Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Tredyffrin officials lauded in contest
TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHHIP » Tredyffrin Township in Chester County received an honorable mention in the 36th Annual Road and Bridge Safety Improvement Awards, presented at the 96th annual Educational Conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) in Hershey April 22 to April 25. The conference attracted attendees from every county in Pennsylvania except Philadelphia, which has no townships. Tredyffrin Township was honored for various transportation improvements in Paoli Village.
PSATS sponsors the statewide Road and Bridge Safety Improvement Contest each year in partnership with the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association (PHIA) and the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to recognize townships for their extensive contributions of time and effort in making roads and bridges safer.
Tredyffrin Township was recognized for improvements it made as the first phase of a multi-phase plan for Paoli Village. Based on the Paoli Road Improvement Study, the improvements are designed to address existing and future multimodal transportation needs in the area.
This initial phase involved work on two corridors. Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) is a major route through Chester County that provides access to Paoli Village and the train station. During peak hours, traffic crawled along the corridor; during non-peak hours, traffic routinely moved at speeds up to 20 mph over the posted limit, making pedestrian crossings dangerous.
To address the congestion and speed issues, the township installed an adaptive traffic signal control system to improve traffic flow and eliminate the need for road widening to increase capacity. Stateof-the-art thermal cameras and the adaptive system monitor traffic and optimize signal timing in real time.
Additional improvements included pedestrian signal heads and ADA-compliant pedestrian push buttons to make conditions safer for walking and disabled travelers.
The second corridor, East Central Avenue, is a neighborhood collector road that is often used as a shortcut between busier routes. Cutthrough traffic had been measured at up to 44 mph above the posted limit of 25 mph. Limited sight distance along the road added to the unsafe conditions for both motorists and pedestrians.
The township installed
raised pedestrian crossings at intersections, bike lanes, and improved sidewalks with ADA-compliant ramps. The raised crosswalks act as speed humps to slow traffic and provide highly visible crossings for pedestrians. The intersections and raised crosswalks are spaced at a distance consistent with recommendations to reduce prevailing speeds by about 15 mph.
The bike lanes not only give cyclists a dedicated lane but also narrow the driving lanes to help reduce traffic speeds. They also serve as part of a future connection to the Chester Valley Trail and, along with the sidewalk, connect Paoli
Village to a local park.
“Several agencies are planning multimodal improvements in the area,” said Tredyffrin Township Engineer Stephen Burgo. “Amtrak is working on ADA upgrades at the Paoli Station, SEPTA has changes in the works, and PennDOT has planned projects that will tie in to the township improvements. Our projects are early-action items that we knew we could tackle to get things started.”
To help offset the costs, the township acquired an Automated Red Light Enforcement grant of more than $564,000 for the upgrades along Lancaster Avenue. A $1 million Transportation Alternatives Program grant from PennDOT and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission went toward the
sidewalk, raised pedestrian crossings, and bike lanes on East Central Avenue.
“Tredyffrin is always interested in projects that will improve safety for our residents,” Burgo says. “We are honored to be recognized for these efforts.”
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors represents Pennsylvania’s 1,454 townships of the second class and is committed to preserving and strengthening township government and securing greater visibility and involvement for townships in the state and federal political arenas. Townships of the second class cover 95 percent of Pennsylvania’s land mass and represent more residents — 5.5 million — than any other type of political subdivision in the commonwealth.