Mount Gretna council hears comments about Rt. 117 parking ban discussion

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Mount Gretna Borough Council continued discussions of a parking ban on State Route 117 at the July 14 meeting, this time with input from local community members who spoke up during public comment.

In June, council agreed that there were safety concerns with cars parking along both sides of the roadway, especially when pedestrians have to open their doors into the road to exit their vehicles and cross the street. The meeting ended without action, because council wanted additional information about how they could limit parking without spending thousands of dollars on a traffic study.

Read More: Mount Gretna Borough Council discusses parking ban on Route 117

On Monday, Jigger Shop owner Kyle Seyfert was on the agenda to talk about how a parking ban would impact workers who occupy the limited parking spots near the ice cream shop. 

He said the morning and evening shifts have anywhere from 15 to 20 workers, and shift changes can bring all of these drivers at once. That means Jigger Shop employees can take up around 40 spots. He said they rely on the street parking along Route 117.

“Once you start taking away this large amount of spots, there’s not going to be any spots left for anyone to park,” Seyfert said. “If this would be something that we do moving forward, I do fully believe a survey or engineering study should be completed … and I don’t know if the members of the community would be too happy to spend that kind of money.”

Solicitor Keith Kilgore estimated in June that a full study could cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Seyfert said cars lining the street slow traffic, according to PennDOT, and council shouldn’t take action limiting the available parking space when the Chautauqua area already struggles to meet parking needs.

Mount Gretna Fire Chief Travis Haak said he believes at least one side should have a parking ban based on safety concerns.

“Once you park on both sides and you get a fire truck going down through there, it is tight — very tight,” he said. “I understand that theory with parking, but as a public safety issue, I think there should be no parking on at least one side.”

Seyfert said he would agree with banning one side as an alternate solution to allow easier emergency vehicle access.

Council president William Kleinfelter said they recently added Soldiers Field as nearby parking, and people looking to come to the Mount Gretna Playhouse, the Hall of Philosophy, or nearby restaurants could park there and walk over. He said this parking area is new, so they’re trying to spread the word.

In other business, council:

• Heard from Mayor Joseph Shay that he is going to step down at the end of the month because he is moving out of the borough. He said it has “been wonderful” working with the borough staff and council, who can appoint an interim mayor in August.
• Voted to shut down Gettysburg Avenue from Pennsylvania Avenue to Route 117 from 4 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 for the rescheduled Lebanon Bicycle Recycle event. There will be a trailer to collect bicycle donations, food trucks, and music.
• Renewed 7 Muhlenberg Ave. as a short-term rental.

Mount Gretna Borough Council will meet next at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the Hall of Philosophy.