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Article published February 10, 2010
Officials talk about school's traffic study Municipalities seek more plans with diocese
SEVEN FIELDS — Borough manager Tom Smith said he recently met with Cranberry Township officials and representatives from an engineering firm to talk about a traffic study done by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. That traffic study was one of the first steps taken by the diocese in its effort to bring the county's first Catholic high school to Cranberry. The school would be across from St. Kilian Elementary School on the north side of Route 228 and is close to Cranberry's border with Seven Fields. No timeline for the school has been set because construction is contingent on the diocese raising money. The school is preliminarily expected to cost about $60 million and would hold about 1,000 students. Smith said he plans to dispute the findings of the traffic study, which claimed a majority of traffic traveling to the new school would come mainly from Allegheny County and along Interstate 79. Smith plans to send the state Department of Transportation officials a letter stating many of his concerns about traffic in Seven Fields haven't been addressed by the diocese. He expects a majority of traffic for the new school to come from other parts of Butler County. He said motorists traveling west on Route 228 would encounter significant traffic headaches that need to be addressed while the diocese is focusing mainly on traffic traveling east on Route 228. He also said secondary roads leading to Route 228 need to be addressed in a traffic study. Roads such as Franklin and Mars-Crider roads could have heavy traffic if the school is built. He said there are many traffic issues that diocese officials need to settle with municipal officials before the plan can proceed. "There's even a zoning change that needs to be done as well as talk about the access points on Mars-Crider Road and on Highpointe Boulevard," Smith said. "None of these issues are worked out and they pose serious concerns to the residents of Seven Fields. So far we've received no feedback back from the diocese." Smith also questioned why the diocese would commission a traffic study before submitting plans for the proposed school. The process seems out of order, he said, and doesn't exactly give borough officials a good idea of what to expect in terms of construction and land development. "Normally plan submittal happens and then the traffic study," he said. "They're kind of doing this backwards with the cart before the horse in this instance." Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree said he agrees all sides are not on the same page but said he's optimistic diocese officials will get everyone on the right track. "North Catholic is a huge project, and I think the diocese is struggling in terms of who is leading the effort," he said. "I think in their defense they're struggling to find leadership for the project. We've always had a good relationship with the diocese, and I think they know they need to get things on the right path to get to the conclusion." The Rev. Ron Lengwin, spokesman for the diocese, said the diocese is prepared to address all of the concerns officials have in the area.
