CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- At a time when some Charleston leaders are trying to expand the city's network of hiking and biking trails, City Council members hope to close a little-used pedestrian tunnel that links the East End with an isolated Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Council's Public Safety Committee will meet at 5:30 today to consider the possible closure of the tunnel under Interstate 64/77 near Laidley Field.

The tunnel, apparently built during Interstate construction in the 1970s, starts at Piedmont Road near the east end of the stadium and comes out at the foot of Bowen Street, a dead-end road off East Woodland Drive.

Another underpass several hundred yards to the west off Piedmont carries Stadium Place under the Interstate, which leads to East Woodland and a neighborhood of about two dozen hillside homes.

Overhead lights in the pedestrian walkway have not worked for years, said Councilwoman Mary Jean Davis.

"It's probably something people pass from the Piedmont Road side and don't give it a second thought as a pedestrian tunnel," Davis said Wednesday.

"What it is, it's a black pit. The black pit needs to be closed."

Councilman Cubert Smith, whose Ninth Ward includes the East Woodland Drive neighborhood, said he noticed last fall there were no working lights in the tunnel or the underpass, and tried to get them fixed for safety reasons. State officials soon replaced lights on the underpass, but refused to rewire the tunnel, he said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- At a time when some Charleston leaders are trying to expand the city's network of hiking and biking trails, City Council members hope to close a little-used pedestrian tunnel that links the East End with an isolated Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Council's Public Safety Committee will meet at 5:30 today to consider the possible closure of the tunnel under Interstate 64/77 near Laidley Field.

The tunnel, apparently built during Interstate construction in the 1970s, starts at Piedmont Road near the east end of the stadium and comes out at the foot of Bowen Street, a dead-end road off East Woodland Drive.

Another underpass several hundred yards to the west off Piedmont carries Stadium Place under the Interstate, which leads to East Woodland and a neighborhood of about two dozen hillside homes.

Overhead lights in the pedestrian walkway have not worked for years, said Councilwoman Mary Jean Davis.

"It's probably something people pass from the Piedmont Road side and don't give it a second thought as a pedestrian tunnel," Davis said Wednesday.

"What it is, it's a black pit. The black pit needs to be closed."

Councilman Cubert Smith, whose Ninth Ward includes the East Woodland Drive neighborhood, said he noticed last fall there were no working lights in the tunnel or the underpass, and tried to get them fixed for safety reasons. State officials soon replaced lights on the underpass, but refused to rewire the tunnel, he said.

"So I walked that community, knocked on every door and asked: Would you like to close it or keep it open," Smith said. "There were two families that want to keep it open and 15 to 20 want to close it."

Smith next spoke at one of Mayor Danny Jones' department head meetings.

"He [Smith] said the state would consider closing it, but needed a request from the city," City Manager David Molgaard said. "I suggested he take it to the [city's] Strong Neighborhoods Task Force and the Public Safety Committee.

"If they agreed, we would take it to the state," Molgaard said. "It was presented as a public safety issue, but we also have a lot going on with connectivity and trails."

People who live in the hillside community are concerned about the tunnel, said Davis, the task force chairman. "It's not something a bicycle could go through. It's a safety issue for the neighbors, and I think for any kids out on their bikes who might think to try to go through there."

Councilman Marc Weintraub, whose ward borders on Piedmont Road, said the task force took a hard look at the issue before deciding the tunnel needs to be closed. "It's not a safe place now.

"There was a lot of teeth-gnashing, because we're considering connecting the city with new trails," Weintraub said. "But even Dennis Strawn, the bike trail advocate, agreed this needs to be closed."

Reach Jim Balow at ba...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5102.