Beckley Councilmember Tom Sopher reminded motorists to stop speeding on Clarence W. Meadows Boulevard, or get a ticket.
He made this special “public service announcement” during the Tuesday, December 14, regular meeting of the Beckley Common Council.
“The speed limit is 50 miles an hour,” Sopher said of the Boulevard, also called the East Beckley Bypass. “The other day, I went through there and three people were pulled over. So, Beckley PD is cracking down on that speed limit. If you go through there and you think 60, 65 is what it should take—you are gonna get you a ticket.”
In other Beckley traffic news, council held the first reading of an ordinance to amend the traffic control map.
Currently, along Prince Street in uptown Beckley, there are three lanes that vehicles may travel along. The three lanes begin near the old Beckley Police Department and continue to the intersection of Robert C. Byrd Drive. In recent months, council has heard numerous complaints from those who do business in that section of the city. Often, people will parallel park along the road and, when they return to their vehicle, they find that a passing motorist has clipped their side view mirror. Additionally, the road slopes downhill in that area, causing many motorists to speed.
For these reasons, this new ordinance will change the number of lanes that people may use as they travel along Prince Street from three to two. The proposed lane change will begin where the current road splits into three lanes and continue on to the Leslie C. Gates place intersection.
“Once you pass the intersection of Leslie C. Gates place and Prince Street then vehicles will be able to get into one of three lanes,” said City Attorney William File, as he read from the ordinance. “I think this will, hopefully, solve the issue that has been brought to council’s attention.”
The change also removes a planter in front of the old police station that “jutted out into traffic,” added Mayor Rob Rappold.
There will be a public hearing and a second reading on the matter at the council’s next meeting.
Council also,
– Approved a grant for a PRO officer at Woodrow Wilson High School. The Raleigh County Board of Education provides 50 percent of the cost to have an officer in place, while the city of Beckley provides the other half;
– Received a bid in the amount of $44,275.70 from Foster Supply Inc. out of Teays Valley to build a retaining wall at the Scott Avenue park for a basketball court;
– Heard the annual Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center report from Richard Filipek, representing the EOC.
A total of 135,163 calls were received through the 911 center, including administrative calls. Calls dispatched to first responders total 76,306, according to Filipek.
“How in the world could the city of Beckley and Raleigh County function effectively without the EOC and the unbelievable job that you do,” Rappold told Filipek, who had thanked the city of Beckley for their support. “When you look at these numbers, to me they are astounding. You do it with perfection and you have trained dedicated people, great leadership … to me, hats off to you.”
Councilmember Kevin Price, who also serves on the EOC board, added that a fully functional backup 911 center had a successful test run, and is ready to go should something happen at the current location.
“God forbid, in a severe problem at the center, they could just walk right up there [to the backup building], flip a switch and they are ready to go,” Price said.
“It’s amazing,” Rappold responded. “Sadly, we had a very recent reminder of what can happen so quickly, without any notice, basically, with the terrible tornados across the midwest and close to home in Kentucky. We are just so fortunate to see the EOC grow and meet new challenges and to have a vision to go even beyond that.”
The next meeting of the Beckley Common Council is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 28, at 6:30 pm. Meetings are currently being streamed to the public. A link can be found on the city of Beckley’s Facebook page and website before meetings begin. Public participation is encoura
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