Town Square

Workers slogged through the rain Tuesday to complete pedestrian safety and aesthetic improvements to Martinsburg's town square. Daniel Watts, the state Division of Highways acting area engineer for the Eastern Panhandle, said the $1.6 million project could be substantially completed by Wednesday if the weather remained “suitable.” It didn't. Heading into the week, work that had yet to be finished includes asphalt paving, installation of permeable concrete pavers and landscaping, among other smaller items.

Town square in Martinsburg at the intersection of Queen and West King streets reopened Tuesday morning after being closed since Oct. 5 for ongoing pedestrian safety improvements. The square was initially closed for about three weeks this summer for the work, but officials opted to close it again to replace brick used in the new crosswalks. Officials determined that the brick initially used was failing to withstand traffic flow at the busy intersection and decided to replace it with a concrete paver.

Martinsburg's town square will reopen Saturday for the 32nd Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival parade, but then immediately be closed again so contractors can complete pedestrian-safety improvements. Due to inclement weather, the state Division of Highways said Friday that it had extended the closure of the intersection of Queen and King streets beyond the initial estimate of five to seven days. However, a new completion date for the modification of pavers in the square was not announced.

A peaceful protest is planned for noon Saturday in front of the Martinsburg public library at town square in a show of solidarity with Occupy Wall Street protesters. The Occupy Martinsburg rally is meant to demonstrate that even people in small communities across the nation are aware of the corruption in government and are fed up, organizer Jacob Allen said Tuesday. The Occupy Wall Street protests began in New York on Sept. 17 and have since spread across the nation. Protesters have laid out a series of demands and proposals for the federal government, with a focus on ending the influence corporate money and lobbyists have over politicians.

Martinsburg Mayor George Karos said Thursday that he wanted to especially thank downtown businesses and churches for their cooperation with the city, given the traffic detour in effect at town square for the pedestrian safety project. The construction prompted the closure of the Queen and King street intersection on Thursday, and detours around the square are expected to continue for about three weeks. Karos said in a special Martinsburg City Council meeting that the closure of the busy intersection was a better option than reducing traffic to one lane at the square for six to eight weeks.

Martinsburg founder Adam Stephen wore so many "hats" in his life that a bronze sculpture of him planned for the town square could depict any of his professional forays, ranging from medicine and business to military service and politics. "How should the town founder be depicted when he did all those things?" architect Matthew Grove asked on Tuesday. Grove, who is scheduled to meet with the Martinsburg City Council  this evening to discuss how the artwork can be procured, said a preferred image of Stephen hasn't been decided for the sculpture.

The idea to come to Shepherdstown Street Fest Saturday was subtly planted in Randy Collins' mind. When he found the weekend section of the newspaper open to the page that listed information about the yearly showcase of musicians, artists and community, Collins knew what his wife, Carol, wanted to do this weekend. "She'll do little things like that," Collins said as the couple and their children browsed among more than 70 vendors that lined portions of German and King streets in the historic community.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- A schematic design to improve pedestrian safety in Martinsburg's town square proposes that the city center at King and Queen streets be more "green. " The Martinsburg City Council, convened as a committee on Wednesday, unanimously recommended a new design for town square that proposes tree-lined lawns on either side of East King Street in the 100 block. Councilman At-Large Gregg Wachtel was absent. The council is expected to vote on the consensus they reached on the design next week.