Everyone’s favorite shortcut in Campbelltown took center stage at the South Londonderry Township Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday, Nov. 12, meeting.
Only, it wasn’t the shortcut’s ability to get you from point A to point B faster that was discussed, it was the safety issue it creates for the residents who live along that stretch.
Since its construction more than a decade ago, Woodlawn Avenue has served as a thoroughfare for motorists traveling on Schoolhouse Road looking to avoid the backlog on Route 322 at the Palmyra Road intersection.
However, Woodlawn Avenue resident Brad Benasutti said the speeding on the stretch of road has gotten out of control, and he wants the board to do something about it.
Benasutti said, on Oct. 10, a speeding car crashed into his son’s parked car moments after his son had gotten out of the vehicle.
“The thought is not lost on us, our son, who is sitting in the corner back there, was seconds away from not being here at all,” Benasutti told the board. “Luckily, my son got out of the way … speeding is not only an issue, but continually abused in our neighborhood.”
Speeding in the neighborhood isn’t a new issue for the township, which has permitted parking on both sides of the road in an effort to mitigate speed on the road.
“Clearly, that has not been a factor at all,” Benasutti told the board.
Benasutti suggested the township construct speed humps, similar to what was constructed on Cherry Street.
“Why can’t those be used as speed mitigation tactics to reduce speeding through there?” Benasutti asked.
Board member Bill Bova said that possibility was explored before and asked the board if that’s something that could be done.
“I’ve asked about those too – the speed bumps – because I’ve seen them in other areas, and I think I was told last year, a year and a half ago, that we couldn’t do it for some reason,” Bova said.
Township manager John Eberly responded, “There is a price to that, to do it. What you have to do then is it has to be within PennDOT specs in order to continue with (receiving) Liquid Fuels funding on that.”
Police chief Bill Reigle said his department has been patrolling the neighborhood in an effort to mitigate the speed.
“Whenever we get a call, our guys are very responsive, and our guys go out there a couple of times,” Reigle said.
Board member Jack Custer said he thinks the Waze app sends people through the neighborhood since it is likely quicker, time wise, depending on the time of day.
“I’ve seen it, because I sometimes go around that way. I think a lot of people are being directed that way by Waze now,” Custer said. “We do take the input very seriously.”
The board said it would look at monitoring speeds on that stretch of road to garner more information before exploring possible solutions.
“It was a bad design to begin with,” Custer said. “I’m simply saying, give us a little information for our meeting next time.”
Read more at: https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/shortcut-high-risk/
