The time of the final Crossings hearing and public comment, scheduled for Monday, Dec. 19, has been changed. According to the notice in the Government Calendar in the Sunday News, it will begin Monday at 5:30 p.m., not 6:30 as previously announced. The location is the Manheim Twp. Municipal Building, 1840 Municipal Dr.
These hearings, held at different times and locations, have not been well announced – one not at all – which may account for the small attendance at these hearings. Homeowners on Farmingdale Rd., particularly, need to attend Monday’s hearing, as the Crossings project – expected to be approved by Commissioners when they vote on Dec. 22 – will impact adversely on the market value of their homes. One realtor has said, “The homes on Farmingdale won’t be worth anything.”
This is because the Crossings will have not just one – BUT TWO SEPARATE ENTRANCES/EXITS ONTO FARMINGDALE ROAD. This will put hundreds, maybe thousands, of vehicles unto Farmingdale every day.
These two entrances onto Farmingdale have not been discussed at any hearings, but Comment #2 to a letter published in NewsLanc on Dec. 9 disclosed this. The comment had to be written by someone close to High because this information had not been disclosed previously. It also contains an admission that the preceding hearing – that was held at a different time and place and not on a regular meeting date (3 p.m. at Stauffer Mansion on Dec. 5) – had not been announced (as required by the Sunshine Law). The comment read:
“Actually, there are now two separate entrance/exits planned for Farmingdale Road. High presented their traffic study two weeks ago, but there was no newspaper coverage and only one or two members of the public at that hearing.
“The traffic expert’s testimony started after 10 pm. Cross examination of the traffic expert occurred last Monday evening- again, no press coverage, but at least a handful of people found the Stauffer Mansion.”
Roads that connect with Farmingdale will also be impacted. These include Oreville Rd., Good Drive, Rohrerstown Rd. and Marietta Ave. Robert Field, NewsLanc editor, who lives on Marietta Ave., added the following editor’s note to the above letter: “EDITOR: Being very familiar with the narrow and serpentine Farmingdale Road, we agree that it is not suitable for commercial traffic.
Now that we know that High is not getting any TIGER dollars, someone needs to demand from High a list of roadway and intersection changes that will need to be made to accommodate Crossings traffic, how much these changes will cost and where the money is coming from to pay for them.