Author Archives: admin

About admin

Born and raised in Lower Macungie Township in the village of East Texas. B.A. in Political Science from Slippery Rock University. Co-owner of Bar None Weddings & Entertainment. I love and care about my hometown and frequently blog about local issues that I think are important.

Senator Pat Browne letter of support for 222 upgrades

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Couple weeks ago I posted a letter from Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in support of Rt. 222 upgrades including grade separated interchanges. (on and off ramps at Millcreek and Krocks) Today we were copied on a formal letter from state Sen. Pat Browne. These letters are in response to a letter writing/petition campaign I started in March.

The de-stroadification of the underperforming roadway would allow for a more free flowing bypass. This is critical to ensure regional traffic flows as Rt. 222 provides a critical connection between the cities of Reading and Allentown. This connection essential on a regional scale as well as local scale to ensure freight traffic can get safely and efficiently in and out of Upper and Lower Macungie. This is a quality of life, economic development and most important a safety issue.

Have you signed the petition yet? It takes about a minute.

Here is a copy of the Senators letter:

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death by 1000 cuts

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Couple months ago Republican County Commissioners moved forward a budget with an 8 dollar tax decrease. This was by some derisively called a “Happy Meal” tax cut and subsequently vetoed by the Democrat executive. Later that veto was over-ridden by a 7-2 margin along party lines.

One of the supporters of the cut Republican Mike Schware stated: “It was less about the dollar amount being saved and more about sending a message that taxpayers will not be forgotten when the county has a good year.” 

The more I think about the Happy Meal characterization the more it bugs me. Look at it this way. As a resident of Lower Mac that cut put 8 dollars in my pocket. So ya, the cost of 2 happy meals. But take it another step and pair that decrease with the savings from the townships newly adopted homestead program that I proposed last January. On average the program saves homeowners 19 dollars.

Another $19 in a vacuum? 5 Happy Meals. Add it to the County cut? Now we’re talking a swing of $27. That’s 7 Happy Meals. Year after year adding up. For me? I don’t eat at Mcdonalds but I drive. $27 is a tank of gas.

Let’s go one last step. Add onto our figure the last EPSD tax increase. Averaged $58 per per household per year. I own a property within the avg. So for me, the cumulative swing is $85. Here are all the local tax increases and cuts together:

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Cumulative impact for Lower Mac residents across all 3 taxing bodies.

Had the district held the line that would be $85 in my pocket. 3 tanks of gas over a year. Do we now see how the phrase “death by 1000 cuts” pertains?

Let’s consider another perspective. I live within my means but I’m lucky to have a successful small business. My wife also has a good job. We’re lucky. What about folks who aren’t? Stats show that Lower Mac has a poverty rate of 4.9%. Very low. Still we have around 1500 residents trying to get by day to day at or below the poverty line. Also a large population of seniors on fixed incomes.

For these folks 85.00 isn’t a laughing matter. They certainly aren’t looking at it in terms of Happy Meals. According to this USDA food costs chart for folks under the poverty line: (using the thrifty plan) At or below the poverty line 85.00 means:

FOR SENIORS: 85.00 feeds two seniors on fixed income for one week.

FOR A SINGLE MOM: 85.00 helps a single mom feed a newborn for 4 weeks, a 9 year old for 2 weeks. 

 

I could go on with other examples but you get the picture. Bottom line is 8 dollars might mean a happy meal for most of us. But for others if we look beyond the one-liners and consider the cumulative tax liability that compounds year after year the impact increases 10 fold. This is where the mindset of “oh it’s just a small tax increase” gets dangerous. These add up.

*Note: Incumbent County candidates Brad Osborne, Amanda Holt and Vic Mazziotti all supported this tax cut before it was vetoed by the Democrat Executive. They and other Republicans needed a super-majority to over-ride.

Republicans saw a $2.3 million dollar surplus and believed as Commissioner Schware stated that when the county has a good year, taxpayers should also. This thinking also sets us up for another measured decrease next year. Maybe it’s another Happy Meal decrease? But as we can see from above, that’s fine by me. It all adds up.

Lehigh County ended 2014 with a $2.3 million surplus

Related articles across the web

LVPC Jaindl nomination

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The nomination of David Jaindl by the County administration for a seat on the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is a bad idea. The benefits of developers serving on the LVPC make sense, but with all due respect to Mr Jaindl he is not the right choice. Lots of others would be better suited.

County Commissioner Percy Dougherty who represents Lower Macungie outlines some good arguments why the nomination isn’t a good idea. Some I agree with more than others but we come to the same conclusion.

For me the biggest problem with Mr. Jaindl is too often his projects directly and substantially conflict with the regional comprehensive plan. Here in Lower Mac we understand this better than most. Residents have and will continue to pay the price for maneuvers he made over the years that circumvented both the regional comprehensive plan and local comprehensive plans.

When appointing someone for the LVPC we have the opportunity to find a developer who consistently builds projects within the framework of the plan as opposed to someone who for years has quite literally run rough-shod over it.

Nominees should at minimum consistently demonstrate a belief in regional comprehensive planning. For developers that means their body of work should reflect key development concepts of the plan. Jaindl’s greenfield projects too often represent quintessential sprawl. Lots of responsible land developers out there. Once a year I get to spend time in DC with members of LOCUS. LOCUS is a smart growth oriented national coalition of conscientious land developers. Business people who recognize pent-up demand for a market shift toward high quality, sustainable, walkable smart growth oriented development.

Check out LOCUS here on twitter.

If Commissioners proceed with consideration of this nomination at minimum Mr. Jaindl should have to publicly defend why his projects so frequently clash with the comprehensive plan. Basically, Commissioners can and should request a public interview. I would have a number of questions I would ask.

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David Jaindl’s 700 Spring Creek properties development directly conflicts with both the LVPC comprehensive plan, the southwest regional comprehensive plan (Alburtis, Macungie, Upper / Lower Milford and LMT) and also Lower Mac local plans. The project is the result of a 2010 rezoning of previously protected farmland. This project represents a blatant disregard for growth boundaries. Aside from the loss of farmland that was protected for 23 years, this will also negatively impact township residents both financially and in terms of quality of life.

Read Mr. Jaindl in 2010 got 700 acres of preserved farmland (over 1 square mile) rezoned.

Disclosure: In the past starting 3 years ago I expressed interest in the LVPC including a formal statement of interest most recently in February. I don’t see this as relating to critique of this nomination. Mainly because for this cycle I do agree seeking a developer and someone from Northwestern Lehigh makes sense for 2 open slots. I just don’t think we have the right developer. Personally, I’ve waited 3 years for consideration. I can wait another. Applying just made sense for me since regional planning issues are an interest of mine. I also think Lower Mac should have an elected official on the board since we are the 3rd largest municipality in the region and so many of our projects are of regional significance.

STROAD DYNAMICS IN GRAPH FORM

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Here is a diagram from Strongtowns post called STROAD dynamics. It was created by a planning firm called Design Rochester. I just expanded on it a little bit to show the safety correlation and photos.

This sums up the way we need to look at the Rt. 222 Bypass and Boulevard from a context sensitive standpoint.

STROAD DIAGRAM

Pedestrian fatality epidemic

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This week we had another local tragedy involving a pedestrian on a STROAD. We have a national epidemic of pedestrian deaths in this nation. And unfortunately Pennsylvania is heading further backwards.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association Pennsylvania had the second highest increase in pedestrian deaths from 2013-2014:

Screen Shot 2015-03-18 at 1.01.46 PMHere in the Lehigh Valley a woman lost her life walking on the shoulder of Airport Rd. when she was hit by a drunk driver. The drunk driver will be punished as he should be. But the local officials, planners and engineers who designed and allowed a dangerous STROAD that mixes restaurants, movie theaters, pubs and retail (things people want to and should be able to walk to) with zero pedestrian accommodations will not.

This death like most could have been prevented through better policy, design and practice. There was a crosswalk near this accident because it’s mandated by the state. But like most STROADS there are no sidewalks or any facilities at all to get people from places of business safely to the crosswalk. In fact, the whole environment was built to be completely abrasive and dangerous for anyone not inside a metal cage. So, people react naturally and they walk on the dangerous shoulder.

More than half of all pedestrian fatalities occur on arterials, and over 60 percent of these tragedies occur on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or higher. These are the STROADS. Here in Lower Macungie Brookside Rd., Lower Macungie Rd., the “bypass” and Hamilton Boulevard are all STROADS. Locally, along these STROADS we have built a library, pool, parks and schools. We’ve zoned for places of business including daycares, restaurants and retail. Naturally, people want to be able to and should be able to walk to these destinations. If we continue to plan to put commercial uses on these roads, we need to expect people will walk and bike on them and design accordingly.

This includes:
Bike Lanes
Sidewalks
Pedestrian scale road geometry
Appropriate design speed that correlates with appropriate posted speed
Context sensitivity: Neighborhood commercial form, street trees, etc.

STOP #dangerousbydesign

STROAD DIAGRAM

 

LMT Traffic woes: What is induced demand. Why does it matter.

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Flow and efficiency over a larger grid/network and smarter growth land development are much better ways to address traffic issues than mindless capacity “improvements” in the name of “safety”. (without quantifying exactly how certain projects make roads safer)

The red line represents vehicle flow along a given road. Traffic steadily rises until someone decides the road needs to be widened. Then the original trend line (dotted red) gets replaced with an even greater travel forecast (dotted orange), as we'd expect by creating more road capacity. But the actual new level of travel developed by this widening (solid red) is even greater than the forecast predicted.

FROM CITYLAB The red line represents vehicle flow along a given road. Traffic steadily rises until someone decides the road needs to be widened. Then the original trend line (dotted red) gets replaced with an even greater travel forecast (dotted orange), as we’d expect by creating more road capacity. But the actual new level of travel developed by this widening (solid red) is even greater than the forecast predicted.

As Citylab so aptly puts it, in other words, widening a road invites more cars onto it. This concept is called induced demand. And it’s an expensive circular trap that municipalities fall into far too often. The joke of course being “adding lanes to cure congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.”

How do we break the pattern? I’ll use another chart I’m a big fan of. .
Screen Shot 2015-03-09 at 10.39.46 AMAs a community the default is usually $$spend money$$ or in our case throw money at a problem. Usually this involves doubling down on sprawl ponzi scheme solutions that got us into messes in the first place. This includes turning lanes and widening projects and generally slamming highway geometry onto our local road network.

This whole notion of induced demand is relevant today locally (as twp. considers throwing money at intersections) but also regionally (Highway Rt. 22 widening).

Now, Highway Rt. 22 has to be addressed. No doubt. The problem is self created by our focus on a logistics warehouse economy over the years. But the solution cannot be widening alone. Widening is a temporary at best solution. A band aid. (in this case a billion dollar band-aid….) The solution has to be comprehensive.

Same thing locally, we can’t just throw money at intersections alone and expect not to be dealing with the very same intersection 10 years down the line.

A next level approach example would be Rt. 222 (bypass) where I’ve been a advocate for grade separation. This is beyond simply widening. In that case an exercise in STROAD repair means taking out the signals to increase flow and raise the speed limit. Big picture on the Rt. 222 corridor we address congestion by making sure the Boulevard is contextually a Boulevard, and that the bypass actually functions as a bypass. STOP building STROADS. What is a STROAD?

Transportationist: Elements of access – Induced Demand

 

Mackenzie letter of support for true free flow bypass.

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Neighbors,
Quick note of thanks for taking the time out of your schedules to participate in the Rt. 222 petition/letter writing campaign. In one week we got 110 letters! Clearly, the importance of the bypass struck a chord! Didn’t sign and send letter yet? Click here!
Sometimes it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to long range planning but in this case ensuring we’re on the radar for future funding for a true free flow bypass is critical.The Rt. 222 “bypass” is a safety, traffic and economic development issue all wrapped up into one. And most important one that is of regional importance.

Reducing the number of signals on the bypass will reduce congestion and provide a more efficient flowing Rt. 222.

Below check out this letter of support from State Representative Ryan Mackenzie. (and take a moment to thank him) This is a direct result of letters. You had a positive effect! 

Also since the campaign started I have met with County Executive Tom Muller and Lehigh County Commissioner Chair Brad Osborne. Both have a clear understanding of the issue and it’s importance. I look forward to hearing from State Sen. Browne and will update accordingly. I have had conversations with his staff who indicated the Senator has taken interest.Thanks again for your help,
Ron Beitler – Lower Macungie Township Commissioner

Great Ted Cruz quote from CPAC

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A quote I have referred to often on this blog over the last 2 years is: “A state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” – Brandeis

This notion is something I strongly believe in. Change should occur from the bottom up. This is the primary reason I oppose Obamacare.

Over at disgruntled republican Rod Williams writes about the conversation about legalizing pot at this years CPAC convention. CPAC, is the Conservative Political Action Committee, the largest gathering of conservatives in the nation.

I was happy to read this quote from Ted Cruz:

“I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called ‘the laboratories of democracy’. If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that’s their prerogative. I personally don’t agree with it, but that’s their right.”

I agree with this federalist approach 100%. Nice to see Sen. Cruz on board. Last year at this time he wasnt. I have the same general federalist 10th amendment opinion of other issues such as minimum wage and healthcare. All examples of issues individual states should be free to decide without federal government mandates.

Economic gardening vs. economic hunting. How can we help?

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Economic Gardening is the opposite of Economic Hunting. Economic gardening is an entrepreneurial based approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within. Its premise is that local entrepreneurs create the companies that bring new wealth and economic growth to a region in the form of jobs, increased revenues, and a vibrant local business sector.

Economic Gardening is an inside-out strategy while Economic Hunting or as recently in Lower Macungie chasing strip malls with tax gimmicks is very much an outside-in strategy.

economic-gardening
Oftentimes politicians prefer the hunting approach. With the hunt/poach approach comes large projects, ribbon cuttings, inflated job forcasts. (oftentimes with quantity, quality suffers) etc. Nice things you can put on campaign lit. But oftentimes these projects over the long term are contingent upon subsidies, abatement programs, special treatment, long term obligations and major government intervention akin to an escalating arms race.

The issue is the downsides to the hunt are substantial vs. the rewards.

Economic gardening is a much more resilient approach where benefits play out over the long term. For better or worse the Lehigh Valley and Lower Macungie have been very good recently at the hunting game. The long term liabilities of this approach unfortunately only will become clearer over time. Check out this article: Economic gardening is growing but what is it?

I believe it’s time to put equal emphasis on a gardening approach. One strategy is taking a good hard look at our sprawl zoning code which as currently written actually presents barriers to local entrepreneurs. That is step #1. That’s an action item that we’ll hopefully tackle of the next 3 years. But other strategies are more long term. Tending an economic garden doesn’t provide an immediate feather in any one politicians cap. It’s hard work.

Another step I want to concentrate on is just asking the right questions. For example:


If you’re a local entrepreneur in Lower Macungie or a small business with less than 100 employees what can we as a community do to help you grow and expand your existing small business keeping it in Lower Mac? ‘

Recently, we’ve invested significant money in low value hunting schemes. My question is moving forward what can we do for everyone else?

Economic Gardening in Emmaus

Economic Gardening in Emmaus