O'Hara officials seek state funding for sidewalk project in RIDC Park once again

O’Hara officials are making another push for a pedestrian safety project in the RIDC Park.

The township wants to install new sidewalks from Alpha to Gamma drives and the northern side of Gamma Drive Extension.

Council voted July 11 to apply for a $1.02 million grant from the Multimodal Transportation Fund through the state Commonwealth Financing Authority.

It comes with a 30% match from O’Hara’s coffers. The total project cost is about $1.33 million.

Township Engineer Charles Steinert said O’Hara applied for a slightly smaller grant last year through the CFA and was denied. He hopes for better luck this time. The project is at the request of the RIDC business owners, he said.

“They’ve been requesting a sidewalk for years. Ten years ago, maybe, we had a presentation with all the business owners and the costs associated with it. It didn’t go over well.

Once each property owner saw what their share of the project would cost, they said the township should install it.

“If we’re going to put it in, a grant is best way for us to do it. If we get grants, it goes a long way to say, ‘We’re trying (to be good RIDC neighbors).’ ”

At that time, the estimated cost was a little more than $2.5 million for sidewalks throughout the park.

The current proposed project would install about 5,000 feet of sidewalk on one side of the roadway; ADA-compliant curb cut ramps and pedestrian lighting; remove and reset signage, as well as grade and complete lawn restoration.

Township Manager Julie Jakubec said O’Hara cannot afford the sidewalk without the grant.

“I think RIDC needs to come in to the modern era where a lot of the newer parks have a lot of amenities such as sidewalks,” she said. “People who work up there like to walk at lunch and get exercise. The sidewalks are important up there. What else can we add that’s going to revitalize that park?”

Within the 3.75 million-square-foot business park, the occupancy rate is about 89%. In early 2021, when the pandemic was turning the world around, the occupancy rate was about 97%.

The Regional Industrial Development Corp. is a nonprofit that owns nine buildings in the area. The township owns the roads.

“While RIDC owns only a small portion of this site, we’re supportive of township initiatives to obtain grant funding for an improvement designed to enhance safety for people who work in the park,” RIDC spokesman Steven Alschuler said via email July 26.

He did not comment on whether the park businesses would help with funding. Property owners would be responsible for the sidewalk once it is installed.

Steinert said the project could go out for bid within six months after the grant is awarded. Construction is projected to take about four months.

The RIDC park is zoned industrial, not zoned for retail businesses or schools. Jakubec said the township plans to explore its zoning options to “make that park more attractive.”

RIDC O’Hara was the first planned industrial park in Pennsylvania by the Regional Industrial Development Corp., a nonprofit economic development organization, in 1967.