2nd and Chestnut streets will receive pedestrian-friendly improvements.
A busy intersection in downtown Harrisburg will receive a pedestrian-friendly facelift in the coming year, a project designed to ease the flow of traffic and improve safety.
Last night, Harrisburg City Council unanimously approved a resolution to use a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant to fund updates to 2nd and Chestnut streets. Construction will start this summer, said City Engineer Wayne Martin.
“This intersection has a lot of incoming traffic on 2nd Street which continues onto Chestnut Street to go garages, and a lot of pedestrian traffic walking from garages to places of employment,” Martin said.
Curb extensions called bump outs will give pedestrians a shorter distance to cross the street. A narrower road causes drivers to slow down, Martin said.
These drawings prepared by Wallace Montgomery show the initial plan for 2nd and Chestnut streets.
“Bump outs are a common method for calming traffic,” he said. “It should have that same effect of calming traffic that just got off the highway.”
Councilman Cornelius Johnson said updating this intersection near PinnacleHealth and the Crowne Plaza will play a crucial role in slowing traffic in all of downtown.
“This intersection has always been a constant issue for pedestrians with the influx of traffic coming from the interstates,” he said.
Under the plan, stoplights will be timed so that pedestrians will have a five-second head start to cross the street, which will make them more obvious to motorists.
The new ramps will be accessible to individuals with disabilities per the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It may not be pedestrian overpasses, but it’s a start,” Councilman Westburn Majors said at last night’s council meeting.
The originally proposed plans included a protected bike lane connecting Riverfront Park’s Capital Area Greenbelt with the Harrisburg Transportation Center at 4th and Chestnut streets. The project’s funder, PennDOT, citing parking requirements, did not approve the bike lane, which took inspiration from lanes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Martin said.
The updates to this intersection echo the pedestrian-friendly updates coming to 3rd Street in April. A portion of 3rd Street will be repaved for the first time in 20 years thanks to a different PennDOT grant.
Capital Region Water may use the 2nd and Chestnut project as an opportunity to implement a portion of its Community Greening Plan, a citywide beautification project that manages storm water, Martin said.
“A drainage analysis is being done to see if there is an opportunity to provide for community greening,” he said.
Author: Danielle Roth
