Greensburg planning for possible pedestrian, biking improvements

Greensburg is poised to create a plan for helping people get around town more easily — on foot, on bicycles or in wheelchairs.

Following through on a recommendation of the recent Shape Greensburg comprehensive plan, the city is expected to hire a consultant to develop an active transportation plan by the end of 2024.

Such a plan emphasizes forms of mobility including “walking, biking, using a wheelchair, connecting to transit, and otherwise using transportation means that are primarily human-powered and human-scaled.”

Making sure the city’s sidewalks are safe and accessible is a primary goal, according to city planning director Jeff Raykes. He said the plan should address the city’s infrastructure and amenities for pedestrians, looking at more than just the downtown business district.

Walking is the “glue that kind of holds communities together,” Raykes said. “We’re all pedestrians. We have to park our cars at some time.

He said pedestrians will want to know the state of city sidewalks: “Are they passable? What if I’m in a wheelchair or on a scooter?”

Raykes said an initial step will be identifying interested stakeholders and establishing an active transportation plan steering committee that could begin meeting in January.

The city was awarded a $20,000 grant from the state WalkWorks program that will help pay for a plan consultant. The program is a joint effort of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center that promotes “activity-friendly routes connecting everyday destinations.”

Funding for the grant is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program.

“WalkWorks supports healthy communities by enabling more people to have the option of walking or biking to places they go every day,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of health.

During community input sessions for the Shape Greensburg plan, city officials “heard a lot of people talk about the importance of being able to move around the community,” Raykes said. “People want a connected city, and they want choices when they want to go somewhere.”

Creation of an active transportation plan is “an exciting opportunity,” said city councilman Gregory Mertz. “The city has a downtown area where we’re rightfully investing a lot of time in marketing and planning, and we have defined neighborhoods. This is a chance to look at how we can connect walk-ability to our downtown area, our parks or other businesses around Greensburg.

“There are studies that show a lot of young people like to live in an urban environment where they can walk to where they need to go and not rely 100% on driving and parking.”

Among Shape Greensburg’s suggestions was that the city look into adopting a “complete streets” policy, which calls for considering all modes of transportation — including walking and biking — when planning street projects.

Another suggestion was establishing a program where the city would assist property owners with part of the labor and material costs involved in repairing sidewalks.

The comprehensive plan also identified some issues for pedestrians. It noted North Main Street changes in character from an urban neighborhood street to a suburban traffic artery as it approaches the city’s northern border.

The plan suggests that the addition of sidewalks would help to slow traffic in the 45 mph zone there while placing crosswalks at locations such as the Hawksworth Garden Apartments could benefit pedestrians.

The Shape Greensburg plan includes a template for creating an active transportation plan.

“It’s something to go from,” Raykes said.