CARROLL
VALLEY, Pa. – Things may get a whole lot trickier for
those attempting to garner support for an Emmitsburg/Pennsylvania
bypass now that one of the main supporters of the project
has resigned his position as president of the Mason Dixon
Coalition for a Northern Bypass.
In
a letter addressed to the editor and readers of The Dispatch,
Carroll Valley Borough Councilman William K. Reinke stated
that, “As I have visited townships and boroughs in
Southern Adams County and spoken to the residents, it has
become clear to me that this bypass flies in the face of
my ideals as a private citizen and a Carroll Valley Councilman:
to represent the will of the people, to mange growth wisely,
and to lead with the long term future in mind. In that light,
I have resigned from the Mason Dixon Coalition for a Northern
Bypass and withdrawn my support of the project.”
Reinke
listed several concerns in regards to the building of a
bypass in Pennsylvania, including his belief that a bypass
would lead to the destruction of agricultural and historical
property, would negatively affect residents of southern
Adams County with increased congestion and would lead to
an excess of commercial development.
With
that in mind, Reinke challenged those in Emmitsburg to consider
whether a bypass is the correct answer.
Former
Emmitsburg Commissioner Bill O’Neil, a major proponent
of the bypass while in office and the person who initially
recruited Reinke’s support, said that despite Reinke’s
withdrawal of support for the bypass, he foresees it as
an inevitable project.
“The
bypass will happen, it’s just a matter of where and
when,” O’Neil said, adding “no matter
when you put a road in no one will like it.”
With
plans to build thousands of homes just north of the Mason-Dixon
Line, O’Neil said the bypass will be necessary.
“Pennsylvania
has not restricted [residential] building…eventually
Pennsylvania will be crushed with traffic,” O’Neil
said.
While
in office, O’Neil was a major supporter of the coalition
and worked with Reinke on the issue, mainly trying to get
federal funding for the bypass. With Reinke’s resignation
on the table, O’Neil sees Pennsylvania governments
as ignoring the problems they will cause.
“We
didn’t build homes in Pennsylvania,” O’Neil
said. “They don’t want to step up to the plate.”
