Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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Pennsylvania’s plan to upgrade a major road along the city of Erie’s waterfront will wind up reducing pedestrian and cyclist access to the bay and disproportionately harm minority and low-income residents who live nearby, the NAACP charged in a federal lawsuit filed last Tuesday.
Years in the making, the $100 million Department of Transportation plan for the Bayfront Parkway envisions several roundabouts, pedestrian bridges and underpass lanes that PennDOT says will allow the highway to handle increased traffic volumes while improving neighborhood access to Presque Isle Bay.
In the lawsuit, the NAACP says the plan will do the opposite and the Bayfront Parkway — already a “fortified barrier” that severs downtown Erie from the waterfront — will become that much more of an impediment to the historically Black neighborhoods around it, while worsening air and water quality.
PennDOT has ignored residents’ concerns to barrel ahead with its plans, using a “shortcut environmental review process” illegally granted by the suit’s other defendant, the Federal Highway Administration, the plaintiffs said.
www.philasun.com
I'm not familiar with the area enough to comment but it appears (and I could be wrong) that given the opportunity to do the right thing they failed.
Years in the making, the $100 million Department of Transportation plan for the Bayfront Parkway envisions several roundabouts, pedestrian bridges and underpass lanes that PennDOT says will allow the highway to handle increased traffic volumes while improving neighborhood access to Presque Isle Bay.
In the lawsuit, the NAACP says the plan will do the opposite and the Bayfront Parkway — already a “fortified barrier” that severs downtown Erie from the waterfront — will become that much more of an impediment to the historically Black neighborhoods around it, while worsening air and water quality.
PennDOT has ignored residents’ concerns to barrel ahead with its plans, using a “shortcut environmental review process” illegally granted by the suit’s other defendant, the Federal Highway Administration, the plaintiffs said.
NAACP files suit over Erie highway plan, waterfront access - The Philadelphia Sunday Sun
Tweet Email ABOVE PHOTO: Aerial photo of Bayfront Parkway (Photo/bayfrontparkwayproject.com) By Michael Rubinkam ASSOCIATED PRESS Pennsylvania’s plan to upgrade a major road along the city of Erie’s waterfront will wind up reducing pedestrian and cyclist access to the bay and...
www.philasun.com
I'm not familiar with the area enough to comment but it appears (and I could be wrong) that given the opportunity to do the right thing they failed.
