Concord Township Council has a decision to make about what to do about Schoolhouse Lane. After multiple accidents at Schoolhouse and Baltimore Pike over the years, one being a fatal accident last year, council members had hoped for a traffic light, but that’s not in the cards. At least not yet.
During a special meeting on the subject Tuesday night, Council Vice-President John Gillespie said he contends a traffic light at the intersection is the best solution, but the township has met resistance from PennDOT. He read a letter from PennDOT in which the agency said the intersection does not meet requirements for a traffic signal.
“Based on the signal warrant analysis, the traffic signal is not warranted at this location,” the letter read. “To make sure every consideration was given to your request, we have reviewed and evaluated all the factors, including the last five-year crash history that would be susceptible to correction by a traffic signal. This review does not indicate that a signal was warranted.”
The letter was dated Aug. 6, Gillespie said.
When a question arose later about how far away the intersection was from a traffic light being warranted, township engineer Nate Cline said, “We’re not even close to getting a warrant.”
Cline did present several options to improve the safety of the intersection of Schoolhouse Lane and Baltimore Pike. A direct option would be to install a barrier to prevent left turns from Schoolhouse onto Route 1 north.
Included with that option is a suggestion from Council President Dominic Pileggi that a deceleration lane be added to southbound Baltimore Pike so drivers can more safely make a right turn onto Schoolhouse without feeling they’d be run over by traffic behind them. Several residents readily agreed that would be a positive step.
The traffic on Schoolhouse Lane comes from Delaware County Prison and residential neighborhoods north of Baltimore Pike, between Cheyney and Stoneybank roads. Drivers use Schoolhouse Lane as a cut-through.
Along with the direct options at Schoolhouse, the township could also consider installing dedicated left-turn arrows where southbound Cheyney and Stoneybank roads meet Baltimore Pike.
“That’s going to help facilitate traffic that may have been trying to use Schoolhouse to find a safer, signalized alternative to get to Baltimore Pike to get to Media,” Cline said. “That is something PennDOT has indicated they want us to focus on.”
Pileggi said the meeting was to review options, and no decisions were made.
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.
