Loop road meeting planned

Chadds Ford Township supervisors have scheduled Feb. 24 for another public meeting on the proposed Hillman Drive extension, the fourth and final leg of the loop road around the intersection of Routes 1 and 202.

The date was set during the Jan. 5 Board of Supervisors’ meeting after a long discussion on the controversial segment of the loop, which would be at the southwest corner of the intersection. Residents of the Estates at Chadds Ford and Painters Crossing Condominiums oppose the roadway because of its proximity to their properties.

Residents who object say they believe there will be excessive traffic near their homes, which would decrease safety and devalue their properties.

Sal Faia, a homeowner in the Estates and a member of the Chadds Ford Preservation Society, asked supervisors to deny the proposal outright. He said the proposed road is dangerous for residents, that Route 1 traffic should stay on Route 1, and that he is opposed to any connection between Routes 1 and 202 in the area.

Larry Moore, also a resident of the Estates at Chadds Ford, said traffic backs up now on Hillman Drive because of the Wegmans’ development. Adding traffic from Route 1 would only make matters worse on Hillman, he said.

Vicki Hoxter, a Painters Crossing Condominium owner, said people who want the loop road want it for their own convenience, but that residents would have to live with negative consequences.

However, Lisa Vonderstruck, owner of Brandywine View Antiques at Route 1 across from Brandywine Drive, said she wants to hear more and thinks the loop road would make for safer traffic flow.

Following the discussion, the supervisors agreed that the applicant would have until Feb. 24 to present an updated sketch plan to the public during the board’s workshop that night.

Then, on either March 30 or April 6, Supervisors’ Chairman Frank Murphy said, the board would vote to either deny the application or grant an extension so that the applicant could develop a fully engineered plan.

Three other segments of the loop — Brandywine Drive, State Farm Drive and Applied Card Boulevard — are already complete. PennDOT has previously said that one way or another, the fourth leg would also be built.

Under the current proposal, the Henderson Group — which owns the Chadds Ford Business campus where Hillman Drive is located — would build the road at no cost to the public.

The basic concept is to connect Route 202 with Route 1 by extending Hillman Drive from Route 202, past Evergreen Drive — the only ingress and egress point for the Estates at Chadds Ford — and then up along the east side of the condominium complex and connect with Route 1 at the traffic light at Brandywine Drive.

When built, the road would allow motorists driving east on Route 1 to turn south onto Route 202, and those driving north on 202 to turn onto westbound Route 1 and bypass the main intersection. Drivers can now use Dickinson Drive, but there is no traffic light at Dickinson and Route 1, making for a difficult to dangerous left-hand turn.

Other business

• Supervisors resolved to extend the ability of retail businesses to have temporary A-frame signs, but instead of the extension being for another year as the ordinance states, the extension is only for 45 days. Murphy said he doesn’t want to see the matter come up again and wants the ordinance rewritten so the board would not have to vote on it every year.

• Supervisors also voted to send a request for a zoning change to the Delaware County Planning Commission. The request is from Harrier LLC, a Grace family business entity, and involves changing the zoning of a property adjacent to Brinton’s Bridge Road between Oakland Road and Route 202 from PBC to PBC 1.
In forwarding the request, the supervisors are including a cover letter saying they are doing so without offering an opinion on whether or not they approve the requested change. If the change goes through, the property would be sold and the buyer would submit plans for a car dealership.

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.

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  1. Molson

    Am I to understand that the A-Frame sign matter is too burdensome for Mr. Murphy and the board to vote on as written in the ordinance, once a year but not for the business community to reapply every month and a half? What about the fee? Is this something we have to pay every 1 1/2 mos. also?
    The signs are very important for our businesses. Why don’t you just vote on it once a year. It really doesn’t sound like a lot of work.

    Sincerely,

    Dan Doubet

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