They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. When it comes to the Murrysville Streetscape Project, this old adage may not be the most appropriate choice of words. It is no secret that our local leaders have been discussing the Old William Penn corridor for some time, attempting to develop a plan that not only enhances the aesthetic appearance of the corridor, but also creates a pedestrian friendly atmosphere. For a variety of reasons, most notably a lack of available funding, this project has continuously stalled.

While the momentum of the Streetscape Project may have dwindled, the belief in the merits of the project have never waned. In fact, recognizing that financial assistance was vital to the completion of this project, our local leaders began to focus their energies on securing financial assistance for construction costs. This has proven to be no small task, but with a great deal of hard work and perseverance, a collaborative effort of the Municipality of Murrysville and the Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corporation ultimately resulted in federal funding from the Transportation Enhancements / Hometown Streets & Safe Routes to School Programs for the construction of the Murrysville Steetscape Project in the amount of $739,167.

This federal funding is allocated to PennDOT for local distribution, and can only be used for the construction of an enhancement project. All of the necessary engineering and design work, will have to be provided through local funds. The Streetscape Project concept was hatched with the belief that once government funding, both from federal and local sources were invested in the project, private investment would follow and result in a product that significantly enhances the community. Since the notice of the grant award in May of 2006, the following actions have been completed:

• Project kick-off meeting with PennDOT to review the requirements of District 12-0, the guidelines of the grant program, and identification of the project area. The project area has been defined from the County line on Old William Penn Highway to Lillian Avenue, contingent upon available funding.

• Creation of a Design Committee, consisting of members of the Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corporation, property owners in the Old William Penn Corridor and Municipal officials to review the design elements of the Streetscape Project.

• Selection of an engineering firm, Fayette Engineering Company, Inc., through a competitive bidding process, to provide engineering and design services required to construct the project.

• Completion of a rights-of-way survey throughout the project area to delineate public property from private property.

While the accomplishments identified above have required a great deal of time and energy, the lion’s share of the work is still in front of us. Over the next 12 – 18 months, the following tasks will be completed;

• Development of a conceptual plan that will both graphically and technically display the desired outcome of the project, along with guidelines for the construction of the plan.
• Convene meetings with property owners, residents, and other stakeholders to provide input on the conceptual plan.
• Formal adoption of the conceptual plan by municipal council.
• Oversight of a competitive bidding process for the construction of the Streetscape Project.
• Construction of the Murrysville Streetscape Project will start once the new water line is completed. The target date for completion is the Fall of 2008.

This is truly an exciting project for the Murrysville Community, and one that has the potential to dramatically improve the character of an important corridor along Old William Penn Highway. While the available funding for this project will only enable a portion of the corridor to be enhanced, the long range plan for the Murrysville Streetscape Project is to continue the enhancements throughout the entire corridor.  We encourage all residents to become engaged in this project, as their will be ample opportunities to offer your support. So, perhaps the attached picture is not worth 1,000 words. The Murrysville community has read about this project for far too long. Perhaps, a more suitable adage to describe the Murrysville Streetscape Project would be….“Actions speak louder than words”.