MARSHALL TWP, Allegheny County — Three years ago, Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree began the Coffee and Conversation talks with residents to discuss township happenings.

That same opportunity was extended for the first time Thursday to business leaders at a session at the Regional Learning Alliance at the Cranberry Woods office park off Route 228.

About a dozen business representatives attended the inaugural session, which may become a quarterly gathering.

Officials talked about the township’s Business Hub that provides information about doing business in Cranberry.

Chelsea Puff, community projects administrator, explained the Business Hub helps those trying to locate a business in the community. Stories on business successes and profiles of businesses are all included on the hub.

“We want people to know about the great businesses we have in Cranberry,” she said.

Both residential and business sectors grew last year and those growth figures are expected to continue, said Andree.

And that growth has caused more work on roads in the township.

Route 228 improvements include lane widening and the addition of a new turning lane from Cranberry Woods. The turning lane will help the 10,000 people employed in the Cranberry Woods office park to better access Route 228.

The additional lane will open when the Route 228 ramps project is done in fall 2014, said Andree. The ramps will provide a link on the north side of Route 228 to Interstate 79 and will eliminate crossover traffic.

Freedom Road improvements are also a top township priority, said Andree.

Chris Camp, owner of Fun Fore All, said “it was a great idea for businesses to have a voice” by holding this kind of meeting.

He brought up several questions about the streetscape enhancement ordinance that requires improvements to businesses on Route 19.

He said the ordinance is a too tough requirement for small business owners to meet because of its large financial burden.

Camp told officials he has been looking for 13 years to expand his business on Route 19 near Progress Avenue.

But with the streetscape requirements, Camp estimated 10 to 15 percent of his overall construction costs would be for improvements and sidewalks required along Progress Avenue, a steep construction price burden.

Andree explains the streetscape requirements are in place to avoid Route 19 from becoming an eye sore and to improve its curb appeal, a similar philosophy that is taken in residential areas.

As for sidewalk requirements, Andree said residents demand interconnectivity of communities.

“We believe that our sidewalks are vital,” he said.

“I understand that the streetscape can be pricey, but we’ll try to work with you and the staff will look at what can be done to make it more for you,” said Andree.

The Cranberry Plan, the township’s long range plan, projects 50,000 people living in Cranberry and 30,000 jobs when it is fully built, according to John Trant, the township’s chief strategy officer. The township now has 29,000 residents and 20,000 jobs.

Other job related statistics provided by township officials were:

n 3,000 people live and work in Cranberry.

n 17,000 people commute to Cranberry to work.

n 16 percent of township jobs are in manufacturing.

n 15 percent of township jobs are in the retail/service sector.

n 6,000 township jobs are highly paid professional/technical jobs.

Mass transit was on the minds of several of the business owners upon learning about the number of people who commute to work in the township.

Trant predicts that public transportation likely will return to the community when it reaches full residential and job projections.

But for now, township officials see no quick fix to mass transit funding issues that plague the region and forced major bus service cuts to Cranberry and the North Hills area.

In the meantime, all available public transit is being used, including car and van pooling coordinated with CommuteInfo, public bus routes from the New Castle Transit Authority at the Route 528 Park and Ride, and the private bus company Lenzner Coach’s Commuter Service at Bladerunners in the Thorn Hill Industrial Park, said Trant.