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York County residents fight against school access project

Residents of a York County school district continue to oppose the construction of a new driveway to an elementary school. The Dallastown Area School District Council approved the construction of a driveway from Merrin Road to York Township Elementary School, arguing that the driveway would increase safety and provide more convenient access to the school. However, residents disagree and are fighting against it. An objection to the project was discussed during a planning committee meeting Tuesday night, alleging that the building permit for the driveway was granted in error. Residents hired an attorney and brought in a traffic engineering firm, which argued that the driveway actually creates an unsafe traffic passage. Opponents of the project believe that additional traffic on Merrin Road would increase safety concerns, especially during the short windows of time for children to be dropped off and picked up at school. They also said the permit does not meet safety requirements. “As a mother, as a resident, I'm just concerned about the safety of not only my child, but the other children that go to school on that street,” said York Township resident Nicole Widger. “I'm definitely very concerned about how I'm going to get my kids in and out of the car safely without getting hit by traffic, not to mention the fact that my car could now be sideswiped because where we are, the street is only 16 feet wide, so not very wide at all. So, again, we're just concerned about safety and a lot of the safety that's been forgotten in this whole process,” said York Township resident Justin Thomas. The meeting ended with the board requesting more information from the attorney hired by the residents. Board members want to have that information by Oct. 10. The board then plans to announce a decision at the next public meeting on Oct. 22.

YORK TOWNSHIP, Pa. —

Residents of a York County school district continue to protest the decision to build a new driveway to an elementary school.

The Dallastown Area School District board has approved a plan to build an access road from Merrin Road to York Township Elementary School, saying the access road will increase safety and provide more convenient access to the school.

However, local residents disagree and are fighting against it.

During a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday evening, an objection to the project was discussed, in which allegations were made that the building permit for the driveway had been granted in error.

The residents hired a lawyer and brought in a traffic engineering firm, which argued that the ramp was indeed an unsafe traffic passage.

Opponents of the project say the extra traffic on Merrin Road would increase safety concerns, particularly during the short windows of time when children are dropped off and picked up at school. They also said the approval does not meet safety requirements.

“As a mother, as a resident, I'm just concerned about the safety of not only my child, but the other children who go to school on this street,” said York Township resident Nicole Widger.

“I'm definitely very concerned about how I'm going to get my kids in and out of the car safely without getting hit by traffic, not to mention the fact that my car could now be sideswiped because where we are, the road is only 16 feet wide, so not very wide at all. So again, we're just worried about safety and a lot of the safety that's been forgotten in this whole process,” said York Township resident Justin Thomas.

At the end of the meeting, the board requested further information from the attorney hired by the residents. Board members want to receive this information by October 10.

The board plans to announce a decision at the next public meeting on October 22.

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