I guess it had to happen someday. Us Perry County people were
kind of proud that we were the only county in PA not to have a Stop Light.
I guess I’ll have to allow more time now that they’ve messed up the flow of Traffic. Dave
Perry County residents have mixed feelings about seeing 'the light'
By Joe Elias, The Patriot-News
December 29, 2009, 7:30PM
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Joe Elias, The Patriot-News
Orange traffic cones mark the spots where utility poles will be built to support Perry County's first traffic signal at Routes 11/15 and 850 in Marysville.
Walt Misner wasn’t happy about hearing about Perry County’s first traffic signal going up in Marysville. But he says he’ll try not to let it bother him.
“I’m just going to pretend that it’s Christmas lights that are up all year,” said Misner, 69, of Marysville. “It’s a fact of life that I’ll just have to get used to.”
Construction began this month on the county’s first traffic signal, at Routes 11/15 and 850. The light could be operating by the end of February.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation approved the light in March 2008 based on increased development and traffic. Harrisburg developer Richard Yingst is building a 309-unit development on South Mountain, bordered on the east by Routes 11/15.
In 2006, about 20,000 vehicles used Routes 11/15 between Route 850 and the Perry/Cumberland line daily. About 4,700 traveled Route 850 through Marysville.
Some residents said they believe the light is necessary for safety reasons. “It seems like the road is getting busier everyday,” said Bill Zimmerman, a Duncannon resident who drives Routes 11/15 every day.
Once the light is operating, Forest County in western Pennsylvania will have the distinction of being the only county in the state without a traffic signal.
Gary Hill, 39, of Marysville, joked that the light will force people to edit the Perry County brochure. “For years that’s all you heard people say,” Hill said. “‘No traffic lights in Perry County.’”
Hill said the county can still hold onto its other claim of having no parking meters. “That’s when I’ll know Perry County has grown too much,” Hill said. “When I have to drive around with change to park.”
Rachel Smith, 62 of Duncannon, said she hopes the Marysville signal is the only one ever. “Nobody wants to see a traffic signal every half mile,” she said. “Then we end up looking like everywhere else in the world and we stop looking like Perry County.”
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