LH Not Vacating Third Avenue for Now
By Scott Johnson
LOCK HAVEN – Vacating a portion of Third Avenue in the city is now off the table for the near future. However, turning restrictions for trucks and cars pulling a trailer will be effective starting Tuesday morning.
City Council held a public hearing Monday night on an ordinance that would have vacated a portion of Third Avenue beside Murray Motors off Bellefonte Avenue.
Members of council and the media were presented a copy of a traffic study of that area from Director of Public Works Anthony Stopper. That study showed the average daily traffic on that stretch of road is 446 vehicles, lower than the 500-vehicle threshold to classify the road as “low-volume” following PennDOT’s Design Manual. Further, it showed almost three times as many vehicles travel that stretch of road in the southbound direction from Bellefonte Avenue and 96 percent of the vehicles are cars with trailers, trucks and/or buses.
According to Stopper, Trans Associates Engineer Consultants found only passenger cars posed no threat to property when turning from Bellefonte to Third avenues. Meanwhile, the report showed, a passenger car towing a trailer, a 30-foot single-unit box truck, 40-foot single unit box truck a 62-foot trailer and a 67-foot tractor trailer all pose a hazard at that intersection.
City Manager Greg Wilson added PPL reports the utility pole at that intersection is the second-most damaged utility pole in the city. Further, he said, if council were to decide not to vacate that area of road, city administration recommended prohibiting trucks and cars with trailers from turning from Bellefonte Avenue onto Third Avenue. Other areas council could approve with more research from staff are to consider exploring steps needed to reduce the rights-of-way on the portion of PennDOT Turnback streets to 35 feet and consider restricting Third Avenue to one-way southbound-only to reduce the risk of turning hazards from Third onto Bellefonte avenues.
During the public comments of the public hearing, Matt Yeager, general manager of Murray Motors, Lock Haven, said he believes his business was badly represented by the media, and his business never approached the city for “free land,” but the city came to his business with the proposal.
“We were only being a good neighbor,” he said. Yeager added the goal from both sides was for public safety. “A majority of the vehicles on that road does not do so in a safe manner,” he said. “We just want to be good neighbors to everyone… the businesses and the public.”
Yeager added his business would have paid to erect a fence if the 30-foot addition were offered to Murray Motors. “I am a little upset about how we were portrayed by the newspaper,” he said.
Neighboring business owner Micah Clausen of Optimal Realty, who was against the possible road vacation, broached the possibility of speed bumps instead. Meanwhile, his attorney, Marc Drier, said he has filed a Right-To-Know request with PennDOT about the actual previous ownership of the road. He said PennDOT has until June 27 to respond. In addition, he said, two of the three Allison Township supervisors told him that the township does not have official paperwork over any deeding of that road, either to the state or a private enterprise.
Drier said his research showed that Third Avenue has an “unusual history” as it was first built in 1924 by Allison Township as a border between it and the City of Lock Haven.
“However, the question is who opened the road to be mud-free and passable,” he said. “If it was by the township, then it is a municipal-owned road, but if it was taken over by the state, who opened it? If it was first opened by a private developer, then if a municipality then vacates it, it would go back to being private.” Drier also said he thought a traffic study on Second Avenue should also be undertaken.
Councilman Bill Mincer made a motion to table action on the ordinance, which was seconded by Councilman Richard Conklin. The problem, however, with no action is the city could face liability issues if an accident occurs there, according to Wilson and Councilmen Joel Long and Douglas Byerly.
Wilson added if the ordinance was tabled, council would then have to advertise for another public hearing for three consecutive weeks, and it is his understanding that any tabled motion would not advance to another year’s slate of council members.
With that, Mincer rescinded his motion to table and the ordinance failed for the lack of a second.
Then, council unanimously passed a resolution, which needs no advertisement and public hearing requirements, to restrict trucks and cars pulling a trailer from turning onto Third Avenue from Bellefonte Avenue. Wilson said the signs will be installed starting Tuesday morning.
Further the city will conduct further traffic studies on that area, possibly including Second Avenue.
