing bike paths on alternate West Virginia Route 45. Simply put, the path will connect places found on the other side of town far from Shepherd campus such as Morgan’s Grove Park, several neighborhoods, the Clarion hotel and conference center, and the Shepherdstown Middle School.
Some students at Shepherd believe that the bike path is, in fact, beneficial to Shepherdstown. Senior Sean Little said, “I think the bike path is great! It appeals to the historic aspect of town and since the fund is for the town, the town should benefit the most from the project.”
I see how this planned path can be beneficial to some. However, there is only a minimal amount of pedestrian traffic in that part of town and there are other projects that could be undertaken that would impact a much larger portion of people in Shepherdstown such as Shepherd students, not just a select few.
There are so many pre-existing sidewalks and roads that are quite frankly dangerous and are in need of repairs immediately. Imagine all the improvements that could be done on infrastructure on and around our campus and how much easier commuting, especially walking, around campus would be. We could start by the fixing the numerous potholes and uneven roads, the sidewalks that constantly get flooded anytime it rains, and those dangerous, crumbling brick sidewalks that we all have tripped on at least once. If I had a dollar for every time I stumbled or hit my toe on one of those bricks, I could fund the bike path myself.
Freshman Mikayla Weese said, “Pre-existing roads should be the number one priority. High Street is dangerous and a lot of people, Shepherdstown locals and students alike, travel on that road.”
Another crisis not being checked up on is the horrid situation for pedestrians and vehicles alike near Sheetz and the west entrance for campus. No matter the time of day, you can almost always find students and other pedestrians struggling to cross the road here while vehicle accidents are a common occurrence at this intersection.
If we have the funding to build a crosswalk on the other side of Shepherdstown where you find very few pedestrians and limited traffic problems, shouldn’t one be built at one of the most trafficked and busiest spots near campus?
The funds that have been appropriated to build this bike path could instead be used to quell a great deal of problems on campus that hinder students’ and locals’ ability to travel. I feel that instead of continually creating new things with newfound money, we should first improve and repair the things we already have.
Leave a Reply