The Harrison commissioners were given a round of applause by a handful of residents Wednesday after unanimously approving a maintenance agreement with Allegheny County for a shared pedestrian and bicycle path along Springhill Road.
The $1.3 million path is now expected to be built next year, said Jason Molinero, deputy director of Allegheny County Public Works.
The township commissioners held a special meeting in the mid-afternoon after county officials set a deadline of Thursday for them to act on it.
Under the agreement, Harrison is responsible for inspection and maintenance of the path with two exceptions: the county will be responsible for controlling vegetation, and the county agreed to repave the part of the path at street level whenever the county is also paving the road.
The township would be responsible for repaving the path at street level should it be needed otherwise, said public works spokesman Brent Wasko.
Bill Godfrey said his group, Natrona Comes Together, supports the project, which he said will help young people in Natrona get to jobs up the hill in Natrona Heights.
“It’s good for kids and safety,” he said.
There had been concern that a majority of the five commissioners would reject the agreement after William Heasley, commissioners chairman, and Township Manager Rich Hill repeatedly said the township had concerns about the agreement and potential liabilities.
Before voting with other commissioners to approve the agreement, Heasley said he sees the need for a trail from the Natrona area of the township up to Natrona Heights, especially in light of Port Authority of Allegheny County pulling bus service from the area.
“You have to find a way to get the people up here,” he said.
Heasley said one concern he had was over how the project will change the four-lane road. Heasley said he would prefer two lanes down and one lane up, instead of the planned one lane down and two up. He was also concerned about traffic from the ABC Transit school bus garage now along the road.
Commissioner Eric Bengel said he spent several weeks considering the project. He noted that the township partnered with the county on the project in 2017, before he was elected, and committed to maintain it.
Bengel said the township’s engineer and county engineers and officials “have assured me that the path and road are being designed with the safety of all in mind. They know the road has truck traffic, they know that bikes will be going downhill against traffic … and they know that speed has been an issue on the roadway.
“It would be difficult for me to sit here and deny this project moving forward when I have those assurances from all of the engineers and experts.”
Commissioner Chuck Dizard noted that the $642,000 in federal funding that Allegheny County secured for the path was given primarily to support the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. That it will help Natrona residents access services in Natrona Heights is a secondary benefit in that regard, although a primary one for the township.
“The completion of the Springhill Road project is a significant project to improve the quality of life in Harrison Township,” Dizard said.
Molinero said he was thrilled with the outcome. The county anticipates awarding a contract for the path’s construction this fall and see construction start in the spring and be finished by late summer.
The path “is going to be a tremendous asset to this community,” he said. “It was a win for everybody.”
