Residents ask Town of Harrisburg to remove Shirley Lane barriers after reported EMS delays

Several residents of the Eastwood/Harmony neighborhood told the Town of Harrisburg council that concrete barriers placed at the Shirley (Sherylane) Lane and Bovine Lane intersection have blocked vehicle access, delayed emergency services and disrupted deliveries.

Resident Charles Tellis, who said he lives at 3559 Shirley Lane, told the council the barriers were placed under a “02/2018 conditional agreement” restricting construction traffic and that residents had not been provided the underlying documentation. “These barriers create significant concerns over the road closures,” Tellis said, and he reported three separate occasions when EMS vehicles were delayed reaching homes because of the layout of the barriers. “If an ambulance does go to transport a critical patient out of the barriers, [responders] would have to travel the least convenient way, going backwards roughly anywhere from a hundred to 200 yards,” he said.

Other residents echoed those concerns. John Nusbaum (3825 Charlie Lane) said he’d witnessed at least two incidents in which an EMS unit was delayed and raised the prospect that prioritizing restrictions on construction traffic should not take precedence over public safety. Several neighbors added that deliveries (Amazon, DoorDash) were misdelivered or cancelled and that trash collection crews could not safely enter and exit the lane on collection day.

Town Manager Rob acknowledged the residents’ concerns and said staff have discussed the issue with the developer and with planning staff following a recent meeting with neighbors. He said the restrictions on construction traffic are tied to a conditional rezoning approval and that the town has made assurances to existing neighbors as part of that approval. “My advice to the group was that [a conditional change] is gonna take 4 to 6 months if it were to pass,” Rob said, adding that the developer is expected to reach about 90% build-out before the town would accept the road as substantially complete and clear the condition that blocks construction traffic.

Rob said staff had discussed intermediate measures the residents requested, such as staggering or repositioning barriers to allow emergency vehicle access, but that town engineers had concluded those solutions were not feasible because of vehicle turning-radius and safety concerns. “Our engineers had advised that that’s not possible,” he said.

Residents asked whether the town could allow an emergency-only access or other temporary accommodations; town staff said they would continue working with neighbors and with planning staff (Zach) to identify any interim steps that do not conflict with the rezoning conditions.

The council did not take formal action on the issue at the meeting. Council members and staff urged continued coordination between residents, the developer and planning staff and said a formal amendment to the conditional rezoning would require the standard review process and timetable.