What started out as a project to replace the bridge carrying West 38th Street over Mill Creek evolved into a one-mile realignment project through the Erie community and the city's largest park, known as Glenwood Park. West 38th Street is a principal arterial that connects eastern and western neighborhoods within the southern portion of the city. Previously, the area was plagued with traffic congestion and delays. Neighborhoods around the project area are served by only a few east/west connecting routes. The project area significantly needed improved traffic flow and existing access; enhanced pedestrian and vehicular safety; preservation efforts for the Glenwood Park setting; and minimized impacts to surrounding neighborhoods.
The Approach
McCormick Taylor was selected by PennDOT District 1 to complete the preliminary engineering, the environmental documentation, public involvement activities and final design for the West 38th Street Realignment Project.
The realignment of a roadway through the middle of a park had many environmental challenges, though the project designers and environmental specialists worked together closely to ensure impacts to the park were minimized and environmental concerns were properly documented and mitigated. As a result of the realignment, the geometric conditions were improved, congestion was relieved and safer access was provided to park patrons and local traffic. McCormick Taylor was confident that the involvement of the community early on in the project development was critical to the success of the effort.
In order to reach a consensus on an alternative, a comprehensive Public Involvement program was developed. McCormick Taylor organized a 25-person Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and maintained a project website.
The Result
The project team focused on extensive early coordination between governmental resource agencies, the community and the general public to develop design parameters to address the concerns of each group and enhance Glenwood Park and neighborhoods within the project area. The initial coordination efforts, which placed an emphasis on providing transportation improvements that addressed the deficiencies of the existing roadway and met the needs of the project stakeholders, resulted in a down scoping of the environmental clearance document from the initial Environmental Assessment (EA) to a Categorical Exclusion (CE) Document. This ultimately saved PennDOT time and money and allowed the project to be completed ahead of the initial projected schedule.
Aesthetic treatments and landscaping features, such as sidewalks and decorative lighting were also incorporated into the transportation improvements. This project was widely viewed by the client as a good example of a "right-sized" project. The end result provided needed transportation improvements and enhanced the park setting, which exceeded the community's and client's initial expectations.
