Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting – April 22, 2025
Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting – April 22, 2025
On April 22, 2025, the Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting at the Blacksburg Municipal Building. The meeting began with a proclamation by Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith declaring May as National Bike Month and Bicycle Safety Month, and May 12-18 as a week-long celebration of bicycling in Blacksburg. The council then addressed the consent agenda, heard citizen comments, received a detailed staff presentation on Prices Fork Road speed limits and safety studies, made several community announcements, and concluded with a closed meeting for personnel evaluations.
Consent Calendar
- Town Council Minutes: Approved the minutes from April 1, 2025 and April 8, 2025.
- Agreement for Professional Services with Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.: Authorized the Town Manager to sign the agreement.
- Agreement for Professional Construction Engineering and Inspection Services for Infiltration and Inflow Abatement Project: Authorized the Town Manager to sign the agreement.
- The consent agenda passed unanimously (6-0) on a roll call vote (Colliver, Hager-Smith, Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson, Anderson voting yes).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Adette Khanna (resident of Apartment Heights Drive, graduate teaching assistant in mathematics at Virginia Tech) addressed the council. She recounted the death of her former student, Franklin Zang, an international student who died in a road accident on March 29, 2025. She stated that a truck flipped and struck a bus stop, killing Zang. Khanna expressed that international students, who are less likely to own cars, are disproportionately vulnerable at bus stops. She urged the council to enact new road and traffic safety plans with utmost urgency and priority, stating, "We need to make sure that there are no cars fast enough in the future to rob Virginia Tech and the world of a brighter future."
Discussion Items
- Prices Fork Road Speed Limits Presentation: Engineering Director Carolyn Howard presented a comprehensive review of past and ongoing traffic studies along Prices Fork Road. Key points included:
- Previous studies (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) led to improvements such as adjusted signal timing, restricted left-turn movements, wider pedestrian sidewalks, bike lanes, and bike boxes.
- Two current studies are underway:
- Traffic Signal Timing Study (from Old Glade to Tom’s Creek Road) – initiated April 2025; speed data collection will occur before students leave campus; recommendations expected in summer 2025 for implementation before students return in August.
- VDOT Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) Planning Study (from Main Street to McCoy Road in the village of Prices Fork) – a multi-phase study concluding in August 2026, focusing on vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other modes, with public engagement in Phase 2 and cost estimates in Phase 3.
- Short-term recommendation: reduce the speed limit and conduct a speed and safety study, with implementation targeted for summer 2025.
- Public Works will extend the left-turn lane at West Campus Drive and shorten the left-turn lane into McBride to alleviate congestion.
- Councilmember noted a Virginia General Assembly bill (HB or SB) that would have expanded school crossing zones to include institutions of higher education; the bill died in committee. Council expressed interest in adding this to the town's legislative agenda.
- Councilmember asked about a pedestrian bridge (previously studied in 2019); staff clarified that a mid-block bridge would require ramps making it less attractive than using the at-grade crossing at Tom’s Creek Road, so the focus remains on improving at-grade pedestrian offerings.
- Proclamation: Mayor Hager-Smith read a proclamation noting strong community support for bicycling infrastructure, regional bike share program, and Blacksburg’s bicycle master plan. The proclamation declared May as National Bike Month and Bicycle Safety Month, and May 12-18 as a week of bicycling celebrations.
Council Announcements
- Councilmember Colliver announced a public engagement meeting for a future new community center on Monday, April 28, 2025, from 5-7 p.m. at the Blacksburg Community Center. An online survey will also open on Let’s Talk Blacksburg on the same day.
- Councilmember Watson noted the Easter egg hunt at a park over the weekend was well attended.
- Town Manager Marc Verniel announced the opening of a new trail called "Yard Sale" on Brush Mountain, constructed by the Poverty Creek Trails Coalition, with a grand opening event on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Councilmembers also highlighted other weekend events: Fork and Cork at Smithfield Plantation (Saturday), Blacksburg International Street Fair (Sunday), and the Blacksburg Police Department’s bed building event (Saturday, 9-11 a.m.).
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda Approval: Passed 6-0.
- Closed Meeting: At 6:50 p.m., the council adjourned to a closed meeting pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1) for annual discussion and evaluation of the Town Manager, Town Clerk, and Town Attorney. Motion passed 6-0.
- Resolution 4-C-25: Upon reconvening at 8:01 p.m., the council adopted a resolution certifying the propriety of the closed meeting. Motion passed 6-0.
- Prices Fork Road Next Steps: Staff will continue the traffic signal timing study to collect speed data before summer 2025, present recommendations at a summer council meeting, and aim to implement speed limit reductions and safety improvements before students return in August. The VDOT OIPI study will produce longer-term solutions with cost estimates by August 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll. Anderson, present. Oliver, here. Haker Smith. Chair Mattingley? Here. Watson? Present. We'll begin tonight with our consent agenda. And that has uh approval of town council minutes for April 1 and April 8. We have an agreement for professional services with Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc., and our action there will be to authorize the town manager to sign the agreement. And similarly, we have an agreement for professional construction engineering and inspection services for infiltration and inflow abatement. And we will authorize the town manager to sign that agreement. What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion in a second. Will the clerk please call the roll? Oliver? Hi. Watson. Aye. Anderson. Aye. We have no public hearings this evening, but I'd like to uh begin with a proclamation on this Earth Day, and that is to do with National Bike Month and Bicycle Safety Month. Whereas Blacksburg citizens have expressed strong support for expansion of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and amenities, whereas Blacksburg's road and trail system are used and enjoyed by thousands of bicyclists each year, both for recreation and commuting. Whereas Blacksburg is pleased to support the rec the creation of a regional bike share program that will serve residents and visitors alike. Whereas creating bicycle friendly communities has been shown to improve citizens' health, well-being, and quality of life, to boost community spirit, to improve traffic safety, and to reduce pollution and congestion. Whereas bicycling activities and attractions have great potential to have a positive impact on Blacksburg's vibrancy and to stimulate economic development by making the community attractive to businesses and citizens who enjoy the outdoors and healthy lifestyles. Whereas Blacksburg's bicycle master plan, climate action plan, and comprehensive plan all support land use and transportation policies that will continue to improve the safety, convenience, and accessibility of bicycling for people of all ages and abilities. Whereas for the past sixty-nine years, the month of May has been declared and recognized as National Bike Month now. Therefore, be it resolved that I, Leslie Hager Smith, mayor of the town of Blacksburg, do hereby observe the month of May as National Bike Month and Bicycle Safety Month. And recognize the week of May 12th to 18 to be a week-long celebration of bicycling in Blacksburg. And urge residents and visitors to support and participate in the bicycling events planned and share the road safely. And now we will continue to the portion of our agenda that includes citizen comments. And I think I see some uh citizens here tonight who may wish to speak. And uh I'd like to invite you forward. We have a little stoplight here. And um the manager will hit the button when you begin to speak, and it'll go green, yellow, red, and when you're uh when you're on uh yellow, it's about to end, and when you're on red, it's your time is up. And if you'll start with your name and your address, that will help us. Good evening, STM Council members. My name is Adette Khanna, and I'm a resident of Apartment Heights Drive. I'm a graduate teaching assistant with the maths department. Last semester, I taught a course, and Franklin Zang was a student in my class. As you all are over there, Franklin passed away on March 29th in a road accident. From the version I heard, Franklin was standing at the bus stop when one of the vehicles, a truck, flip and led to this unfortunate occurrence. Franklin, without exaggeration, was one of the best students I've ever had. He was a freshman, but his curiosity about mathematics extended way beyond his years. He would ask me questions about cryptography, number three, and combinatorics and office hours. And as a researcher in combinatorics, I always had a soft sport for him.
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