May 12, 2016

A decision on whether or not to recommend approval for the proposed Hillman Drive Extension could be just around the corner. The applicant is ready to ask for the recommendation and the Chadds Ford Planning Commission could give its thumbs up — or thumbs down — in June.

The Hillman Drive Extension is the project that would complete the loop road system around the intersection of Routes 1 and 202. Three segments are already open. Extending Hillman Drive from its current intersection with Route 202 to Route 1 across from Brandywine Drive would bring to conclusion the decades-long concept.

Hillman Drive runs through the Chadds Ford Business Campus, a Henderson Group property, and it’s Henderson who is willing to pay for the project.

Most motorists have spoken favorably of the idea, though there has been resistance from residents of The Estates at Chadds Ford and Painters Crossing Condominiums. But some of that resistance is waning.

Clark Hoffman, president of the Painters Crossing Condominium Association, sent a letter to Chadds Ford Township Supervisors’ Chairman Frank Murphy saying the association “wishes to go on record for approval of the current recommendations made by the Henderson Group regarding current plans for the loop road.”

The letter specifically refers to the relocation of an access road between the condominiums and the loop road as one of the reasons for the association’s approval.

“…[W]e believe the relocation of the access road to the end of the 1300 building will minimize objections regarding noise, headlights and proximity to the 1400 and 1500 buildings,” the letter said.

Addressing the Planning Commission during its May 11 meeting, Hoffman said the current plan is a far better plan than what was originally proposed.

Henderson presented — what attorney Ross Weiss said was — a fully engineered plan during the May 11 meeting. Engineer Chuck Olivo gave the presentation highlighting changes that were made during the last few months.

Two of those changes regard the roads planned intersection with both Routes 1 and 202.

At Route 202, Hillman will be four lanes wide with one inbound lane from 202, and three lanes outbound. There will be dedicated lanes for left turns, right turns and through traffic.

At the intersection with Route 1, there will also be four lanes, one inbound and three outbound.

Members of the planning commission have some concerns with that intersection because the entrance into the parking lot of Brandywine View Antiques is less than the required 150 feet from the main intersection. Henderson will have to get a variance for that to be approved.

Commission members are also concerned about traffic noise and headlights encroaching on the condominium residents. The proposed extension will be 130 feet away from the 1500 building. Commission Chairman Craig Huffman asked Weiss if his client would consider building a sound wall in addition to trees and shrubs that would also act as a sound and light barrier. Weiss agreed to have his client consider the proposal.

Also, instead of a connection between the condominiums and the proposed road at that close point, engineers decided to give condo residents access to the road from a point farther south. The plan calls for building a private driveway that would take traffic from the condo property, around one of the office buildings in the business campus and then to Evergreen Place where they can then connect to Hillman.

Other changes involve Dickinson Drive, which some drivers have used as a way to avoid the intersection of 1 and 202. If approved, a pork chop style island will be installed on Dickinson at Route 1, preventing drivers from turning left onto Route 1 South from Dickinson. On hearing that, one person in the audience exclaimed, “Hallelujah.” Such a turn is seen as inherently unsafe.

(The island will not prevent motorists turning left onto Dickinson from southbound Route 1, but township engineer Mike Schneider said PennDOT might eventually make such a turn illegal.)

A similar island will be installed at Dickinson’s intersection with Hillman. Motorists will not be able to turn left onto Hillman from Dickinson. Instead, traffic will have to turn right and go to a roundabout at Evergreen Place to make a 180-degree turn to go to Route 202.

That roundabout is a concern for residents of the Estates at Chadds Ford. Evergreen is the only ingress and egress point for the development. Residents have said previously they’re concerned about traffic backing up, especially during morning rush hour when students are waiting for school buses.

Residents have also expressed concern about emergency vehicle access and about truck traffic using the loop to get to and from the Brandywine Mills development where Wegmans is located.

Olivo and traffic engineer Matt Hammond addressed those concerns saying the road is wide enough for emergency vehicles to get into the Estates and that, while truck drivers may choose to use the loop, the roundabout will act as enough a calming device to the point that drivers might only use the loop one time before deciding that going through the main intersection is a better option for them.

Hammond also addressed the issue of traffic volume. He said currently there are 141 vehicles turning onto Hillman fro Route 202 during the morning peak hours. He anticipates that would increase to 336 vehicles, but said the traffic calming effect of the roundabout would keep traffic flowing smoothly.

The plan presented was filed as preliminary/final and Weiss asked for the commission’s recommendation of approval to the supervisors as either preliminary/final or approval as preliminary only. The commission was not inclined to do either at this point.

Huffman wants members of the commission to first walk the property to get a better idea of how the finished project might look in reality instead of just on paper.

Henderson is now scheduled to return to the Planning Commission in June for further review.