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Staff reports: regional transportation planning, sober‑ride pilot paused and freight/parking concerns
Summary
County planning staff reported on regional MPO work, a paused sober‑ride pilot, outreach to Amish and Mennonite communities, an I‑81 exit implementation plan and freight/parking concerns including truck parking and ramp shoulder use; Picture Perry received nine project submittals for the February amendment cycle.
PERRY COUNTY — Planning staff delivered program updates covering regional transportation work, a paused sober‑ride pilot, outreach to Amish and Mennonite road users, and freight‑related concerns in fast‑growing corridors.
Andrew (program staff) told the commission December is typically a light month for activity but highlighted several items: the MPO’s federal certification review is scheduled for April; staff are advancing a long‑range regional transportation plan with freight and truck‑parking elements and working on an I‑81 Exit 37 implementation plan to identify interim improvements that regional and local funding can address; and Picture Perry received nine project submissions for the upcoming February 2025 amendment cycle covering housing, land use and transportation and will circulate project sheets to affected municipalities for vetting.
Andrew also reported the regional sober‑ride demonstration program, intended to subsidize rides to reduce impaired driving over holidays, has been paused after staff concluded the initial rollout left the program vulnerable to abuse. “We had to just completely pause the program and probably bring it back ... with more of a focus on specific holidays,” he said.
Staff described outreach to Amish and Mennonite groups and said those meetings raised questions about crossings near schools and buggy safety on hilly routes. Freight concerns were also discussed: staff noted local communities are seeing increased warehousing development near I‑81 corridors and that truck parking and idling on ramp shoulders have become a management issue. One staffer said private millings had been used to block truck parking along a ramp in another county — an example of ad hoc local responses to truck parking pressure.
Staff asked commissioners to monitor the Picture Perry project vetting and to consider attending upcoming working sessions on transportation and housing.
No formal action was taken; the item was presented as an informational staff report.
