Both city and Sam Houston State University officials confirmed Bobby K. Marks Drive is the targeted stretch of road where crosswalks will be constructed to increase students’ safety on campus.
Huntsville City Manager Matt Benoit has drafted an inter-local agreement that will detail different responsibilities for the city and SHSU. Benoit said he sent the agreement to Doug Greening, associate vice president for facilities management at SHSU, for review. Greening and Benoit have met to discuss the agreement and outline the content.
“I put it in his capable hands for whatever review is necessary at the university level,” Benoit said.
Confusion of jurisdiction between the city and SHSU has delayed progress of the project over the past year. Sixty-thousand dollars are allocated from the city’s Fiscal-Year 2013-14 budget to fund the project, however the city has pushed SHSU officials to take lead of the project.
Benoit said he met with university officials last week and it was “a very, very, very productive meeting.”
Student Body President Spencer Copeland echoed Benoit and said he is happy the project is moving forward with the city’s lead.
Copeland said rough designs of the crosswalks have been discussed, but the university is waiting until an engineer has been assigned to the project.
“Right now we’re waiting for the engineering firm to do their traffic study and to find out what they think is best for this road, how many they need and what they will look like,” Copeland said. “We’re all happy that it’s moving forward.”
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Updated Sept. 16th 2014 12:25pm