Carlisle council hears plan for traffic calming on Bedford and East; public favors paint-plus-humps trial

Jeff Bergston, the project presenter, updated the Borough Council of Carlisle on Aug. 14 on proposed traffic calming measures for the Bedford and East Street corridors, which run from North Hanover Street to East South Street. Bergston outlined three options: a paint-only “road diet”; a quick-build approach that adds removable vertical devices and speed humps; and a permanent full-build using concrete and asphalt that he said would cost about $2,400,000.

The proposal, developed with input from East Side Neighbors and through work with Dalwood Engineering, was presented as a response to resident complaints about speeding and vehicle racing where the streets have two lanes in one direction. Bergston said the roundabout at the Bedford–East intersection was the preferred intersection treatment in the concept plan but that the roundabout, and other heavy construction, is part of the full-build option.

Bergston summarized the trade-offs: option 1 (paint only) is lowest cost and quickest to design and implement and preserves flexibility; option 2 (quick-build) adds temporary physical devices such as flexible delineators and speed humps to improve effectiveness but would require a smaller street sweeper and extra operating costs; option 3 (full build) would be most durable and could improve stormwater management but would be the most expensive and take longer to design and build.

He gave estimated timelines and dimensions used in planning: design for options 1 and 2 would take about 4–6 months with construction of paint-based changes likely 1–2 months; option 3 design was estimated at 12–15 months and would likely span more than one construction season. He noted a typical bike lane width in the designs is about 5 feet, and that existing travel lanes are roughly 12 feet each, with curb-to-curb width on the two-way section around 40 feet. Bergston also described a revised speed-hump profile used elsewhere in town that increased the deflection height from about 2 inches to roughly 2.75 inches and said that has slowed drivers more effectively than earlier versions.

Public comment split along usage lines. Don “Buck” Smith of 350 Eighth Street urged council to study converting some streets to two-way traffic rather than narrowing lanes, saying, “I oppose this plan,” and arguing that two-way conversion and four-way stops could reduce speed and better accommodate trucks that serve local businesses. Councilors and staff responded that borough authority over interstate or Amtrak service is limited and that two-way conversions have trade-offs for pedestrian safety and do not directly address the neighborhood’s expressed desire to reduce lane-induced speeding.

Cyclist and vendor Eric Smith of 121 Southeast Street said he favored the quick-build approach, especially devices that provide a vertical buffer between parked cars and the bike lane. “Many motorists will not regard the bike lane as something serious unless there’s a physical vertical barrier,” he said, and told council he preferred option 2 for the balance of safety and testability. Online commenters and a remote speaker, including Isabelle Harmon and Tina Ziegler, urged that a hybrid “1.5” (paint plus select speed humps) be considered as a minimum and that pedestrians — including children walking to local schools — be prioritized in any final plan.

Bergston said the east–Bedford intersection geometry is nonstandard and that a modern roundabout was the preferred permanent fix at that location but acknowledged the roundabout had been presented only as part of the full-build option. He also noted that any construction for these improvements would be scheduled so as not to conflict with the borough’s larger Project 1 detour needs; in other words, construction on Bedford and East would not begin until Project 1 is complete, because those streets will be used for detours during Project 1 work.

Next steps outlined by Bergston: staff will take feedback from the meeting and return to council at the September workshop with either the hybrid paint-plus-humps “option 1.5” or option 2 for design. Council members and attendees were told the paint-only pilot preserves flexibility and that, because paint is part of any build, an initial paint phase would not make later permanent construction wholly redundant.

The presentation and public comment together lasted roughly 13 minutes of the meeting record for this agenda item; several councilors asked for follow-up details on the roundabout design, the railroad-track bike crossing (which the presenter said must be a near-90-degree crossing to meet Federal Railroad Administration guidance), and what temporary curb or delineator solutions might be compatible with borough street-sweeping equipment.

Bergston concluded by asking whether council members had questions; council directed staff to take public input into account and prepare the September materials for a possible vote on design direction.