Ridley hears concerns over MacDade Blvd. overpass
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP >> Conditions of the pedestrian overpass on MacDade Boulevard at the Blue Route were brought to the attention of the board of commissioners at its recent monthly meeting by Bob Ballard, who lives in the Derwood Park section of the township.
Ballard told officials that trash piles up on the overpass in large amounts and he was especially concerned about a broken lock on a gate that allows PennDOT workers to have access to the lower part of the overpass.
“Parents are scared about that ‘cat’ walk,” he said.
The walkway was built more that 20 years ago to provide a safe route for children walking to the Woodlyn Elementatry School from Derwood Park as well as other pedestrians. But some people elect to walk on the medium strip in the middle of MacDade rather than the overpass.
Ballard said he has called PennDOT and a few state legislators to make them aware of conditions on the overpass.
Bob Willert, president of the board of commissioners, said the township will look into Ballard’s complaints.
Willert also promised residents of a Holmes neighborhood where there is a rodent problem that an exterminator will be called in to rid the area of the rodents.
“People are tired of seeing them dead or running all over the place,” one woman told the commissioners.
Willert told the residents they would have to sign permission papers to allow the exterminators to go onto their property.
“We’ll cooperate,” a resident said.
In another matter, the commissioners approved the land development plan for the final phase of the Kinder Park redevelopment project. The housing project redevelopment has been ongoing for several years with the demolition of 156 houses in the Delaware County Housing Authority project, replacing them with 160 units. The final phase is the construction of a fourth mid-rise apartment building for senior citizens.
Construction is expected to begin later next year.
Kinder Park is bounded by Bullens Lane, MacDade Boulevard and the Blue Route. The site was originally known as Overlook Heights when units were constructed to help house the thousands of defense workers who flocked to the county during World War II to work in the numerous industries supporting the war effort. After the war Overlook Heights became part of the county housing authority’s properties.