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LEWISTOWN -- During a recent Derry Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Township Manager Kelly Shutes shared updates on an upcoming project aimed at increasing pedestrian safety along Electric Avenue.
The safety project is part of the Safe Routes to School program, which seeks to create safe, convenient and healthy opportunities for students to walk and bicycle to school.
Shutes, Mifflin County Planning Director Jim Lettiere, PennDOT Project Manager Zack Snyder, other PennDOT representatives and representatives from civil engineering and surveying firm Keller Engineers met last week to discuss concerns and gather ideas for the project’s scope.
The project involves creating six-foot-wide bike lanes and five-foot-wide sidewalks along the east side of Electric Avenue, beginning at Ort Valley Road and ending at the entrance to Kish Park.
Personnel met along Electric Avenue to conduct the engineering and environmental scoping field-view portion of the meeting.
The project aims to improve existing sidewalks and construct new sidewalks where needed, upgrade pedestrian crossings, install refuge islands and new safety signage, create a dedicated bicycle/shared-use path and make other safety improvements for vulnerable road users along Route 1005 from Ort Valley Road to Derry Park Drive at Kish Park.
Shutes shared concerns raised during the recent meeting, including plans to construct the bike lane on the side of the road near Kentucky Fried Chicken, which would eliminate parking on that side.
“It looked like it could be reconfigured to put the bike lane on the other side, but there’s parking on that side as well,” Shutes said.
Derry Township Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Donald Warntz II noted the bike lane could disrupt parking for businesses located on the same side as Kentucky Fried Chicken.
“Naturally, we are going to look out for our residents and businesses,” Shutes said.
Shutes said she voiced those concerns during the meeting and suggested supervisors continue looking into the issue. Warntz said supervisors would raise those concerns with project officials.
Near the Route 22 overpass, the group also discussed concerns about a pedestrian crossing at the exit ramp because of high traffic speeds and motorists frequently treating the stop sign as a yield sign.
That side of the roadway would also be more ADA-compliant because the slope near China Garden Buffet is less severe.
Those attending the meeting discussed several options, including keeping bicycle and pedestrian traffic on the opposite side of the ramp near China Garden Buffet and having users cross at a safer location away from the ramp.
Another option would keep bicycle and pedestrian traffic on the opposite side of the ramp for the length of the project to avoid unnecessary crossings. That possibility will be explored through a feasibility study.
A resetting barrier was discussed as an option to provide more room on the opposite side for the shared-use path. Participants also noted that curbing used to separate the pathway from the roadway could create challenges for crews responsible for snow removal. Rumble strips or painted lane markings were suggested as possible alternatives to distinguish the path from the roadway.
Officials also discussed potential safety concerns with having bicyclists travel against the flow of traffic. If bicyclists are required to share a path with pedestrians, the path would need to be widened to between eight and 10 feet rather than five feet.
Township maintenance personnel noted that residents visiting Kish Park often use the wide shoulder across from the park as a parking area.
In a recent interview, Lettiere said Keller Engineers will prepare a feasibility study that includes several options for improvements based on observations made during the field view.
“Upon PennDOT’s approval, we will conduct a public open house to discuss the options with the property owners along the corridor and the public at large, prior to selecting the best option for the improvements,” Lettiere said.