Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

Opportunity to prioritize street repairs

To the Editors:

Over the past year, utility upgrades and long-overdue repaving of the Queen, Prince and Orange Street corridors have plagued motorists traveling through the city. The utility work completed by UGI and PPL is designed to enhance safety; water and sewer upgrades completed by the city have improved service; and PennDOT repaved these major corridors at the city's urging.

That said, the timing of a recent letter from a West Lampeter Township resident regarding the condition of Lancaster city streets is indeed fortunate. Next month, Lancaster City Council's Public Works Committee will be presented with a recently completed plan for street improvements in the city. Lancaster's 10-year Pavement Management Program is the result of a year-long inventory and assessment of all city and state-owned streets.

Using a computer-aided vehicle to measure pavement conditions, each city street has been scored to help determine priorities for street improvement projects. This comprehensive study is the first of its kind in the state. An average of $750,000 in state and federal funds is available to the city each year to maintain more than 100 miles of city streets.

Clearly, Lancaster needs more revenue to invest in critical infrastructure -- including streets. This is all the more reason to prioritize street improvements and ensure that taxpayer funds are used prudently.

We invite city residents to attend the Lancaster City Council committee meeting on Feb. 4, to hear the full report on the Pavement Management Study.

Charlotte Katzenmoyer

Director of Public Works

Lancaster