How The Bear Creek School Will Affect You
Concerned citizens from the Mt. Joy Township and Elizabethtown Borough are in favor of a more practical location for the proposed Elizabethtown Area School District Intermediate (Grade 4-6) Elementary School (Bear Creek). We are calling attention to all those who live in the Elizabethtown Area School District, especially those who have young pre-school or grade school children who will attend this school, to learn more about the proposed plan and proposed site for the school
The proposed site is in a relatively remote area to be located on limited acreage at Sheaffer Road between Ridge Road and Spring Road. All traffic will run into Sheaffer Road which is a very narrow and winding road with no access from High Street. In addition to Sheaffer Road, the following list of roads will experience increase in car and school bus traffic: Spring Road, Groff Avenue, Ridge Road, Campus Road, College Avenue, Chestnut Street, and Mt. Joy Street. All you need to do is to take a ride around these local roads to understand the difficulty of negotiating the increased traffic of buses and cars during school hours and during events, especially when Elizabethtown College is in session. The roads are not adequate for the traffic this school would create (with the projected 1100 students who will attend).
The proposed school building is designed for expansion, if needed, however there is no space for overflow parking expansion. As it seems, there is minimal space for overflow parking in the present plan for school events. It is apparent there can be no overflow parking on Sheaffer Road or on adjoining properties. Furthermore, cars will line up to pick drop off and pick up students, blocking Sheaffer Road.
This remote location necessitates that no student will be able to walk to school. It was stated in the proposal that all students will be transported by bus to school. By contrast, other districts in the county are encouraging safe “Walk to School” programs, including a new elementary school which was recently built in Lititz and one which is proposed for Ephrata. This proposed non-walking site (there are no sidewalks in this area) conflicts with Smart Growth goals of the Borough, Township, and of Lancaster County. www.coalitionforsmartgrowth.org Imagine how many parents, staff vehicles, buses, and fuel it would require to transport 1100 children to school and activities every day. Students who currently walk to Grades 4-5 at Bainbridge, East High, Rheems, and Mill Road will instead spend several hours a week riding a bus to school. By proposing a “non walker” school, the district may lose eligibility for various grant programs to help offset costs.
The site is located in a remote area from the other Elizabethtown Area School campuses. The proposed school will not have the ability to efficiently share existing facilities such as playing fields, support staff, parking, school signals, traffic enforcement, food services, or the SRO officer, etc. Imagine fire and emergency access. It only seems likely that the taxpayers will be required to fund the costs to replicate these facilities.
In addition to the $29 million dollars to build the school, Mount Joy Township and Elizabethtown Borough will most likely have to invest many millions more for upgrades to roads, sidewalks, and traffic signals. The proposed school plan does not include the cost for upgrading the existing elementary schools, that is, Phases II, III, and IV planned by the school district. Though district administrators have not released figures for these phases, the costs, again, will most likely add an even greater future tax burden on the citizens.
Official Comments and Questions will be accepted by the ACT 34 Government Required Process until June 1, 2008 (postmark date or email date). Your questions and comments must be submitted to the School District Secretary by mail or email. The secretary name and address or email address can be found on the public district website www.etownschools.org.
The school is still in the proposal phase. Ground breaking has not been approved. Your tax dollars will be used and your children will be attending this school, so please learn more about where it is and what it will cost you.
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