Reaching out to the public to solicit the local residents, business owners, and users of the highway was a major component of the I-83 Master Plan study. The public involvement efforts involved two rounds of general public meetings (September 2002 and April 2003). In addition, multiple meetings were conducted with the region’s municipal officials and special interest groups. Special interest groups included neighborhood associations, the West Shore and Harrisburg Regional Chambers of Commerce, the State Police, local emergency service providers, Capital Area Transit, Capital Area Beltway Committee, the Sierra Club, the Harrisburg Bicycle Club, and the Capital Area Greenbelt Association.
This outreach effort provided the study team with valuable information on the public’s perspective of the transportation problems and possible solutions in the I-83 corridor. In addition, many local citizens provided information on the local environmental resources and community facilities that are important and would need to be considered during the design and construction of transportation improvements. Lastly, the public involvement conducted during this early planning stage has established a preliminary list of points of contact for future public involvement activities that will be undertaken during the development of individual projects that are programmed as a result of this Master Plan. A mailing list of organization contacts and members of the general public who expressed interest has been created for future public involvement activities.
PENNDOT recognizes the importance of keeping the public informed and maintaining public support throughout the project development process. Public involvement is crucial to assure that future transportation improvement solutions address the needs of both the traveling public and the local citizens that will be most affected by the projects’ construction in thei
r community. PENNDOT encourages the public to stay involved in the future project development efforts for the individual transportation improvement projects. PENNDOT plans to provide many opportunities for public input during the development of the projects, including general public meetings, special meetings as appropriate, and the use of project-specific websites.At each of the Master Plan’s general public meetings, survey forms were provided to solicit input from the public. This information was compiled, along with the feedback from this website and the municipal and special interest meetings, to provide PENNDOT engineers and planners with a summary of the public’s major concerns. These concerns were considered during the development of the concepts and the preparation of the Master Plan.
Public concerns and issues, as expressed at the I-83 Master Plan public meetings, website and special interest groups, include the following:
• It was noted that improvements are long overdue for the I-83 corridor and there is a desire that the improvement projects be put on an accelerated schedule.
• Motorists may have to endure major disruptions during the construction of improvements, therefore many people expressed a desire that PENNDOT "do it right" by making improvements that not only solve existing problems and traffic conditions but also address future needs, 20 to 30 years from today.
• Many existing traffic flow problems, including the locations of bottlenecks and backups, were identified and noted as not only being an inconvenience but also a cause of congestion and traffic accidents.
• The major concern related to existing interchanges is inadequate ramp lengths. Additionally concern was expressed over safety problems associated with merging traffic, the confusion of left-hand exits, and inadequate interchange capacity. Suggestions included additional interchanges, numerous suggestions being an interchange to directly access Cameron Street.
• Most comments related to general roadway improvements include the need to widen I-83 to increase capacity for through traffic and for traffic entering and leaving the interstate. Other comments addressed the need to improve the roadway geometrics (including the design for shoulders and barriers), roadway surface quality, and adequacy of signage.
• Many people expressed their desire that Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) strategies be incorporated into the reconstruction projects. Strategies that were mentioned include a traffic control center, VMS (Variable Message System), highway advisory radio, and separate truck/HOV/express lanes.
• Some people express concern that other forms of transportation not be overlooked and proposed expanding public transit particularly the promotion of "light rail".
• Many people have the perception that there is a lack of enforcement of traffic regulations, particularly enforcement of the speed limit. However, it was noted that the current road conditions could make it dangerous for police to pursue and pull over violators.
• The major community and environmental issues expressed at this time, were related to highway noise, potential residential and commercial displacements and impacts to parkland. It was frequently noted however, that displacements and land acquisitions would be unavoidable in this highly developed I-83 corridor.
