YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Justin Thomas and his family moved to their home on Merrin Road in York Township earlier this year.
“The only traffic on this road is the people that live here,” Thomas said.
He bought the property because it was in a quiet neighborhood-- but says that’s all about to change.
“We’re very concerned about the amount of traffic now on this road, the speed at which people drive, a lot of us have little children in this neighborhood so now we have to worry about their safety,” Thomas said.
On Thursday, the Dallastown Area School District approved the construction of a second access driveway which will connect Merrin Road to York Township Elementary School.
The district says it has received authorization from York Township and the cost will be covered by money in its capitol reserve at approximately $153,000.
Superintendent Doctor Joshua Doll says the addition will make student drop-offs and pickups easier for parents.
“This addition is aimed to improving access and egress to the property, providing more importantly greater flexibility should there ever be any type of unfortunate emergency or [a] Queen Street shutdown as well as enhancing the drop-off and pick up process for parents and guardians,” Doll said on Thursday.
But people like Jerry Smith ask at what cost to the neighborhood?
“There has been no public notice, there were no impact studies done, there’s been no environmental studies, they have literally shown us nothing,” Smith said.
Jerry and his wife Susan have lived in the neighborhood for 20 years.
Other neighbors say they did not know about the project before Thursday’s meeting.
Some first learned about it after receiving this letter from the school district on Friday.
“I took it as disrespect to not even say, ‘We’re thinking about doing this thing that’s going to change your whole neighborhood’,” Smith said.
The district says the extension is not meant to disturb the neighborhood.
However, Thomas says it’ll do exactly that.
“Obviously our street is very small so now we’re talking about how they are running this traffic up and down our road,” Thomas said.
FOX43 reached out to Dallastown Area School District about the concerns raised by neighbors on Friday afternoon but has not yet received a response.
Construction is expected to begin sometime in August.
The York Township Community Playground and Recreational Field used for soccer are expected to be relocated to make room for the throughway.