More voices must be heard to improve Bayfront Parkway plans, citizens' group says

Supporters of a federal lawsuit challenging planned Bayfront Parkway improvements hope that there will be new opportunities to share concerns and comments on the project if the suit is successful.

The case is currently before a U.S. district judge.

"We want the bayfront project. We're not fighting the project or the (estimated $100 million) funding coming to the project. We're trying to advise a smarter way to spend it to be of benefit to all Erie residents," said Adam Trott, president of a group called Connect Urban Erie that is advocating for changes to the parkway plans. The group shared concerns during a town hall meeting, "Envisioning Erie's 21st Century Bayfront," at Blasco Library's Hirt Auditorium on Tuesday.

The concerns include few planned connections between Erie's downtown and bayfront.

PennDOT's plans for the Bayfront Parkway

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plans to build dual-lane roundabouts on the Bayfront Parkway at Holland Street and Sassafras Street Extension and to build a pedestrian bridge over the parkway at Holland Street and in time at Sassafras Extension, when funding becomes available.

PennDOT also wants to lower the parkway beneath State Street to improve pedestrian and bike access, and to extend walking and bike trails.

But more connections between the downtown and bayfront are needed for pedestrians and cyclists, Trott said.

"We want them to understand that connectivity is crucial to whether this project will be successful," he said.

Connectivity is only one of the issues concerning bayfront area residents, Connect Urban Erie members said. The environmental impacts of parkway traffic, which is projected to increase with continuing bayfront development, is another major concern.

"Whenever you have a highway there is runoff and exhaust, there are air impacts, there is runoff into drains and into the lake," said Courtney Bowie, a lawyer for Earthjustice, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP Erie branch and Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, an environmental advocacy group also known as PennFuture. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Erie in December 2020 and contends that the PennDOT environmental impact study for the planned parkway changes was inadequate and violates federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act.

The lawsuit also points out that "high rates of impoverished residents and communities of color" live near the planned parkway improvements and says that PennDOT should be required to analyze potential impacts to ensure those communities "will not be disproportionately and adversely affected by the project."

Bayfront Parkway:Federal lawsuit filed over improvement plans

"A lot of environmental harms are close to (where) people of color (live). We have to examine if this (project) is going to disproportionately burden people who already have been burdened," Bowie said.

The lawsuit additionally contends that federal law requires a public hearing when a federally funded highway goes through a city.

"There was not one in this case and we think there should have been one" to give people the opportunity to raise concerns, Bowie said.

Erie NAACP leader, others voice concerns

And there are concerns to be heard, said Gary Horton, president of the Erie NAACP.

"This is a civil rights issue. This is an environmental justice issue," Horton said. "The Bayfront Parkway has divided communities of Erie for decades and that has disproportionately impacted Black and brown neighborhoods. Highway harm is not specific to Erie. The health, safety and economic vitality of communities of color across the United States were negatively impacted by the construction and expansion of interstate and highway systems."

"People want to have a voice in development that will affect them and their families," said Horton's brother, Erie County Councilman Andre Horton, who represents Erie's bayfront neighborhoods. "We damn well want our voice to be heard."

PennDOT's Brian McNulty:Bayfront project is community driven and welcomes community involvement

'Bayfront Boulevard' plan suggested

Some communities, including Portland, Oregon, and Niagara Falls, New York, are removing or reducing the size of highways to better connect neighborhoods and amenities, Ben Crowther, of America Walks, said during Tuesday's town hall meeting. America Walks is dedicated to building walkable, equitable, connected and accessible places in every American community, said Crowther, who participated in the meeting via Zoom.

A "Bayfront Boulevard" would serve cross-city commuters and allow better pedestrian crossings, Connect Urban Erie members said.

"Connect Urban Erie has a great vision for the city's waterfront that aligns with the principle of being able to walk" between the city and bayfront, Crowther said. "PennDOT's current plans for the Bayfront Parkway as a big road stands in that way. Its sole (purpose) is to move cars quickly."

Adequate environmental assessment and transparency are critical for large highway projects, Tony Dutzik, of the nonprofit research organization Frontier Group, said during Tuesday's town hall. Dutzik also participated in the meeting remotely.

"Environmental assessments are how you get information and leverage to make a project better," he said.

PennDOT responds:Agency rejects claims of wrongdoing in federal lawsuit over Erie's Bayfront Parkway

From March 2021: PennDOT's response to the lawsuit

The reduced environmental review was completed for the Bayfront Parkway project under a "categorical exclusion," which was in accordance with federal laws, lawyers for PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration —defendants in the lawsuit — said in March 2021 court filings in the case. A categorical exclusion is granted if the federal Council on Environmental Quality determines, after review, that a project will have no significant impact on the environment.

The parkway project will improve connections between the downtown and bayfront, PennDOT lawyers said in their response to the lawsuit. The project is designed to "improve the pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and passenger vehicle connection of the Erie Central Business District and adjacent neighborhoods," they said, and to reduce crashes and improve highway congestion.

PennDOT lawyers pointed out in court filings that public meetings were held over several years to provide project details and accept comments on the plans. The department also has detailed parkway plans on a website and Facebook page.

For better and worse:The Bayfront Parkway has changed Erie

What's next with the Bayfront Parkway project?

PennDOT will provide updates on the plans during in-person and virtual open houses on Aug. 24.

The in-person open house will be held at the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority Building at 1 Holland St. from 3 to 7 p.m. The virtual open house will be held via Microsoft Teams Live from 5 to 6 p.m. A link to the program will also be available online at bayfrontparkwayproject.com and on the project Facebook page.

The department's planned parkway improvements aren't without supporters, including Erie Mayor Joe Schember's administration, which has endorsed the project.

Charles Buki, the founder and principal consultant of Alexandria, Virginia-based urban planning firm CZB and the author of the Erie Refocused comprehensive plan, has called the plans "super exciting" and said PennDOT "has done everything one can ask of a state (department of transportation) and more" regarding the project.

FHA responds:Federal agency denies wrongdoing in response to lawsuit over Erie's Bayfront Parkway

The 2016 comprehensive plan strongly recommends creating better connections between Erie's downtown and the waterfront.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Paradise Baxter is reviewing documents submitted by both sides in the lawsuit and has not yet ruled on the case.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNmyers.