Go to CIVITAS.design to learn more about this collaborative’s work.
The Keystone reports on why the NAACP is suing over planned highway changes in Erie
The KEYSTONE reports: Earthjustice attorney Jill Witkowski Heaps cast the lawsuit as “part of a larger reckoning” taking place across the country about how highways built through minority communities have “contributed to redlining and structural racism.” Such highways were designed to serve the needs of motorists but have decimated the communities through which they run, she said.
ErieNAACP files suit over Erie highway plan, waterfront access
Associated Press reporter Michael Rubinkam writes:
Pennsylvania’s plan to upgrade a major road along the city of Erie’s waterfront will wind up reducing pedestrian and cyclist access to the bay and disproportionately harm minority and low-income residents who live nearby, the NAACP charged in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Years in the making, the $100 million Department of Transportation plan for the Bayfront Parkway envisions several roundabouts, pedestrian bridges and underpass lanes that PennDOT says will allow the highway to handle increased traffic volumes while improving neighborhood access to Presque Isle Bay.
Chelsey Withers at YourErie / WJET reports on PennDOT lawsuit
Chelsey Withers says that “environmental concerns are at the center of this lawsuit” and that “the plaintiffs are claiming that there was an illegal short cut for the environmental review process.”
PennDOT's Bayfront Highway plan now faces legal challenge
EARTH JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE:
December 15, 2020
Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration’s Vehicles-First Erie Bayfront Parkway Project
PennDOT illegally utilized a short-cut environmental review process that bypassed mandatory public hearings, ignoring public pleas calling for review of alternatives prior to selecting final design
Nydia Gutierrez, Earthjustice, (202) 302-7531
Jared Stonesifer, PennFuture, (412) 443-4466
ERIE, PA —
Today, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP – Erie Unit) and Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the Categorical Exclusion for the Erie Bayfront Parkway Project. The decision violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Federal Aid Highway Act. PennDOT failed to examine the project’s potentially significant impacts, including harms to water and air quality, which would fall primarily on neighbors living near the road.
The lawsuit filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania seeks a full environmental analysis, as well as adequate and documented public review of alternative parkway project designs before expanding the Bayfront Parkway — a major road that runs through Erie’s waterfront.
The estimated $70 to $100 million Erie Bayfront Parkway Project was first announced in 2015 with plans that call for better pedestrian access and improved travel along the highway. With aid from federal and state funding, PennDOT and developers are expected to begin construction in 2022.
The Erie Bayfront Parkway Project would involve drastic changes to three major intersections in downtown Erie. The law requires PennDOT to hold public hearings on the project to showcase alternative design plans before moving forward. Initially, the project was scheduled for an environmental assessment — a review process that identifies alternatives and evaluates each alternative’s possible harm to residents and the environment. However, this March, PennDOT sought an abbreviated review called a categorical exclusion, which the Federal Highway Administration illegally approved. Categorical exclusions are normally granted for run-of-the mill projects like bridge repair or roadway repaving that stir no public controversy.
With PennDOT advancing with a pre-selected design plan, the project further segments historically marginalized and environmental justice communities that reside within the project area in Erie’s downtown. With 75% of the population in the adjacent neighborhood characterized as low-income, EPA considers the neighborhood an “environmental justice community.” Additionally, census data indicates 54% of the population in the area is non-White, and 26% of the population within the three Census tracts of the project area are Black.
“Members of our NAACP unit and generations of Erie bayfront residents have seen similar projects come and go promising improvements that have not been realized for our community. With the Parkway project's clear priorities of attracting conventions and out-of-town visitors, our voice and opinion about the character and needs of the neighborhood are being ignored once again,” said Gary Horton, President of NAACP – Erie Unit. “People live here, and we have lived here since the 1800s when West Erie Bayfront was called New Jerusalem and the current NAACP members’ ancestors settled in the area. We deserve to have the opportunity to comment on the parkway design and to be taken seriously by the entities looking to expand the parkway and increase traffic in our neighborhoods.”
PennDOT’s pre-selected project design prioritizes cross-city commuters over the health, safety and bayfront access of downtown residents. The project expansion is designed to double waterfront traffic with 2-lane roundabouts at Sassafras & Holland Streets with an underpass and “highway-style exits” at State Street.
“PennDOT has failed to conduct a thorough evaluation of this project’s impacts on Erie’s valuable environmental resources, including the long term impacts on water quality in Mill Creek and Presque Isle Bay. Stormwater runoff is already a major threat to water quality in the Lake Erie watershed. This project will lead to increased traffic and more impervious surface areas, creating more runoff into the Bay, negatively impacting water quality and increasing the potential for flooding,” said Angela Kilbert, a Staff Attorney for PennFuture. “It is vital that we protect Erie’s waterways from the threat of irresponsible development.”
Inconsistent with Pennsylvania's Climate Action Plan, the project’s pre-selected design is set to widen the parkway to increase vehicular traffic when the state’s goals are to reduce greenhouse emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The state’s climate action plan also promotes expanding opportunities for, and incentivizing walking and bicycling. According to the state’s website, Pennsylvania is already in the process of updating its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan to help set more ambitious programs and policies aimed at replacing single occupancy trips with alternative transportation modes.
Erie residents have protested and expressed their opposition during city council hearings detailing their concern with the project’s design that prioritizes vehicles over pedestrians. PennDOT recently stated across their website and social media platforms that pedestrian improvements will be a part of the first phases of construction on the Bayfront Parkway Project, however, the pre-selected project design remains unchanged. Additionally, PennDOT touts that no area residents will be displaced, while ignoring the worsening segmentation caused by widening the division from downtown Erie residents and the bayfront.
“Erie deserves federal funding to improve the bayfront, but that funding should support the pedestrian-focused approach Erie’s comprehensive plan calls for, through a process that evaluates impacts to people and the environment and provides a meaningful opportunity for public input before investment decisions are made,” said Jill Witkowski Heaps, Staff Attorney at Earthjustice. “PennDOT is illegally using a short-cut environmental review process meant for non-controversial, routine road projects. The Bayfront Parkway Project is a major overhaul of the Erie Bayfront, so under the law, PennDOT should have analyzed multiple alternatives and held a public hearing seeking public input before making a decision on which design is best for the people of Erie.”
According to PennDOT’s environmental review documents, the purpose of the project is to improve the pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and passenger vehicle connection of the Erie Central Business District and adjacent neighborhoods to the waterfront property north of the Bayfront Parkway, to reduce crashes as much as practical on the Bayfront Parkway, to improve future congestion to an acceptable level of service or delay, and to improve traffic operations and efficiency.
For the reasons listed above and as expressed by hundreds of Erie residents, the lawsuit filed today on behalf of the NAACP - Erie Unit and PennFuture by Earthjustice aims to ensure alternative design options are explicitly presented to the residents of Erie and that proper public input is recorded and considered with great regard in the Erie Bayfront Parkway Project prior to moving ahead with a pre-selected project design.
About NAACP – Erie Unit: Founded in 1918, the Erie Unit of the NAACP has been committed to fighting for civil rights and equality in the Erie community.
About PennFuture: PennFuture is leading the transition to a clean energy economy in Pennsylvania and beyond. We are protecting our air, water and land, and empowering citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations.
Strong Towns Podcast: Erie Residents Fought PennDOT Highway Project
Listen to the Strong Towns podcast on THE BOTTOM UP REVOLUTION with Roland Slade and Adam Trott part of the Connect Urban Erie team who fought so hard against PennDOT’s Highway Project. In this week’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast, we hear from two dedicated Strong Towns advocates who are working with their neighbors to fight a highway project in their city of Erie, Pennsylvania:
Adam Trott is a Strong Towns member, an architect and a long-time Erie resident who’s passionate about seeing his city be financially prosperous for all residents. Roland Slade is a newer Erie resident with media chops and neighborhood know-how—who has no less dedication to seeing his city be a place where everyone can thrive, regardless of which neighborhood they live in.
Together, Adam and Roland are part of a community group called Connect Urban Erie, which is fighting a multimillion dollar road expansion project that would run a massive volume of cars along Erie’s waterfront—an area already dominated by a large highway. Adam, Roland and their neighbors have been tirelessly advocating to instead transform this waterfront roadway into a space where people can safely walk and bike, and enjoy the beautiful asset of Lake Erie.
This story is one that will be, unfortunately, familiar to Strong Towns advocates. How many of us can point to existing highways that have tanked the tax value per acre of the traditional neighborhoods they’re running through or squandered the possibilities of something like a beautiful waterfront which should be a community resource for all? How many of us have heard politicians talk about pouring millions of dollars into making those damaging roads ever bigger, and all while they claim there’s no money in the budget for things like sidewalks or parks?
Adam and Roland are fighting the good fight against this road project in their city, with the hopes of creating place where people can travel affordably on foot or bike, where people can easily visit local businesses, and where the city and the lake become prosperous places to spend time, not just to pass through at high speed in a car.
We know you’ll learn a lot from this conversation about Adam and Roland’s work in Erie. Make sure to stay tuned to the end where they share a ton of fantastic pieces of advice for all of you out there who might be working through similar challenges in your city.
PennDOT misinforms City Council (again)
In Spring of 2020, PennDOT applied to the Federal Highway Association to downgrade their massive, controversial plan (for two, two-lane roundabouts, an underpass and “highway-style” ramps and signage on Erie’s Bayfront) from the appropriate review (an EA - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT) to a CE, CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION. The CE skips studies of cumulative impacts on the people, the air, the water, and doesn’t require a Public Hearing. To get this CE, PennDOT claimed: 1) their project would not harm people or the environment - and - 2) that the community didn’t oppose their plan.
On October 21, Councilman Dave Brennan reported that PennDOT stated it was impossible to conduct an EA after a CE had been granted and completed. This is the third “post-truth” statement by PennDOT. Adam Trott emailed City Council on Oct. 21, with a website link showing a case Arthur S. West vs. Secretary of the Department of Transportation, FHWA etc… where the CE was reversed due to the process being flawed. Trott featured the section title “III Conclusion”
III. CONCLUSION
We reverse the district court's decision approving the FHWA's use of a DCE for the South DuPont interchange construction project. While we decline to order the interchange torn down, we direct the district court to order the requisite environmental review for Stage 1. We vacate the district court decision as it relates to Stage 2.
Trott noted - “the CE was rescinded despite the interchange having been actually built -= see, the process is set up so its never too late to do the right thing” Trott explained, “ This is why Liz (Councilperson Liz Allen) asked for documented proof, and why such corroborating documentation was not provided, instead only “told” to you. Trott concluded, his message by thanking Council and commenting, “Please understand why it is important to base such important votes on facts and not anecdotal evidence.”
Only Allen & Schaaf vote to oppose OK to Bayfront Highway (w/o Environmental Assessment)
VISIONARY QUESTIONER - City Councilmember Liz Allen
FOR THE PEOPLE - Councilperson Kathy Schaaf
Councilwomen Liz Allen and Kathy Schaaf listened to the PEOPLE and voted NO Wednesday night, October 21, 2020 in opposition to giving up the only leverage the City Council has to protect the people and the Bayfront. PennDOT now has a green light to proceed as they wish. In a symbolic gesture, PennDOT has agreed to seat members of council on some review committees, with no actual authority.
Expanding on the overwhelming resident opposition to a YES VOTE, During CITIZENS TO BE HEARD on Oct. 21, no one asked for a YES vote while eleven people asked for a NO vote: 1 Lisa Austin, 2 Adam Trott, 3 Jeffrey Nechleba, 4 Veronica Rexford, 5 Art Leopold, 6 Freda Tepfer, 7 Kevin Pastekwa, 8 Sydney Zimmerman, 9 Maxwell J Hentosh, 10 Elspeth Koehle and 11 Vivian Karuba.
Four Councilmen voted YES (Brennan, Bzrezinski, Winarski, Witherspoon) and Keys abstained, allowing Erie’s “business as usual” to continue. These five Councilmen - all Democrats - failed to protect residents, ignored the will of the PEOPLE, the voters, small business owners, community organizations, environmental and design experts - and the direct urging of the ERIE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY - by voting to allow PennDOT proceed on their Bayfront roadway expansion plan without the appropriate Environmental Assessment:
Dave Brennan worked hard to create some guarantees to protect residents and the environment, but his efforts failed. No enforceable conditions were attached to the Resolution. Thus, community-based planning, place-making, protection of the people and the environment lost out as Mr. Brennan sullied his reputation by voting YES to a waterfront highway.
Mike Keys, who ran on a platform of being “the voice of the PEOPLE” disappointed many of his staunchest campaign supporters.
Ed Bzrezinski, silently voted to support the waterfront highway.
Jim Winarski said it was time to “move on” and voted for the waterfront highway.
Mel Witherspoon, without comment, voted for the waterfront highway.
Additional claims made to justify their YES vote:
CLAIM 1 Erie "might" lose the funding if we don't move forward now.
No document on record was cited to justify that concern - despite Councilwoman Liz Allen asking for it multiple times.
CLAIM 2 PennDOT will allow Council to be part of the process moving forward.
Since there are NO enforceable provisions forcing PennDOT to care what Council thinks after approval, this simply means that some member(s) of Council will be informed and invited to comment - they have been granted no authority over PennDOT’s plans for the City’s waterfront.
CLAIM 3 - PennDOT "told us" you can't revisit the Federal Highway Administration’s action granting a Categorical Exclusion.
No documentation supported this claim, and, since PennDOT’s application included critical, false information, there must be some remedy.
Erie Equal online PEOPLE's Petition ends 5pm followed by 5:30 City Hall event
Organizations call for NEPA Environmental Assessment on PennDOT's Bayfront Project
While the well-meaning leaders (and some employees) of Erie Insurance, Gannon, UPMC Hamot, Convention Center, the Port Authority and local governments are urging City Council to vote to support PennDOT’s massive arterial highway project, the residents and leaders and members of 22 organizations are united in requesting that the appropriate NEPA Environmental Assessment be completed prior to allowing PennDOT to proceed:
Presque Isle Audubon, All Aboard Erie. Bike Erie, Boulevard Park Association, CIVITAS,
Connect Urban Erie, the Erie County Democratic Party, PA Stans Up, New Village Press,
the Congress for the New Urbanism, Erie Equal, Kind Veg, PA United, Plant it Forward,
Lake Erie Group of the Sierra Club, Winds of Change, Penn Future, Save our Water/Air/Rights,
SONS of Lake Erie, Earth Justice, Erie NAACP and the Equity Coalition of Erie.
PennDOT's waterfront highway plans overlook racism and environmental justice!
PENN FUTURE’s Sarah Bennett
Sarah Bennett’s essay is required reading!
Erie Times News / October 14, 2020
We must treat Erie's bayfront as the prime asset it is
There are extensive plans for development along Erie's bayfront, including changes to the Bayfront Parkway. In order to ensure that the bayfront continues to be an asset, water quality and equal access to the waterfront must be protected. To do so, this plan — and others connected to it — should be carefully and thoroughly evaluated so that decisions are well-informed, environmentally sound and inclusive of all of Erie’s communities.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's current plan for the parkway includes two-lane roundabouts at the Holland and Sassafras streets intersections and separate lanes in the Bayfront Parkway to allow some traffic to move under and other traffic to intersect with State Street. These plans will increase paved surfaces along the bayfront, which is already covered in surfaces that are impervious to water.
Impervious surfaces prevent precipitation from being absorbed by soil and vegetation and instead allow it to rapidly run off into Presque Isle Bay, carrying with it pollutants from vehicles, road salt, litter and fertilizers. Flooding also increases when the ground and vegetation cannot absorb precipitation fast enough.
Initial planning for the Bayfront Parkway project indicated that traffic is likely to increase along the parkway over time. What has not been evaluated are the effects more vehicles will have on stormwater runoff and ground level air pollution. It is especially important that ground level air pollution be assessed because the residents living closest to the bayfront have already been exposed to air pollution from Erie Coke Corp. for decades.
This project also doesn’t reflect well on Erie County’s recent declaration that racism is a public health crisis. The neighborhoods surrounding the Bayfront Parkway include many people of color. The county’s declaration means it is imperative to meaningfully consider potential impacts to these communities, include and consider those communities throughout the planning process, and address all negative impacts to these historically burdened residents. The Bayfront Parkway project has not done this. Addressing racism requires that we change the way things are done and work to ensure that everyone has an equal seat at the table.
A good example of this lies in thoroughly considering the impacts to pedestrian access. Residents can currently cross the street when traffic is stopped at all intersections. The planned roundabouts would mean that traffic does not stop at these intersections. Three pedestrian overpasses have been proposed but only one is planned for the initial phase of construction.
Will residents be safer with the proposed plans for pedestrian access? Will it take longer for a resident living along the bayfront to cross the parkway using a pedestrian overpass? What evidence supports these decisions? U.S. Census data indicates that many people in the neighborhoods surrounding the bayfront do not own vehicles and their primary access to the waterfront is by foot or bicycle. A truly equitable process would consider these facts and develop a plan that ensures equal access to the bayfront regardless of transportation mode.
For the reasons addressed above and several others expressed by residents, Erie City Council has twice tabled the decision to approve moving railroad tracks along the bayfront, a necessary step in the project. The goal has been to ensure that residents had a chance to weigh in on the environmental and health impacts caused by the change, as well as whether this is the right plan for the city of Erie. This is their job as officials elected by the residents of the city of Erie and they did it well.
Erie will not be able to address issues caused by poor decisions of the past by conducting business as usual. Too much paving has led to water pollution and flooding. Building a highway through the city has created barriers for city residents. Inviting polluting industries to the city has resulted in land, air and water pollution and systemic racism has led to a public health crisis.
It is time for Erie to demand more for itself and have meaningful conversations about the path forward. Plans for the region’s development should be re-examined to ensure that each protects our environment, does not disproportionately impact people of color and people living in poverty and takes steps to improve conditions for these communities.
Decision makers should ask questions such as: Whom will be impacted? Who is at the table? Who needs to be at the table and how do we get them there? How does this plan address the declared public health crisis of racism? Decisions must be made in inclusive and thoughtful ways to ensure an equitable, environmentally sound and sustainable future for Erie.
Sarah Bennett is the campaign manager for clean water advocacy for PennFuture.
Erie's Power Elite at Work
Register TODAY to Speak at City Council to ask for an ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING 9am WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 7
PLEASE SPEAK OUT – no matter where you live - REGISTER NOW:
1. Go to City of Erie webpage TODAY at Cityof.erie.pa.us ;
2. Scroll down to City Council Morning Meeting and Finance Briefing (Oct 7, 2020);
3. Within that post, click on the link and a new page will open.
4. Scroll down and fill out name, address, etc.
5. Press the green REGISTER button at the bottom of the page.
6. You will receive a confirmation email from Frank Strumila. FStrumila@erie.pa.us
7. Prepare your brief statement asking for a full NEPA Environmental Assessment
prior to allowing PennDOT to proceed. Sample below.
SAMPLE STATEMENT
My name is xxx and I live at xxx.
Thank you for listening City Council.
Despite PennDOT’s explanations, and despite the praise for the Bayfront roadway expansion plan (by Hotel owners and the leaders of Gannon, UPMC Hamot, Erie Insurance, the Port Authority, Convention Center and now by Charles Buki) the need for a full NEPA Environmental Assessment remains.
Please honor the WILL OF THE PEOPLE and the experts (from PennFuture, Sierra Club, Audubon, Our Water, Our Air Our Rights, SONS of Lake Erie, Connect Urban Erie, Bike Erie, Kind Veg, CIVITAS, the NAACP and others) by protecting our Bayfront with as full NEPA Environmental Assessment.
Please do not allow PennDOT to remove the railroad tracks and begin their highway project until after a full NEPA Environmental Assessment is completed.
Don’t give up our bayfront!
Email City Council asking for an ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
SEND EMAIL TO: James Winarski jwinarski@erie.pa.us Liz Allen lallen@erie.pa.us Dave Brennan dbrennan@erie.pa.us Ed Brzezinski ebrzesinski@erie.pa.us Michael Keys mkeys@erie.pa.us Kathy Schaaf kschaaf@erie.pa.us Mel Witherspoon mwitherspoon@erie.pa.us and City Council Clerk lwatson@erie.pa.us Andre Horton ahorton@eriecountygov.org and ErieBayfront@gmail.com
SAMPLE EMAIL STATEMENT
Dear City Council,
Thank you Erie City Council for listening! Despite PennDOT’s explanations, and despite the praise for the Bayfront roadway expansion plan (by Hotel owners and the leaders of Gannon, UPMC Hamot, Erie Insurance, the Port Authority, Convention Center and now by Charles Buki) the need for a full NEPA Environmental Assessment remains.
Please honor the WILL OF THE PEOPLE and the experts (from PennFuture, Sierra Club, Audubon, Our Water, Our Air Our Rights, SONS of Lake Erie, Connect Urban Erie, Bike Erie, Kind Veg, CIVITAS, the NAACP and others) by protecting our Bayfront with as full NEPA Environmental Assessment. Please do not allow PennDOT to remove the railroad tracks and begin their highway project until after a full NEPA Environmental Assessment is completed.
Don’t give up our bayfront!
Name
Address
JET 24 coverage of September 28 Protest
Jet 24 was the only station to cover the peaceful gathering seeking an environmental assessment for PennDOT’s Bayfornt Plan.
Gannon Knight covers Bayfront protest while ETN takes a nap
Check out the story by Natalee Stienbiser, Assistant Edinboro at the Gannon Knight who wrote “Protesting Erie’s Bayfront Expansion.”
Another BAYFRONT Study Session: 5:30pm this Thursday, Oct. 1
Bayfront Parkway Plan Study Session
Erie City Council is going to conduct a Study Session via Zoom on Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. about the Bayfront Parkway.
Register in advance for this webinar study session.
Residents can watch the live stream on the City of Erie’s YouTube Page (@CityofEriePennsylvania), Channel 1024, Channel 1071 Community Access Media, the City of Erie’s Website, and after the meeting has concluded, on all social media platforms.
Gathering at Bayfront & State / 5 - 7pm / Monday, Sept. 28, 2020
Stop by for 10 minutes, or 2 hours. Bring your mask and a folding chair to sit on the grassy area - or - just walk with us around the intersection, using the crosswalks from 5pm to 7pm.
Members of Connect Urban Erie, Erie Action (Equity Coalition of Erie), Erie Equal, Winds of Change and others are gathering from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Monday, September 28, 2020 on the northside of 100 State Street. Some will sit in socially distant folding chairs and peacefully hold signs. Others will repeatedly cross the intersections (following the traffic signals) to help generate awareness of the final 48-hour opportunity to email Erie City Council:
Deadline: Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Send to: lwatson@erie.pa.us and to ErieBayfront@gmail.com.
Subject Line: PennDOT’s Bayfront plan
Message: My name is xxxx. My address is xxxx.
Please have PennDOT’s plan reviewed with a full Environmental Assessment.
Bayfront Battle: Power Elite verses the People
Illustration by Brad A Pattullo / Commissioned by CIVITAS.design copyright 2020
TAKE ACTION - send an email!
ask CITY COUNCIL to insist on an
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
for PennDOT’s Bayfront Project.
Send your email by WEDNESDAY, September 30, 2020
to the Erie City Council Clerk:
Lwatson@erie.pa.us AND TO ErieBayfront@gmail.com
Erie Paper skipping the News
On Thursday, September 24, 2020, the Erie Times-News posted a story titled, “Erie organizations support parkway improvement plans.” Posted at 4:47, the story written in the past tense to imply it was a accurate summary of an event that had yet to occur.
Issues:
The first two hours of hearing was reserved for PennDOT and Public Officials.
PennDOTS’s proposal is for an arterial highway, not a “parkway”
Many residents have repeatedly requested the full ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT that PennDOT skipped this Spring - this was not mentioned
A pro-highway speaker was quoted without an opposition statement
The Our West Bayfront speaker is an employee of Gannon, lives in Fairview and does not represent the neighborhood residents
The BEST speaker doesn’t live in the City and is guided by Erie Insurance.
The hotel owner and heads of the Convention Center, Erie Insurance, Port Authority, UPMC Hamot who want the highway don’t live in the city.
25 of the 26 residents who waited 2 - 4 hours to speak are opposed to PennDOT’s highway plan and most have requested an ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
These organizations had one or more speakers in opposition to PennDOT’s Plan:
Connect Urban Erie, Earth Justice, Equity Coalition of Erie, NAACP, Penn Future
