A portion of Rabbit Run Road no longer belongs to West Penn Township.

Township supervisors, during Tuesday’s meeting, voted 2-0 to vacate the road between Route 895 and Walnut Lane.

Supervisor Jim Akins was absent.

The move was made following a public hearing on an ordinance to vacate the stretch. Just over a dozen residents attended.

Township Roadmaster Jeremy Frable noted that Rabbit Run Road between Route 895 and Walnut Lane is in need of extensive work.

“The repairs that are needed on it are beyond what the township can afford,” he said. “It is in really bad shape.”

He added that the road is becoming a liability.

Frable said that whatever road crews do to try to maintain the road, it keeps washing out.

“In the wintertime, even though we put up ‘Road Closed, No Winter Maintenance’ signs, people continue to go down that road and get stuck,” he said.

When their vehicles become disabled, he said, they knock on a resident’s door at all hours for help.

“They’re going through his cattle fence when they lose it on the way down,” Frable said.

He suggested that the township turn the road over to owners of adjoining properties.

Resident Betty Bitterman, whose family has orchards that are accessed by Rabbit Run Road, was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to access the land.

Supervisor Paul Datte said they would be allowed to use the road, as would others whose properties adjoin it.

He also said that if the property owners decide to sell, the rights of access would transfer to the buyers.

Bitterman asked who would be responsible for maintaining the road since the township would no longer do so.

Datte said neighbors wouldn’t be required to do anything, but said they might want to discuss what work might need to be done.

They’d also be able to gate the road or post signs to prohibit motorists from using it.