One of the things that we're not that good about in Pennsylvania is planning for the future. Tonight myself and others in my area decided to do something about that. During this week, Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County has been holding a public Charrette at the University of Pitt at Greensburg campus.
We were put into groups and asked to evaluate different plans for the area of US 30 in Latrobe near the shopping centers. The first plan would create almost another town along 30 from PA 981 to PA 982 which no one liked because the minimum building height would be six stories. Obviously this would destroy the views of the Laurel Ridge and trying to keep the area rural. The second plan would be to keep more of the area in a rural setting but enhance the existing developments along the corridor. The third plan would be a "Greenway" solution where most of the businesses would be removed and more of the area returned to a natural state.
While most seemed to prefer the latter, I was in favor of the second plan. The first plan and last plan would eliminate the shopping areas of Latrobe 30 Plaza, Mountain Laurel Plaza, Wildcat Commons, and Unity Plaza. Stores such as Giant Eagle and Wal*Mart would be gone. I highly doubt Wal*Mart will have gone the way of Montgomery Wards by the year 2020. Although people probably said the same about Wards in 1980 so who knows.
I also threw out the idea of completely bypassing current US 30 with an expressway to remove the through traffic from the highway and sign the current alignment as Business US 30. Actually not my idea, but the "
Route 30 Relocation" proposal from the Pittsburgh Area Transportation Plan devised in the 1960s. An existing demonstration of this can be seen between Sadsburyville and Exton where the current 30 is an expressway and the original is a business route. Then you could redesign any area along the corridor without having as much traffic as before to contend with. However, my idea was shot down...again. Oh well, so much for trying to undo past mistakes.
Route 30 Masterplan - Smart Growth
