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Dauphin County planners adopt regional active-transportation plan, set long-range plan for summer public comment
Summary
Planning staff reported adoption of a regional walking-and-biking plan, a public comment window for the Regional Transportation Plan this summer, and work on new public tools for congestion data; county staff also summarized resources on data centers and described an annual luncheon presentation on the state housing action plan.
Dauphin County planning staff reported May 5 that the region’s active-transportation plan — a high-level walking and biking framework — was adopted by the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS) and that the county’s long-range Regional Transportation Plan will enter a public comment period this summer. The planning office also described new public data tools and work on guidance about data centers, and summarized a May 1 annual luncheon presentation on the state housing action plan.
The active-transportation plan identifies a core walking-and-biking network and separates near-term priorities from items to study before building, county transportation planner Andrew said. The Regional Transportation Plan chapters have gone to the steering committee; staff said they expect the final steering-committee review this month and a public comment period tentatively scheduled July 1–Aug. 15, with anticipated adoption in September.
“Most likely, tentatively scheduled July 1 through August 15,” Andrew said of the comment window. He added the county will post chapters for public review ahead of the formal comment period.
Why it matters: the long-range plan guides funding and project selection for years; an active-transportation plan identifies investments for walking, biking and trails people will use day to day.
Staff also described a forthcoming web tool to let planners and the public explore regional congestion and vehicle-delay data, similar to the county’s public crash-data tool. Andrew said the tool is being developed with a consultant and other metropolitan planning organizations in PennDOT’s District 8 and should be available later this year.
Planning staff noted rising municipal interest in data centers and said the county is preparing a fact sheet as a resource rather than a single model ordinance, since local communities are approaching data-center regulation in different ways. Jerry (planning staff) said the fact sheet will be part of a toolkit for municipalities.
At the commission’s annual luncheon on May 1, Morgan Boyd of the governor’s office presented the state housing action plan, including a 15-year outlook and preliminary estimates for housing need in the tri-county region. Commissioners and staff said they found the presentation useful and that the state plan’s September timetable will align with the county’s upcoming comprehensive-plan update.
Treasurer’s numbers and other routine business were handled at the meeting: the commission reported $1,602 in subdivision fees this month and a year-to-date total of $10,435.
