In re Swamp Road in Wayne Twp

In In re Swamp Road in Wayne Twp., 859 A.2d 528 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004), DCNR requested that the Wayne Township Board of Supervisors vacate a portion of Swamp Road that ran through a conservation area. Swamp Road was an unpaved public road, which, while it serviced a conservation area of DCNR, provided no service to private lands. It traversed a heavily wooded and steeply sloped area. The Board of Supervisors denied DCNR's request. DCNR subsequently petitioned the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County for the appointment of a board of viewers. The Board of Viewers determined that Swamp Road was useless, inconvenient, or burdensome and, therefore, should be vacated. Common pleas then denied the subsequent exceptions. Wayne Township appealed to our court, emphasizing testimony that the road was used by emergency vehicles and handicapped hunters. DCNR countered by referencing testimony that the road was in a dilapidated condition, that access by emergency vehicles would still be possible, that use of the road was infrequent, and that the narrow width of the road made its use inconvenient and dangerous. Based on the foregoing, the Court affirmed the conclusion that the road was useless, inconvenient, or burdensome.