HERMITAGE Residents discuss road plan

Not everyone agreed with the planners' draft recommendations.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Some city residents say forget about requiring sidewalks along all of the Route 18 widening project in the city.
Others say don't make McConnell Road a through street, and some want the city to allow commercial development in the institutional district along Route 18.
All were commenting during a public hearing Monday on proposed land use and transportation issues along the Route 18 North corridor.
The state will widen the mostly two-lane stretch of 2.6 miles to five lanes from U.S. Route 62 to the four-lane section of road just north of the city line.
Study launched: The city, realizing that land-use change is likely to come with that widening, launched a study to determine how land along the highway should be used and how transportation can be improved.
The city enlisted the aid of the consulting firm of Gannett Fleming Inc. of Pittsburgh to do the study. Draft recommendations were presented to the public at a pair of Monday night hearings.
Brian Funkhouser, a planner with Gannett Fleming, said surveys completed by city residents will be used to fine-tune those recommendations before a final plan is presented to the city in May or June.
& quot;What we're looking for tonight is a reality check, & quot; he told about 70 people attending the first hearing.
Opinions on project: A number of people liked the concept of building new east-west connecting streets linking Route 18 with the parallel North Keel Ridge Road, but not many liked the idea of opening McConnell Road to be one of those streets -- although that particular link might be required regardless of the Route 18 study.
Few seemed to favor requiring sidewalks on the section of roadway north of Highland Road, arguing that most of the businesses along that stretch of highway are not conducive to pedestrian traffic and the walkways would probably only be used five months out of the year.
Others said they want all types of commercial development to be allowed in a triangle formed by Route 18, Valley View Road and Lamor Road, rather than limiting construction there to residential or limited commercial.
Still others questioned the need for pedestrian amenities in the Town Center area of Route 62, East State Street and Route 18.
The state will widen the road in two projects with a total estimated cost of $15 million.
The first section will run from The Cookery restaurant at 1000 N. Hermitage Road (Route 18) north and will start this year while the second, starting next year, will run from The Cookery south.