Residents want township help in controlling Route 1 hazard

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on October 27, 2010

Chadds Ford Knoll resident Janice Pietrowicz brought
Pennsbury Township supervisors up to speed on resident concerns about motorists
racing along Route 1 in front of their development.

Pietrowicz made her comments during the Oct. 20 Board of
Supervisors meeting, four days after a traffic accident on Route 1 at
Constitution Drive injured two people.

She presented the board with a number of suggestions, most
of which require action from the state Department of Transportation. Those
suggestions include PennDOT lowering the speed limit from 55 to 45 mph,
installing a right turn lane into the Knolls at Constitution Drive, installing
a traffic light at the intersection, even considering closing off Constitution
Drive as an entrance into the development.

Pietrowicz said she spoke with one representative from
PennDOT— Don Centofante—who told her to get the township to write a letter
requesting the department look into the situation.

Supervisors’ Chairman Wendell Fenton agreed, asking township
manager Kathy Howley to write the department asking for a new traffic study.

Supervisor Charles “Scotty” Scottoline said residents should
contact state Rep. Chris Ross and state Sen. Dominic Pileggi to put pressure on
PennDOT.

In an e-mail exchange after the meeting, Pietrowicz said she
felt the supervisors listened and understood the situation, but only time will
tell if anything gets done.

“I felt they had an interest as well as willingness to act.
I felt very comfortable approaching them and listening to what they had to say.
The proof will be in the pudding at the end of this process. I think if we all
do our bit (township board and residents), we will see change and hopefully it
will benefit Pennsbury Township as a whole. It does not seem like it will
happen overnight, but if everyone does something, it will take us to a solution
that much quicker,” she said in the e-mail.

She added that speeding along Route 1 is more than just an
issue for Knoll residents saying, “It is a township issue, a county issue
and one that we should all be more proactive about…[It’s] important to get the
right people and more people involved in trying to improve the speeding
situation.”

Residents can express concerns to PennDOT by going to http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/districts/district6/d6ccc.nsf?opendatabase http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/districts/district6/d6ccc.nsf?opendatabase

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.