UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — The township's new pedestrian safety plan was adopted last year with the admirable goals of eliminating traffic fatalities and improving pedestrian access.
But putting that plan into practical use already is proving more difficult, and has caused some disagreement amongst officials.
Last year, Upper Macungie Board of Supervisors adopted its Vision Zero Action Plan, a road safety improvement plan that seeks achieve its goals by 2032.
But this month, supervisors appeared to go against that plan.
They approved a mixed-use housing development at 8739 Hamilton Blvd. called Twin Ponds.
“The one thing to remember is this is just a plan of recommendations. There are clearly things that are not perfect. And this is one of them.”South Whitehall Township Community Development Director Kal Sostarecz
In approving it, the board also waived a requirement to build a sidewalk along Hamilton Boulevard — even though the Vision Zero plan indicated there should be a sidewalk built in that area.
“We have a pledge; it's only a year old," board Vice Chairman Sunny Ghai, who cast the dissenting vote, said then. "And it doesn't seem right to me that we don't follow through.”
But township Community Development Director Kal Sostarecz said that after analyzing the area, township officials decided it would not make sense to put a sidewalk there.
“The one thing to remember is this is just a plan of recommendations,” Sostarecz said. “There are clearly things that are not perfect. And this is one of them.”
What the plan says
The Vision Zero Action Plan was created by consulting firm Simone Collins Landscape Architecture over an 18-month process.
It gives recommendations for how the township can let residents safely travel via walking or biking.
The plan was guided by the Vision Zero Network, a national collaborative campaign to help communities reach the goal of zero traffic fatalities.
Allentown also has a Vision Zero plan.
The total cost to implement all the suggested improvements is about $60 million over 15 years.
The plan identifies “priority corridors,” lettered A to G, that the township should focus on improving first. These corridors link residential areas with schools and parks.
The area around Twin Ponds is labeled as Priority Corridor G. It suggests connecting Earl Adams Memorial Park to nearby residential areas and Veterans Elementary School with sidewalks and a crosswalk across Hamilton Boulevard.
“My concern with that kind of thought is, we’ll never start the process. You always have to start with something.”Board Vice Chairman Sunny Ghai
Ghai said the Green Acres, a mobile home park adjacent to where the Twin Ponds development will be, does not currently have pedestrian access to any park.
Ghai said other township supervisors have granted sidewalk waivers before in similar circumstances, saying it would be a “sidewalk to nowhere.”
“My concern with that kind of thought is, we’ll never start the process,” Ghai said. “You always have to start with something.”
What will the township do now?
No matter what Upper Macungie officials want to do, the state Transportation Department is the ultimate authority regarding roads it owns, Sostarecz said.
And Penn DOT representatives said they would not approve a crosswalk at the suggested location across Hamilton Boulevard, he said. Without that, there would be no safe way for residents to get to the park.
“They propose this as an ideal, pie in the sky, ‘This would be perfect,’ plan. Our job is to say, ‘OK, a plan is here. Can we require the developer to do this? And does it make sense?’”Township Community Development Director Kal Sostarecz
Sostarecz said Simone Collins did not do any in-depth research into which recommendations would be allowed by PennDOT, or even who owns the property on which the proposed improvements would be.
“They propose this as an ideal, pie in the sky, ‘This would be perfect,’ plan,” Sostarecz said.
“Our job is to say, ‘OK, a plan is here. Can we require the developer to do this? And does it make sense?’”
Sostarecz said the township likely will focus on small improvements first, such as bicycle facilities, crosswalk enhancements and side paths.
“The township is going to look at what makes sense, and what’s the most bang for the buck,” Sostarecz said.
“Everything costs money, a lot of money, these days. What projects in here can we start doing that would have a big impact for a lower cost?”
