By Daveen Rae Kurutz

Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 9:01 p.m.
Updated: Thursday, October 11, 2012

Slow development on housing plans has driven Murrysville officials to reconsider their criteria for accepting ownership of new roads.

One month after voting against accepting responsibility for roads in two housing plans, officials agreed that ideally 75 percent of a development will be complete before its road are accepted into the municipal street plan.

“When should Murrysville accept roads?” engineer Joe Dietrick said. “I guess the answer is whenever we want to, so long as they're structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing.”

Once a road is accepted, the municipality is responsible for its snow removal, crack sealing, pothole patching and paving. Only then may police enforce stop signs and speed limit postings, Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said.

Roads are not accepted until the final 1.5-inches of blacktop are laid. Officials are worried about accepting roads from developments that have a limited number of homes built and occupied.

Current regulations require that 85 percent of homes be constructed before roads are accepted. Council instructed Morrison to make changes to the regulations for a vote later this year. Dietrick estimated that most developments that used to take two years to complete will take at least five years in the current economy.

Daveen Rae Kurutz is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-856-7400, ext. 8627, or dkurutz@tribweb.com.

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