Why you might be late for work Friday

An oversize load from Greiner Industries will make its way through Elizabethtown Friday morning, potentially tying up traffic on East High and Market streets for two hours.

The 17-foot-by-70-foot steel tank will be delivered to the Glatfelter paper mill in Spring Grove, York County. But first, it will come into the borough on East High Street at approximately 8:50 a.m. and by 9:45, if all goes well, will reach the square.

Why I think extending Carey Lane is a good idea

If you've driven to the south side of the Elizabethtown area -- Giant, Kmart, Weis -- you've probably seen the construction at the former Hiestand Flooring. This is at the corner of Carey Lane and South Market Street, across from McDonald's and Union Community Bank.

Members First Credit Union is building a new branch there, which will be a big improvement over how that corner has looked in recent years.

The development gives the borough an opportunity to create a new access point from South Mount Joy Street. Members First is giving the right of way to the borough to allow the street to continue toward South Mount Joy. A short section that the borough owns could then be connected, allowing traffic from South Mount Joy Street to come out at the light between Members First and Union National.

Four ways to reduce traffic on Market Street 

Borough Council has discussed opening this access point and whether it should be one way only for traffic coming toward Market Street or two way for motorists who want to return to South Mount Joy Street. The consensus on council seems to be the one-way option.

I think it's a good idea. For starters, the one-way-out option is a good compromise to opening it up to traffic in and out. Frankly, I never have trouble with traffic when I'm returning to town after shopping. The traffic never gets backed up -- so I don't see a need to make Carey Lane a two-way street all the way to Mount Joy Street. 

Carey Lane creates a safer alternative to drive to the commercial shopping areas, such as Giant and Kmart. I don't know about you, but it always feels like I'm taking my life in hands when I turn left onto Market Street. It seems to have gotten better since the borough and the area townships teamed up to synchronize the traffic lights in the area. But I'm still in awe at the dangerous manuevers I see when people turn left Spruce Street or Groff Avenue onto Market Street. If Carey Lane is opened up -- the one-way option -- it has the potential to greatly reduce these turns, if not eliminate them.

It could help alleviate congestion on Market Street, especially at the intersection with Maytown Road. Anyone who has tried to drive south through town during afternoon "rush hour" and on a Saturday morning knows how busy it gets. Sometimes, traffic is backed up to Arch Street. If some drivers find their way to Mount Joy Street and head to Carey Lane, that's fewer vehicles on Market Street. By most accounts from people I talk to, that's a good thing.

Finally, it makes a bridge on South Mount Joy Street a moot point. For years, I've heard from people about this bridge that would connect the street and provide access to the rear of Kmart. I think I'd support its construction, but the reality is that it's too expensive. And with Carey Lane, it provides a much cheaper relief valve, which the bridge would have been, for residents in the borough who want to get out to the commercial shopping area. 

Stop sign to be installed at College Avenue and Campus Road

View Campus Rd and College Ave in a larger map

Changes and improvements are coming to the intersection of College Avenue and Campus Road. Later this summer, or maybe in early fall, the borough will install a new stop sign at the intersection, along with crosswalks for pedestrians.

This came about after discussions that borough Police Chief Jack Mentzer had with Mount Joy Township officials and representatives from Elizabethtown College (full disclosure: My wife is an employee of Elizabethtown College). He said the intersection has become much busier, especially with the construction of Bear Creek School. I can speak from personal experience as I have been through that intersection dozens of times in the past two years taking my son to and from school and activities via Bear Creek Road.

When I'm returning home, I am looking to turn left onto College Avenue. It can be tricky to figure out if a vehicle is turning right to head out of town on Campus Road, or will continue straight into the residential neighborhood. Mentzer said this has lead to some near accidents.

Headed toward Campus Road. A stop sign will be installed
here with an exception for vehicles turning right from
College Avenue onto Campus Road.

To alleviate this, the borough will install a stop sign except for traffic turning right to head onto Campus Road. This will ensure that vehicles headed into the residential neighborhood will stop, making it safe for motorists to turn left onto College Avenue.

In addition, the project will include crosswalks for pedestrians, and Mentzer said that Elizabethtown College will install a path from its existing path to the intersection. My wife and I have some friends who live in the neighborhood and frequently walk to the college, so I know the addition of crosswalks and the path will be a big improvement. My son also regularly rides his bike there, and my mind will rest easier knowing the instersection is a little safer.

4 ways to reduce traffic on South Market Street

The development of a Members 1st Credit Union could lead to the extension of Carey Lane to Spruce Street.

Over the years, Elizabethtown area residents and officials have discussed numerous ways to improve the traffic flow and safety on South Market Street, in particular the corridor from Kmart to Maytown Avenue (Route 743 that heads toward Marietta next to the Mount Tunnel Cemetery). I would add to that the backups that occur from that intersection past College Avenue during especially busy times.

The Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority, formed in the past two years to implement a regional comprehensive plan, has identified traffic in that corridor as a priority that needs to be addressed. And the comprehensive plan itself focused on traffic as a critcal issue for the region. 

As a member of the EARA board, which is composed of elected officials from Elizabethtown and Mount Joy, West Donegal and Conoy townships, we have come with a possible solution: extending Carey Lane, which runs by Union Community Bank, to South Mount Joy Street. The initial concept plan is pictured above. It is just one of four that EARA has discussed and considered:

• Carey Lane: Least expensive option, at an estimated $260,000. With the approved development of a Members 1st Federal Credit Union branch to be built on the southwest corner where the former Hiestand Flooring used to be, it seems to be an ideal time to make this happen. Most of the development sits in Mount Joy Township, with a sliver of it in the borough. The vast majority, if not all, of Carey Lane would be in the borough. Thanks to the development in the township, Members 1st would pay impact fees of about $71,000, which could fund a significant portion of the construction.
• Extending Maytown Avenue (Route 743) through to Spruce Street: This would require purchasing and demolishing properties. Estimated construction costs: $350,000.
• Constructing a bridge that would connect South Mount Joy Street behind Kmart: This has been a topic on Borough Council for years and in fact was voted down by a previous council. Estimates that the borough obtained several years ago have this project costing $1 million.
• One-way traffic option: Even at an estimated $600,000, this intially seemed like a viable option because it would have used exisiting streets and if was creative. But Borough Council put the brakes on the idea only a couple of weeks after EARA discussed it.

With Carey Lane as the least expensive option, and with the Members 1st development, it seems like the perfect situation to find a solution to the congestion on South Market Street. Last week, at a regional meeting among all elected officials -- not just EARA board members -- we discussed and began to focus on the plan.


To help reduce cosntruction costs, the consensus was to eliminate two-way traffic on Carey Lane, with drivers only permitted to come out to Market Street. Those on their way back into town would continue on Market Street and make turns at Groff Avenue, Spruce Street or continue on Market.

This plan is far from a done deal. That said, it is on Borough Council's and Mount Joy Township's radar to continue discussing it. In fact, we expect to see some revisions to the plans showing Carey Lane as a one-way street (traffic would still be two ways at the light itself to allow for traffic to exit the bank and the credit union).

Finally! Bridge to open to traffic Tuesday

If you've driven through the intersection at College Avenue and Market Street this week, you've seen movement toward the opening of the bridge the borough has been constructing over Conoy Creek west of Market Street.

On Tuesday, the bridge will open to traffic.

I think I can speak for all 11,000-plus residents of E-town, and those in West Donegal Township: "Finally!"

It has been a long time in coming. About four years ago, the first phase of the project -- the construction of a street from the railroad track past the Dove Chocolate plant to Conoy Creek -- was completed. That part of the project required closing West Bainbridge Avenue to traffic and redirecting motorists down West High Street.

It was almost a year ago to the date that Borough Council approved the low bids for the construction of the bridge. Thanks to Mars Inc., traffic did not need to use West High Street during this second phase. The company opened up its own property so motorists could make the dogleg on West Bainbridge around the factory.

This week, the traffic lights at the intersection went on flash, indicating that they will begin operating soon. Borough staff told Borough Council last night that the street and bridge will open after the morning rush on Tuesday.

There's still some work that needs to be done, including putting a final layer of pavement down from the railroad bridge to the newly constructed bridge. That will happen in April. Some other work to remove painted lines on Market Street will occur next week.

In preparation for the opening, Borough Council in recent months renamed West College Avenue as West Bainbridge Street to help prevent confusion for emergency responders. The former West Bainbridge running between Brothers Pizza and ManorCare, which will dead end at the Mars factory, was renamed Union Street.

The borough took on this project after Mars Inc. announced it wanted to expand production at the chocolate plant. To do that, the borough worked on a plan to reroute West Bainbridge Street, create the new intersection and build the bridge. The entire project is funded through federal highway dollars administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Left turn lanes installed at High and Market

In the past several weeks, left turn lanes were installed on East and West High Street at Market Street as part of a synchronization project and other improvements to all the signaled intersections in the Elizabethtown area.

As anyone who navigated the intersection can attest, drivers had been making their own through and left turn lanes for years. This created hazardous and dangerous situations at times.

With the turn lanes, drivers now know exactly where to go. The project did require Borough Council to eliminate parking on High Street so the lanes could be painted,  but it was a decision that creates a safer community.

When I drove through the intersection with the marked turn lanes the first time, I thought that it would eventually need left-turn arrows for High Street drivers. During the Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority's meeting this morning, West Donegal Township Supervisor Chairman Ralph Horne brought up that point.

However, Steve Gault, a traffic engineer for Mount Joy Township, said the synchronization of all the traffic signals complicates adding the arrows. While they could be installed, he noted that the time it would take for the arrows to cycle through would have to be taken from the cycle on Market Street. And if you adjust the timing at that intersection, all of the other intersections through town would need adjusting to accommodate the change.

"It's sort of a balancing act," Gault said, adding that the negatives of adding the arrows outweigh the positives.

Gault also noted while the synchronization project will help with traffic flow through Elizabethtown, Maytown Avenue at Market Street will continue to be a congested intersection. He said "the only way" to eliminate that is to "build more capacity or reduce (the) volume" of traffic.

West College Avenue construction continues with demo of service station

Demolition of a former service station at College Avenue and Market Street began this week and should be completed by the end of the week.

The work is part of the extension of West College Avenue, which includes the construction of a bridge, that will elminate the dog leg maneuvering for motorists using Bainbridge Street to head past the Dove Chocolate factory.

On Elizabethtown's Facebook page, the borough indicated the project is continuing with the construction of a retaining wall, relocation of sanitary sewer lines, stabilization of the culvert running under the building and footing for a pier.

If all goes well, traffic could be using the bridge late this fall. Final paving is likely to occur next year. 

Council puts brakes on Maytown Road-South Market Street proposal

At its workshop meeting last night, Elizabethtown Borough Council put the brakes on a proposal to create a series of one-way streets at and around the intersection of Maytown Road and South Market Street.

The Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority (EARA), formed to help implement a regional comprehensive plan approved by the borough and Conoy, Mount Joy and West Donegal townships, discussed the plan at its meeting last month. Traffic engineer Steve Gault presented the plan as an option that would keep traffic flowing at the intersection by using existing streets and doing limited construction.

Last night, Council President Phil Clark and I, both of whom represent the borough on the EARA board along with Councilman Dale Treese (who was absent from last night's meeting), briefed Borough Council on the plans. It was the first time that other members had heard details about it.

After listening to the details and examining a drawing of the plan, Councilman Meade Bierly said he didn't think it would be an improvement to the intersection. He said there are other projects in the community -- such as a bridge in the Conoy Crossing development that will extend Masonic Drive through to Maytown Road -- that ultimately will have an impact on traffic.

Bierly also said this proposed project would not be a good first one for EARA. He thinks -- and it's a good thought -- that EARA's first project needs to be something that garners widespread community support. The intersection changes would cause more consternation and get EARA off to a bad start.

Others councilmen said the proposal raised some safety issues, particularly because northbound traffic would be directed onto Spruce Street. A resident who lives at the corner has addressed Borough Council in the past year because drivers that turn right onto Spruce Street often take the corner too fast. If the proposed plan were implemented, some councilman feel it would not alleviate that problem.

After I blogged about the plan the other week, I heard from some residents, who weren't happy with the proposal. They said it would create an unsafe condition for drivers on Maytown Road that wanted to head into downtown because it would force them to turn right onto Market Street and cross traffic to make an immediate left onto Lemon Street.

EARA had authorized Gault to proceed with exploring grant funding for the project, but consensus among Borough Council last night was not to proceed with that. 

While at first glance, I felt this plan was an innovative approach to the intersection, I join my council colleagues in wanting to put the brakes on the plan. I do think it might be worthwhile considering at some point -- but not without careful and deliberate consideration of the issues that we talked about last night and that residents have raised with me.

Left turn lanes to be added on High Street at Center Square

During July, motorists in downtown Elizabethtown will see improvements in Center Square that will include the addition of left turn lanes in both directions on High Street. The work is part of a regional traffic signal synchronization project in which signals from Route 283 at Cloverleaf Road through the borough to the five-point intersection at Route 743/Mount Gretna Road/Holly Street are being improved. 

At the square, parking will be eliminated to make room for left turn lanes on High Street. This will formalize and make legal the left turn lanes that drivers created on their own. These self-created lanes are clearly unsafe -- especially for drivers attempting to pass vehicles on the right. With the creation of formal lanes, drivers will have clearly defined lanes and will have safer conditions.

Because of the changes, signs as pictured above will be installed on High Street at the square to keep traffic moving. As you can imagine, someone that stops to let a passenger out or parks for a minute with four-way flashers on could prevent traffic from flowing and cause congestion.

In preparation for the work, Borough Council removed 15-mintue parking spots on East and West High Street and has added two spots each to the public parking lots (next to Highlander Cleaners and across from P&J Pizza).

One way to keep traffic moving

At the Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority's meeting Tuesday morning, traffic engineer Steve Gault, who works for Mount Joy Township, presented a plan that would create a series of one-way streets around the Maytown Road-Market Street intersection and eliminate the traffic signal there.

And the EARA board voted unanimously to authorize Gault to apply for a grant that could fund the project.

Gault presented the proposal to EARA, which was formed last year to help implement a regional comprehensive plan that all four municipalities in the greater Elizabethtown area -- the borough and Conoy, Mount Joy and West Donegal townships -- approved last year.

In meetings this year, EARA members made traffic issues identified in the comprehensive plan a priority. And specifically, they want to focus on the area from Maytown Avenue to Kmart.

Gault has been working with EARA on traffic issues and brought his proposal to the board, saying it is one that is probably the most cost effective to complete. He compared the proposal to a roundabout that uses the existing streets.

If approved as presented, the traffic light at the Maytown Road-Market Street intersection would disappear. Instead, traffic would flow one way south on Market, with drivers entering from Maytown only able to turn right with a yield sign. If they want to head north on Market, they will make a left onto Lemon Street, a left onto Spruce Street and a left onto Cherry, all of which also would be one way, and then turn right onto Market. Northbound drivers on Market coming from the Kmart and Giant areas would have to make that same maneuver.

This idea is just a proposal right now. In fact, it is preliminary enough that Gault did not have cost estimates at the meeting this week. However, he said there is grant money available for which the project might be eligible -- and the EARA board voted to approve an application since it is due at the end of July.

For the project to move forward, Borough Council would need to approve the concept and plans, and it would need approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Dr. Dale Treese, who is chairman of the EAWA board and a member of Borough Council, said he he liked the plan.

Likewise, I think this has some potential as well. On paper, it appears that it might work by keeping traffic flowing -- especially on Market Street during times of high volume. Any other improvements to the intersection, such as a new traffic light or reconfiguring it, would involve tearing down existing buildings. Treese said estimates for that kind of work and constructing a new intersection were at least $1.5 million several years ago.

Assuming the project received approval from Borough Council, and the grant application is approved, Gault estimated that this would be two years before the project would be done.

Work on $3.14M West College Avenue project to begin soon

The excitement among members of Elizabethtown Borough Council was palpable tonight after a unanimous vote to approve Pennsy Supply, doing business as McMinn's Asphalt, as the low bidder for the construction of West College Avenue.

"It's a red letter day for Elizabethtown!" said Mayor Chuck Mummert.

The bid came in at $3.14 million for a project that borough officials have discussed for the past five or six years. The project, to be funded with federal highway dollars, has seen delays thanks to environmental concerns at an old service station and because the economic climate held up the start of the bidding process. But with the bid now awarded, a pre-construction meeting with Pennsy and other contractors will be held in the next week. Residents will see action this spring.

"It hardly seems possible we're ready to do work on West College Avenue," said Borough Council President Phil Clark. "Actually, we're very happy it's here."

 "You'll see a lot of smiling faces in Elizabethtown," added Councilman Tom Shaud. "It's been a long wait."

The first phase of West College Avenue was completed about three years ago at about the time that an expansion of the Mars chocolate plant. At the time, the plan was to start the second phase, which includes the construction of a bridge and creating a new signaled intersection at Market Street and College Avenue, soon after the first phase.

As my fellow councilmen said tonight, much credit goes to the borough staff who shepherded the project through approval processes with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT is administering the federal grant money.

There's not a specific time frame for completion of the project. Optimistically, if everything goes smoothly, it could be done this year. Realistically, I'm thinking the road will see traffic on it sometime next year.

Elizabethtown corridor to get upgraded traffic lights

Ask just about anyone in the Elizabethtown area, and traffic congestion will be among the top issues of concern. A Saturday morning for people who are trying to get to the south end of town, and Giant, Kmart, Weis and other retail shops, via Market Street means stop and go and traffic backed up sometimes as far as Center Square.

A regional effort among Elizabethtown Borough, Mount Joy Township and West Donegal Township is working on changing and improving the traffic flow. The municipalities have received nearly $760,000 to upgrade and synchronize traffic signals at all intersections and make other improvements.

The traffic signals will all work on one computerized system and can be adjusted from a centralized location to improve traffic flow. All the lights also will be LED, meaning they will use far less electricity.

The intersections include all the traffic lights, from Maytown Road at Market Street through town to the intersection at Route 743/Holly Street/Mount Gretna Road. Lights and intersections on Cloverleaf Road from Route 283 to Route 230 also will see improvements.

Local officials have been working with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which must sign off before the work can be sent out for bids, hopefully in November. If all goes well, work could begin this winter.