With Bridgeville already five years overdue to update its comprehensive plan, borough officials recently started a push to create a new roadmap for future development in the community.
A thoughtful and effective comprehensive plan isn’t inexpensive, though. The final price tag on Bridgeville’s next plan could be upwards of $100,000, possibly spread out over two or three years.
Planning commission officials hope that they can defray some of that cost—and produce a more impactful document—by developing sections of the plan in partnership with some of Bridgeville’s neighbors.
Collier might be the most obvious partner, said borough manager Joe Kauer, as both communities suffer from traffic congestion at the Washington Pike border.
“Those traffic issues are shared,” he said at Monday’s planning commission meeting. “That could be a really nice transportation plan.”
A Bridgeville-Collier collaboration could help officials better tackle the traffic problem while also tapping into expanded sources of grant funding.
As a rule, PennDOT and other pursestring-controlling agencies look more favorably on multi-municipal collaborations than they do solo projects.
A decade ago, Kauer worked on a comprehensive plan that included Carnegie, Scott Township, and Heidelberg. State grant money paid for 80% of that document largely because it was a multi-community endeavor.
“It couldn’t hurt to at least ask about [Collier’s] level of interest,” said planning commission Larry Lennon Sr.
Based on geographical proximity, other potential partners could include South Fayette and Upper St. Clair, if leaders in those communities are interested in a collaborative approach to problem solving.