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New Rt. 23 proposal debated
Two-lane option praised and blasted at local hearing.

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA – PennDOT officials listened to presentations about trucks rumbling through Lititz and Columbia. They heard about upgrades to Route 30.

But the 800-pound gorilla in the room at the Lancaster Host Resort this morning was Route 23.

Plans for Route 23 (the New Holland Pike) have been debated and dropped for decades.

Now, in its latest incarnation, a new two-lane road could be built through farm fields to the south of the existing road.

And Allen D. Biehler, the state transportation secretary, heard both sides of the story.

Advocates for the new road were there to get their testimony in the record as the state Transportation Commission prepares to update its master plan.

And opponents of the new road were there — as they were the last time the regional meeting was held two years ago — to decry the potential loss of farmland and to contend that some widening of the existing road will improve traffic congestion.

"Next fall it will be 40 years that public meetings have been held on the idea of a new Route 23," said Henry Beiler, a retired farmer speaking against a new road. "I've attended more of them than you can shake a stick at. It was not a good idea then and it is not a good idea now."

About 50 people attended the session.

Biehler revived the latest planning for the arterial road in the eastern part of Lancaster County.

He put the project into limbo two years ago when the state shelved several projects because of limited funding.

The transportation secretary announced in May that Route 23 was back on the drawing table, now two-lanes smaller and $50 million cheaper than before.

State Rep. Scott Boyd, whose 43rd District includes part of the Route 23 project area, praised the "right-sized" alternative this morning as a means to help county businesses prosper.

"We have 21st Century industries served by 19th Century roadways," Boyd said.

The legislator maintained that major industry is being hampered by inadequate transportation systems here.

A portion of the narrower "right-sized" road would be built on what has become known as the Goat Path.

Fred Daum, a co-founder of Lancaster Alliance for New Directions, spoke for farmer Joe Esh, whose fields were bisected by the unfinished roadbed.

Reading Esh's statement, Daum told Biehler the concerns of neighbors were disregarded when their land was taken in the 1970s.

Yet Esh wanted to share his views about a new road now, or rather, his support for adding wider shoulders on the existing road to make it safer for Plain Sect buggies.

"Like everyone, sometimes we have to be patient, but if you give us a six-foot permanent berm where possible, then buggy travel when necessary on Route 23 should work pretty good," Esh wrote, adding that Amish buggies would use a back road whenever possible to avoid Route 23.

Beiler renewed a call made two years ago to use the Goat Path as a combination recreation trail and buggy route.

"What the farm community wants, plain and simple, is no new road on the notorious Goat Path," he said.

"If you, at PennDOT, cannot bring yourselves to giving it back to the original owners, let's do something honorable with it. Let us name it the Amos Funk Linear Park/Buggy Path," he said, referring to his friend Funk, who is considered the father of the state's farmland preservation movement.

In addition to Route 23, Biehler heard about other county projects.

Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz spoke about plans for a truck bypass around his borough.

State Rep. Roy Baldwin addressed a truck bypass around Lititz.

And Boyd called for state support for improvements to Route 30 between Route 896 and Gap.

"The tourism industry, agriculture industry, and the survival of the Plain Sect will be significantly affected if this project is not completed," Boyd said of the project, which could also involve the construction of a bypass road.

The Lancaster projects were the first to be discussed at the regional meeting.

Presentations were also scheduled for projects in York, Lebanon and Adams counties and the Harrisburg area. The meeting was slated to continue into the afternoon.