Last year the Lancaster County Planning Commission asked the U.S. Dept. of Transportation for over $21 million to rebuild the Harrisburg Pike/Route 30 interchange. This was because the High Real Estate Group had announced plans to build a large shopping center on Harrisburg Pike, across from Long’s Park. This shopping center is expected to generate thousands of additional vehicles on Harrisburg Pike each day.
Apparently the federal government did not see any need to rebuild an interchange that was rebuilt only nine years ago with over $45 million of state taxpayer money. The interchange project was not funded.
The complete grant request by the LCPC totaled $91.5 million. This included 31 projects along a 5-mile stretch of Harrisburg Pike. There was misleading and erroneous information in the application, including numerous references to a medical college to be built by LGH as part of an “F&M/LGH Eds and Meds” joint campus. (LGH has announced that it has no plans to build a medical college – or anything else – either now or in the near future.)
The federal government did not fund a single project in the application. James Cowhey, executive director of both the Lancaster County Planning Commission and also of the Lancaster County Transportation Coordinating Committee that submitted the application, is now looking to the state government to make up the shortfall.
High Real Estate needs grant money since the Manheim Twp. Commissioners made redesigning the Harrisburg Pike/Rt. 30 interchange a condition for approval of its shopping center. (Mayor Gray and the majority of city and township residents oppose the shopping center. They say it is too close to Park City. They also believe that it would interfere with activities at Long’s Park, where concerts are held throughout the summer.)
F&M needs funds to develop its new lands north of Harrisburg Pike, once the N-S Rail Yard is moved to a location near several upscale neighborhoods. (Residents oppose the move, citing potential air and water pollution, increased nighttime noise, loss of habitat of the endangered bog turtle, as well as reduced property values.)
There are six items on the list published by the Lancaster County Planning Commission. Of the six, there are two line items that could and should be eliminated: (1) the U.S. 30 and Harrisburg Interchange at $30 million and (2) the Harrisburg Pike roadway and multi modal improvements at $41 million.
These deletions would represent a significant savings of $71 million that could be spent on transportation projects that would benefit the public and not primarily large developers.
Might this be the end of High’s shopping center project?
Don’t count on this being the end of High’s shopping center across from Long’s Park. Dale High is doing everything he can to get taxpayer money (your money) to rebuild the Rt. 30/Harrisburg Pike interchange so that he can have his village-style shopping center that will be the second largest in the county.
The Manheim Twp. Commissioners changed the zoning and waived their recently-adopted flood plain ordinance to allow the shopping center. The only requirment the Commissioners set was for the rebuilding of the Rt. 30/Harrisburg Pike interchange.
Every citizen who opposes a shopping center that is the size of 3 football fields, located directly across from Long’s Park and only a few yards from Park City, should write to Governor Rendell, their state and township officials (especially Manheim Twp.), also James Cowhey and Dave Royer of the Lancaster County Planning Commission.