Walnut Street Extension and Lancaster Heritage Pathway
WSE Noise Analysis
We’ve been through a lot over the past year, as a community and each of us individually. About one year ago, High Associates and East Lampeter Township provided an update on the planning efforts for the Walnut Street Extension and Greater Lancaster Heritage Pathway (GLHP) at a public meeting. Those in attendance heard about the motivations for these projects, asked questions and provided valuable feedback.
Over the last year, the Board of Supervisors, East Lampeter Township staff, High Associates staff, Lancaster County Planning Commission, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation continued the planning efforts for these projects. The Board of Supervisors invites you to attend their regular meeting scheduled for Monday February 8, 2021 beginning at 7:30pm. Due to Covid – 19 related meeting limitations, your attendance will have to be virtual through the use of Zoom. This virtual platform will still provide you with opportunity to see and hear the presentation, ask questions and provide feedback. The Zoom link for the meeting will be available on the Township website calendar of events.
If you are unable to attend the meeting on February 8th , but you wish to ask questions and / or provide input regarding either the Walnut Street Extension, the Greater Lancaster Heritage Pathway or both of these, please submit any comments, questions or concerns to the Township using the following email address: publiccomments@eltwp.org
This address can be used before, during or after the meeting.
The GLHP is proposed as a commuter and recreational route for bicyclists and pedestrians. When completed in its entirety, the pathway will traverse over 12 miles from east to west through the center of Lancaster County. The section within East Lampeter will be situated on the public lands owned by PennDOT which many call “the goat path” and will connect with the bicycle trail and lane system currently being developed in the City of Lancaster at the Route 30 and Walnut Street interchange. A trail head with parking facilities is currently planned for the area behind the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences in East Lampeter Township. The funding for this project continues to be pursued by Township and Lancaster County Planning Commission staffs.
The Walnut Street Extension has also moved forward in the planning and design stages. The roadway infrastructure consists of a one-mile extension of Walnut Street from the existing interchange at Rt. 30 to a point near the PA College of Health Sciences. The Walnut Street Extension was presented as an alternative to significant improvements to Greenfield Road which supports one of East Lampeter’s critical business and employment centers and provides a great deal of tax base to the Township. One of the reasons that the Walnut Street extension is preferred is because of the lack of disruption that construction will present while providing additional transportation system capacity. The public / private funding and project administration partnership will also provide advantages in efficiency and delivery of a project that will improve the community’s public infrastructure.
East Lampeter Township’s Board of Supervisors continues to support both the GLHP and the Walnut Street Extension as alternative solutions for commuters as a true multi-modal opportunity. The Board of Supervisors of East Lampeter Township are excited about the public benefits that these combined projects will provide our community. With a commitment to governing East Lampeter Township according to the vision put forward in the Regional Comprehensive Plans that the Township has been party to, the County Comprehensive Plan, and our local ordinances, it is with great enthusiasm that these projects move forward.
Bridgeport Crossroads Transportation & Land Use Study June 28, 2021
