Signal Lights to be Repaired and Kept at Main/Hanna
By Scott Johnson
LOCK HAVEN – To the applause from the large gathering in City Hall Monday night, City Council decided to temporarily repair the stop lights at East Main and Hanna streets until the lights will be upgraded by PennDOT in 2021. Also, council unanimously approved keeping the stop lights at the intersection of Grove and Water streets.
That action came shortly after Eric Murnyack, project manager for PennDOT, silenced council and audience members upset with the recommended removal of the stop lights at Main and Hanna by stating the study was what it was, a study, and not a mandate to the city. “There was no time that we said we had to remove the traffic signal,” he said. “We conducted a study. There is no equipment to repair it. We do not have to remove it. We will not force you to remove it. The study showed a traffic signal is not needed there and it is not feasible to have a four-way stop sign.”
The discussion first began when council spoke about what to do about the broken lights at the intersection of Main and Hanna. The lights were first installed in 1983 and parts need to be ordered to repair them. Two stop signs were placed on both sides of Main Street until council could come up with a permanent solution.
Council then requested PennDOT, who owns the roadway, to place stops signs at each corner of the four-way intersection after the public voiced concern about speeding in the area.
After a speed, traffic and sight visibility study, PennDOT denied the request. The study showed that area is not in need of a stop light, only the two-way stop signs on Main Street. If four-way stop signs were erected, PennDOT requested the removal of dozens of on-street parking spaces due to sight-of-view concerns.
City property owner and resident Steve Poorman first broached the subject during the public comment section of the meeting.
Poorman said the area near Main and Hanna streets is dangerous to pedestrians.
Further, he called on PennDOT, who had two representatives at the meeting, to return East Main Street to a two-way street to put an “end to the highway going through our town.”
“There is excessive speeding and noise,” Poorman said. “Nobody wants to live in the downtown and I agree with them. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it, we have a problem with your highway through town. I tell you (council) to tell them (PennDOT) to get your highway out of town.”
Several residents also expressed their concern about the use of two-way stop signs at the intersection, including Rona Houser, Kathy Houser and Nate Reeder.
Resident and property owner Bill Crowell also spoke about the Grove and Water street intersection, noting how busy it is, especially with school buses and the public using the YMCA with limited parking at that site.
City Manager Greg Wilson said it will cost the city $4,750 plus labor to repair the stop light at Main and Hanna. Those repairs should be done in about six weeks. Then, he said, PennDOT will completely update that intersection in 2021, along with Water and Grove.
Wilson said the city would then be responsible for maintaining those lights, which he said should cost around $350 annually. Murnyack said it would be nearly impossible to expedite PennDOT’s schedule for both.
