2b. Harwood bike & pedestrian path-comment letter

Harwood Pedestrian and Bicycle Crossing Study - 2007 A. Appendix A.1 Public Input I As a part of the Steering Committee Meeting held on March 15th, 2007, a group of 24 5th: grade students of the Harwood Community School was invited to voice their concerns I regarding the safety issues of the Dakota Avenue Corridor and the 1-29 bridge. It was found that of the 24 students, 23 students walked and biked to school. Fifteen of them I I lived on the western part of Harwood and have to cross the bridge. Five of those students I traveled alone. The various concerns of these 5th grade students were: - High Speed of the cars made them nervous, especially those driven by teenagers II - Big trailer trucks and combines scared them, especially when they were turning at the ramps Sometimes when high speed vehicles passed by, the children were scared to move to the edge of the bridge fearing they would fall off. One of the students said that it was very scary when a car met a car. Students were also concerned with the visibility aspects. Most said when they were riding up the bridge they could not see the oncoming vehicles Most students identified the following intersections as scary: o 1-29 Ramps and Dakota Avenue o Lind Boulevard and Dakota A venue o 5ih and Dakota A venue I A Public Input Meeting convened on May 3rd, 2007 at the Harwood Elementary School. I The meeting was scheduled two hours before the School PT A meeting to attract greater I participation from parents and teachers. The Metro COG staff also met with the PT A I members after the Public Input Meeting. It was ensured that all segments of the I community got an opportunity to participate in the process. An invitation for the Public I Input Meeting was posted in the Harwood School newsletter. The meeting notice was I also advertised in the Harwood local newspaper, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and The West Fargo Pioneer for wider coverage. A survey was posted on the Harwood City I website and also distributed by hand at the Public Input Meeting. I The Public Input Meeting had 21 participants, 25 written comments were received and 4 comments were received through e-mail. The various comments received from concerned citizens were: ~ The roads are not marked ~ Signage is poor ~ The shoulder of the bridge is not marked for pedestrians ~ Having the city divided by the interstate and the children with friends on both sides of the interstate creates a safety issue with letting the children get together to play. ~ Most people move to small towns to raise their children in a safe area. I don't feel that having to make some alterations on our bridge or adding more signs and lights will be a waste if it helps protect the children of our community. Fargo - Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments - 24 -