PennDOT, Ohiopyle State Park eye future plans for pedestrian safety
One of the options in the safety improvement project involves relocating the end of the Sugarloaf to flow onto Negley Street.
Olivia Goudy | Herald-Standard
Several design concepts have been illustrated to detail the proposed work to be done in Ohiopyle.
Olivia Goudy | Herald-Standard
One of the options in the safety improvement project involves relocating the end of the Sugarloaf to flow onto Negley Street.
There are potential plans to relocate the end of Sugarloaf Road at the bend to then flow onto Negley Street.
Olivia Goudy | Herald-Standard
Pam Kruse, owner of Falls Market in Ohiopyle, expresses her concern about the proposed construction plans.
Ohiopyle State Park could see another round of construction this year with plans presented to increase pedestrian safety.
Joe Szczur, district executive for the state Department of Transportation District 12, said concern for the safety of pedestrians, kayakers, bikers and hikers facing traffic on Route 381 in the borough prompted the proposed changes.
Options include adding curbs, sidewalks, specialized crosswalks and bicycle lanes, and relocating the end of Sugarloaf Road to the existing Negley Street. Szczur said one concept involves installing a tunnel — a pedestrian underpass — near the visitor center to allow people to walk safely under Route 381. The project, which comes with an $8 to $9 million price tag, has the highest safety rating of all of the options.
“We used our imagination, and there was some ingenuity in the ideas to realign Sugarloaf Road to the north, which would free up space for parking,” Szczur said. It would also present them with an opportunity to work on drainage problems at the Sugarloaf intersection area.
“We’re putting to practice all the latest and greatest features,” he said. “We’ll enhance the setting. It won’t be a detriment to the beauty of the area. It will compliment it well.”
Sugarloaf concerns
The road currently bisects two parking areas and ends on Route 381 with a steep grade. Rafters commonly park there to take their rafts across the road to the check-in and launch areas.
“There are records of at least one accident — but there have been an awful lot of close calls,” said Ken Bisbee, operations manager at Ohiopyle State Park. The park reports more than 1.3 million visitors yearly, and on any given day can be bustling with people with strollers, toddlers, dogs, kayaks and bikes, he said.
Rachel Duda, PennDOT assistant district executive in design, said their records show a 2012 accident that involved a vehicle and a pedestrian.
“It also does not include near misses,” she said.
“Anything we can do to make their experiences safe and more pleasant, we should do,” Bisbee said.
One of the design concepts he liked most was the addition of pavement markings and a new surface on the busier portion of Route 381 between Negley and Sherman streets.
“Drivers tend to notice that difference and slow down” he said. “It would be nice to have crossing signals and flashing lights, too.”
Opposition
The doors to Pam Kruse’s business are opened year-round. Tourists and locals alike frequent Fall’s Market for a meal or supplies. As a member of the borough’s council, Kruse also has an interest in the well-being of the borough itself, which is unique as it’s the only borough completely surrounded by a state park.
“As a business owner, I strenuously object,” she said. “They say they won’t work Memorial to Labor Day, but we’re open year round and we’re trying to draw tourists down here from Falling Water. This is the main road through Kentuck Knob, and if this is torn up, they’re not going to stop here.”
Kruse said council’s recent initiative has been to promote Ohiopyle as a year-round destination.
“Twenty years ago, it was the mindset that Ohiopyle was Memorial to Labor Day, then lights out. It is not that way anymore,” she said. “And for those on the bike trail, it’s a shoulder season activity. They do it more now in the spring and fall.”
She also expressed her concerns about the scale of the project for all the bigger the borough is, adding that the “amount of improvement it brings does not justify two and a half years of tearing this town up.”
While initially on board for other improvement projects throughout the state park and borough, Kruse said she’s concerned the project may start with good intentions and fall apart, or not be functional in the future, recalling a DCNR project roughly five years ago that saw improvements to a small play area along Sherman Street.
“Five years later when there’s issues and the playground surface is coming up, where are they? There was nobody there to answer phone calls or get back to us, and we ended up putting jars on the counters throughout town and raising money ourselves to fix it,” she said.
Most of all, it’s the communication, or lack thereof, that concerns Kruse.
“Even if this project moves forward, the communication between the borough and the park has to improve, and PennDOT as well, especially since it involves a borough street in the process,” she said.
“When and where did they communicate? There were no letters, no emails,” Kruse said. “It’s just so much money. It seems to me there are too many issues they need to figure out first.”
Szczur said the opposition is unexpected.
“We’re frustrated with all the negative feedback we got before we even got to the point where we could take input,” he said. “It was a lot of people jumping to conclusions, and it’s disappointing.”
Continued change
Ohiopyle State Park has been the center of a number of changes over the last decade, many completed under the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative.
Past projects include the installation of “green streets” and bioswales in 2010, and the construction of the new visitor center in 2015. Bisbee noted that the goal of the initiative was to “help visitors to this area really appreciate what’s here.”
Talk of the newest round of improvements started in 2016, though the ideas have been floating around for a while.
“This idea originated well over a decade ago. Opportunities presented themselves to work on unfinished business here,” Szczur said.
PennDOT documents indicate that funding will come from state discretionary funds.
“We’ve been working with PennDOT since the concept came about, and it’s been really great working together,” Bisbee said, adding that they’re discussed concerns and ideas throughout the process. “I’m really excited about the project — it really helps out our visitors.”
Bisbee said the park has more cyclists than ever now with the recent completion of the Great Allegheny Passage. Heavy foot traffic on busy weekends made the bike lanes nearly unusable, Bisbee said as he expressed his excitement for the proposed separate bike lanes that would loop through state park property and out of the way of vehicles.
Construction can be inconvenient, he acknowledged, but said it is “short term inconvenience, long term gain.”
“I know construction is a pain, it’s inconvenient, but I think the end results are really going to enhance it once you’re here,” Bisbee added.
Once details are ironed out and a plan is in place, construction would be completed in two phases, Duda said.
“Phase one construction season will begin in November 2018 and complete prior to Memorial Day 2019. Phase two construction will begin after Labor Day 2019 and be completed prior to Memorial Day 2020,” she said. No work would take place during the summer season.
A public meeting will be held at 5 p.m., Feb. 27 at the Ohiopyle Stewart Community Center for residents to learn more about various options and funding from PennDOT officials.