NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
7 January 2004

NEW TRAFFIC PATTERNS NOW IN PLACE FOR MARKET SQUARE PLAZA TOWER CONSTRUCTION ON N. 2ND STREET

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that new traffic flow patterns have been put into place to accommodate the construction of the 18-story Market Square Plaza tower in the first block of N. Second Street. The new traffic lanes will be in place through the completion of the tower sometime in early 2005.

Reed said the major new commercial office building is being built by noted midstate developers Anthony Pascotti, Tom Flynn and Rick Reynolds, with construction management services being provided by Reynolds Construction. In addition to commercial office space and parking, the project will also allow for the expansion of meeting and convention space for the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers located next door. The new tower will be connected to the Hilton and the Strawberry Square Complex through an elevated pedestrian bridge. The 311,276 sq. ft. complex includes eight stories of Class A office space and an equal amount of new parking space.

The Mayor said the new traffic patterns and parking restrictions will be in place through the end of the construction period for the new tower, which, depending on weather, should run through early 2005. The northbound travel lanes of N. Second Street from Strawberry Alley to Walnut Street have been shifted one lane to the west, eliminating what had been an eight-space parking lane. Second Street’s normal traffic lane patterns then resume on the north side of Walnut Street.

Reed said the extensive construction project will also require some slight changes to traffic patterns on Strawberry Alley, which is heavily used by parkers exiting the Walnut Street Parking Garage. For safety’s sake during the brief period of time that steel is being erected, traffic exiting the garage and going west to N. Second Street will be diverted off Strawberry Alley and into the Hilton’s Valet exit area, and then onto Second Street via newly-installed ramping over the Hilton’s sidewalk.

The Mayor said the Strawberry Alley diversion will only be used during weekday hours when cranes are lifting the building’s steel infrastructure into place. The tight footprint of the site requires the steel to be lifted over Strawberry Alley, posing a potential risk to any vehicles below. Rather than just completely closing off Strawberry Alley to all traffic, the Mayor directed that an alternative egress method be provided by the contractor, which is accomplished with the new diversion route.

The mayor said the project eliminates nine on-street parking spaces on both the east and west sides of the first block of N. Second Street, the lost revenues from which are being paid by the tower’s developer as part of the project costs.

“The new traffic patterns will cause some delays through the Market Square area until motorists become more familiar with them,” said Mayor Reed. “Though some inconvenience will be experienced over the next year, this is a major new development project that will provide benefit to the city and its taxpayers for many years to come.

“We urge all motorists to become familiar with the new traffic patterns, and to allow a few minutes extra travel time when using the Market Square area.”

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