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by Karen Fetter
Westmoreland County is
fortunate to have a
community that cares about
its future, specifically
about its growing future.
Whether it’s preserving
rural landscapes,
revitalizing towns and
cities, or reclaiming
suburbs, Westmoreland County
is in the right hands of
community leaders led by the
Smart Growth Partnership of
Westmoreland County (SGPWC).
The SGPWC is a
community-based private
non-profit that strives to
encourage the kind of growth
that improves quality of
life for both residents and
businesses, but also ensures
vibrant, high quality growth
for future generations in
Westmoreland County.
One way in which SGPWC is
accomplishing this is
through the U. S. Route 30
Master plan. SGPWC initiated
a process with local
businesses, planners, and
community leaders to design
a plan for the future that
allows the area to grow
without negative
consequences such as rising
housing prices, congested
roadways, and less scenic
byways.
According to SGPWC executive
director Alexander Graziani,
the Route Master 30 Plan is
about planning for land use
to enhance economic
development. “This is not a
highway study intent on
developing alternatives for
widening Route 30 and other
unaffordable solutions,”
said Graziani. “This study
will help municipalities
understand how to enhance
the safety and mobility of
the corridor through better
land use choices.”
***
Route 30 is the major
transportation artery of
Westmoreland County. The
40-mile stretch of this
historic road, which is more
famously known as the
Lincoln Highway, connects
small towns and suburbs to
cities and rural landscapes
such as Ligonier, Latrobe,
Greensburg, and Irwin. It is
also a prime location for
economic growth.
With the assistance of
Pennsylvania State Senator
Bob Regola, the SGPWC was
awarded a $200,000 grant to
conduct the Route 30 Master
Plan. Matching funds,
additional grants, and
in-kind resources are being
provided by the Southwestern
Pennsylvania Commission,
PennDOT, and the Lincoln
Highway Heritage Corridor of
the PA Heritage Areas
Program under the PA
Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources, the
State Department of
Community and Economic
Development, Westmoreland
County and the following
municipalities: City of
Greensburg, Irwin Borough,
Ligonier Borough, Ligonier
Township, Unity Township,
Hempfield Township, and
North Huntingdon Township.
To begin the Master Plan
efforts a summit meeting was
held in January of 2006.
More than 150 attended to
share their desired vision
for the outcome of the plan.
From that summit, volunteers
were asked from the
communities to serve on the
Community Vision Team (CVT)
which is comprised of more
than 100 people. A smaller,
19-person Project Working
Group has been appointed
from the CVT to make major
decisions such as work plan
development, fundraising,
and the consultant selection
process.
A nationally recognized
corridor planning firm, the
Renaissance Planning Group (www.citiesthatwork.com)
with offices in
Charlottesville, Virginia
was hired in September to
guide the development of the
master plan.
The first public meeting for
the community to discuss
this new plan was on October
18, 2006. The topic was,
“Where are we now and where
are we going.” At this
meeting, the vision for the
Route 30 corridor developed
in the spring of 2006 was
unveiled.
Smart Growth wants to work
with the community and get
its input, according to
Graziani.
It is our desire to get
public input early and often
in order to craft realistic
policies and actions.” To
view the latest master plan
information visit the
project website at
www.route30plan.com.
Some solutions that are
being discussed include
consolidating driveways,
connecting adjacent land
uses, parallel service
roads, providing medians and
U-turn locations, creating
bike lanes, and bus pull-off
areas.
The next scheduled meeting
is set for January 18, 2007
with the topic, “Where do we
want to be?” Another meeting
is scheduled on March 15
that will discuss “How will
we get there?”
Phase 1 of the two-phase
master plan will be
completed by June 30, 2007.
The U.S. Route 30 Master
Plan is a three-stage,
multi-phase project set to
take place over a period of
three or more years. The
first stage was “Getting
Started,” which was from
October 2005 through August
2006. The current phase,
“Developing the Plan,” is
slated from September 2006
through March 2008. The
final stage,
“Institutionalizing the
Framework for
Implementation,” begins
April 2008 and goes through
May 2009.
SGPWC was founded in 2001
and is located on the campus
of the University of
Pittsburgh at Greensburg. It
stemmed from the City of
Greensburg’s Bicentennial
celebration that later
prompted UPG’s President Dr.
Frank Cassell to identify
major community problems
resulting from poorly
planned growth in the area.
SGPWC recognizes the
connection between growth
and quality of life and
hopes to enhance that for
Westmoreland County
residents.
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