Although Jaindl and two other real estate interests* have only been sponsoring a study for an additional interchange on Rt 78 at Adams Road since 2016, Penn Dot has announced that funds will be shifted to that use, instead of widening Rt. 22, which has been on the public's wish list for decades.
Jaindl's group has moved their agenda along at warp speed with the help of local state senator Pat Browne, who apparently started lobbying the Penndot secretary from day one. Although local planners and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission have been advocating for Rt. 22 improvements for well over a decade, there hasn't been a peep out their director, Becky Bradley, about the Jaindl group's windfall and the public's loss. Her comments have been limited to praising Browne about the Rt. 78 improvements.
It's wonderful for our local movers and shakers to prosper beyond their dreams here in the valley of apathy. There is no local paper which scrutinizes such dealings, only a couple of blogs.
*National Freight Inc. and Liberty Property Trust
molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday of the year.
Keep in mind this opens up development north of I-78. Land that Jaindl owns. He sought zoning approval for light industrial (warehouses) and Main St. Fogelsville didn't want the truck traffic. This allows him to build...you guessed it, more warehouses on farmland.
ReplyDeleteWhichever in-his-pocket township commissioners said they would try to prevent development north of the interchange through their zoning are misrepresenting themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhat this area needs is a robust Route 22 with enough lanes to keep existing traffic moving when breakdowns occur. We need a third or even fourth lane on 78 in the southern loop from 309 to 33 and NJ. And poor benighted 309 and Tilghman exits - total renewal. Instead, Jaindl gets Adams Road.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteSadly the responsibility for this sort of corruption lies with the voters who don't vote and roughly half of the adult population that can't even be bothered to register. Think our elected officials don't know the public isn't watching? Think again. All this said, we should understand how deeply the corruption is ingrained when the press acts as stenographers for politicians instead watchdogs. There is a reason why consumers of the news frequent sites such as your Mike.
I agree.
DeleteRoute 22 and 78 and 100 need to be improved and widened before any more traffic is added. Jaindl should support the highway improvements. If this was a small developer they would not only refuse the new development but would insist that they help pay for the improvement as part of the approval.
ReplyDeleteThe nascent idea to make 22 a three-digit interstate (678, 878) has merit. Pittsburgh did it successfully with the Route 22/30 Penn-Lincoln Parkway. It became I-376 through legislation and Federal Highway Administration designation. Similarly, Route 33 could become 178, 578, etc. (even third digits are beltways, odd are spurs from the main interstate).
ReplyDeleteSeems like Reilly and Jaindl are running for developers of the century. So much has changed since the last century when General Trexler held the title.
ReplyDelete