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Franklin Park residents press borough to push PennDOT for I‑79 noise study
Summary
Residents near I‑79 told the borough council at its May meeting that highway noise has worsened and urged the borough to advocate for a state‑funded noise study and interim mitigation; councilors cited funding and jurisdictional limits but said they would pursue all avenues including state and federal representatives.
Annette Brady, a Hunters Pointe resident, told the Franklin Park borough council that ongoing traffic on I‑79 has increasingly disturbed sleep and damaged quality of life for neighbors near the Wexford exit, urging the council to advocate for a PennDOT‑funded noise study.
"We are asking for your partnership. We are asking for your support in advocating for a noise study and or meaningful steps to address the problem," Brady said during the public‑comment period, saying the issue affects health and property values.
Borough engineering staff and council members said PennDOT has told the borough that sound walls are typically considered when a corridor expands to three lanes; current projects in the area will increase throughput and may trigger that requirement. Borough staff described prior grant opportunities for a sound study but said the municipality faced steep matching‑fund requirements.
Council President (identified on the record as the meeting president) told residents the borough has put the noise problem on outreach lists for Representative Venkat, state senators and the U.S. congressional delegation and will continue to seek funding and options. He also noted a prior grant opportunity with a $1,000,000 award that required a municipal match approaching two‑thirds of the total, which the borough could not shoulder because it currently has no reserves.
Several other residents reiterated the request. Susan Stepchuk, president of the Hunters Pointe homeowners association, said she began outreach three years ago and has a letter from Representative Venkat indicating willingness to help but that follow‑up has been limited. Lynn Fletcher said she has raised the issue repeatedly and contrasted the scale of the highway problem with a previously borough‑funded sound study for a pickleball court.
Borough staff suggested interim, low‑cost options could include reinforcing tree lines on borough‑owned land adjacent to the highway but noted the borough does not own all the land along the right‑of‑way. Residents pressed the council to keep affected seniors and other neighbors informed; the council said it would do more to report back and pursue all available funding channels.
The council did not adopt a new policy or a formal funding commitment at the meeting; instead, members recorded residents' concerns, summarized PennDOT's threshold for sound walls, and agreed to continue outreach to state and federal representatives and to explore interim measures.
