It's a good time for people in and around Cranberry Township to get more involved in their communities — and, if they can't become directly involved, to at least keep up to date about new developments.

The decision by the Westinghouse Electric Co. selecting the Cranberry Woods office park for its new $100 million headquarters and research center will bring new challenges, and it will exacerbate challenges already in place but on a smaller scale.

The good news is that there will be two years in which to confront those challenges and find ways to minimize any negative effects stemming from them.

Employees of Westinghouse's nuclear power plant operations aren't scheduled to move to Cranberry Woods until about 2009. Employees at facilities in Monroeville and Churchill aren't scheduled to move here until 2010.

Westinghouse expects to employ about 4,000 people at its new Butler County site, injecting broad-ranging benefits into the area economy.

Fortunately, for the Seneca Valley School District, it already has been working diligently to meet the space needs of a growing student population — and the neighboring Mars School District also has expanded its facilities.

A photograph in Thursday's Butler Eagle showed workers unpacking furniture targeted for classrooms in the 40,000-square-foot, three-story addition to the Seneca Valley High School; students and faculty will be moving into the addition in about a month.

Meanwhile, there will be many challenges for the state Department of Transportation, as well as municipalities, in regard to road upgrades to accommodate the arrival of such a large-scale employer — in fact, what will be Butler County's largest employer.

Route 228 must be the biggest focus of immediate attention but, as residents point out, major traffic routes leading into and out of Cranberry from places such as Beaver County must be the focus of stepped-up attention and remedial measures.

The addition of so many more people in Cranberry on most business days also will require that restaurants and other services evaluate their ability to accommodate whatever those workers require.

From the restaurant perspective, for example, most eateries already are being challenged by the volume of customers. That is going to get worse — meaning that there likely will be additional restaurant companies looking to expand to Cranberry, as well as possible expansions to existing ones.

Meanwhile, the question will be asked often whether the Cranberry area has enough hotel and motel rooms to meet needs resulting from Westinghouse and companies that might choose to follow it here, or just do business with it. In addition, the potential population growth portends lucrative challenges for homebuilders and real estate companies.

Residents of Cranberry and its environs should commit themselves to keeping abreast of developments and proposals emanating from the Westinghouse decision. On numerous fronts, those proposals and actions will impact them directly.