Dec 19, 2017 5 min read

McEwen Road:

To close or not to close

Several residents attended the Sept. 11 Canonsburg Council meeting to offer input on the possibility of closing a portion of McEwen Road that leads into Southpointe. At an earlier meeting, council was presented with a petition from about 20 residents requesting that the road be closed.

Tom Bouchard of 2307 Shamrock Lane told council that several people who work in Southpointe bought houses in the McEwen Road area, including seven residents of Shamrock Lane. He said that closing the road to traffic would have a detrimental effect on property values as well as on restaurants. Bouchard noted that closing the road would only result in redirecting traffic, adding that McEwen is the life blood of the neighborhood and enabled people to get to Southpointe without having to go back through Canonsburg. He suggested multiple stop signs be tried before closing the road.

Council President Richard T. Bell said after council was presented with the petition, it asked the borough solicitor to draft a letter to Cecil Township to begin dialogue.

Many residents attending the meeting indicated they were also against closing the road.

Gene Cargnoni, 1121 McEwen Ave., said more stop signs would be a waste of time. He said he never asked council to close the road, but asked for council’s help in controlling traffic. Bell said police had been monitoring traffic and that he, the police chief and mayor discussed increasing police enforcement. “Local Traffic Only” signs are a possibility as well.

Another resident at the meeting asked for a 15 mph sign. Bell said the sign can be placed, but it is not enforceable because 15 mph is not in the vehicle code.

Bell concluded that a majority of residents do not want the road closed and council will look at other alternatives.

Voting items

Council approved:

The Canon-McMillan School District Land Development Plan for Phase I work at the existing Memorial Stadium on the contingency it meets with all specification from the engineers.

Replacing the roof at the Canonsburg Senior Center at a cost of $72,700, which was the low bid from CLV Corporation.

Mayor’s report

Mayor David Rhome said that the closing of PNC Bank in September will affect parking enforcement income.

The mayor also said that some businesses in the borough’s fast food area are not satisfied with the result of the creek beds being cleaned and that he also thought the company did not do a good job.

But, Public Works Director Tom Lawrence said Strnisha Construction did exactly what it was contracted to do – cut and remove trees of certain sizes. The issue of undergrowth can be resolved, he said, by spraying the area two or three times a year, at a cost of $3,000 each time the area is sprayed.

Other business:

Council heard a complaint from Wilma Piechnick, 611 Julia Drive, who said her neighbor was diverting water onto her yard. Council suggested she work with Borough Manager Denise Lesnock to resolve the issue.

Jan Lawrence, library assistant with the Frank Sarris Public Library, informed council of the new “I Learn To Read” initiative. The library will attend every kindergarten open house and give each child a library card. To date, 375 cards have been given to Canon-McMillan students and 40 to St. Patrick School students. Students will also receive a welcome packet consisting of a backpack and activity card the first time they visit the library. When students complete the activity card, they will receive a medal and their picture will be placed on the library hall of fame. Lawrence also reported that 3,357 patrons participated in the library’s summer programs.

Park Board member Rich Russo reported that the Dine Around the Pool generated enough money to put a new roof on the pool house.

Tax exemption approved

At its October meeting, Canonsburg Council approved a 50 percent real estate tax exemption for 2018-22 for the Senior Lofts Project, an incentive that Peter Schwiegerant of the Miller Valentine Group said was very important to the project.

Borough Engineer Bob Robinson of KLH Engineering said electric improvements at the Canonsburg Senior Center would cost about $88,000, with $73,000 requested from the Local Share grant program and the remaining $15,000 coming from matching funds.

Barbara Somma, of Frank Sarris Public Library, reported that new computer equipment for patrons and launch pads for children were being purchased with funds received from a donation from the estate of Edward Andreasik.

The park board reported that the Softball Association received $8,000 from the Pittsburgh Pirates to replace fencing. Also, park hour signs are being changed to “Dawn To Dusk” as opposing to noting specific times and new signage at the basketball court will address profanity. The park board is also discussing moving the skateboard park to the valley below Yoney Pavilion.

New park board officers are Rich Russo, president; Jess Rigby, vice president, and Leanna Coyle, secretary. A treasurer will be named later.