Council aims to avoid traffic backups at Dunkin’ Donuts

Irwin council has approved a new traffic plan for the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot along Route 30 to avoid vehicle backups onto the highway.

The store serves about 400 customers between 8 and 10 a.m. and more than 750 people per day, borough officials said. Lines of traffic are backing out onto Route 30, and an accident has occurred on Route 30 involving a customer coming out of the driveway.

Thenewtrafficplanwillrequire vehicles to form a line all around the store before reaching the window, keepingmorecarsoffRoute30.

Also at the Jan. 11 council meeting, borough engineer Lucien Bove said he will send letters to owners of 33 properties where the downspouts or driveway drains are connected to the sanitary sewers. The connection can cause sanitary sewers to overflow during heavy rains.

A property owner who receives a letter will have 90 days to correct the situation, he said. Mr. Bove said he will work with individual homeowners upon request to figure out the easiest or cheapest way to disconnect those sources from the sanitary sewers.

Resident Ray Jaskolski expressed concern to council that some homeowners’ waterlines coming from the main lines under Pennsylvania Avenue are made of lead.

He said he discovered that the waterline on his property was made of lead during digging by the gas company and he had his line replaced.

Mr. Jaskolski suggested that all lead lines on homeowners’ properties be replaced before the gas company repaves Pennsylvania Avenue.

Matthew Junker, spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, which serves Irwin, said this week that 10 to 12 percent of the authority's 120,000 customers have lead service lines.

The authority adds a substance to the water that coats the inside of all pipes, not just lead pipes, to keep lead out of the water, he said. The coating also prevents lead from getting into the water from brass fittings in older houses, which may contain some lead, and from lead solder, he said.

In addition, the authority maintains the pH level at a noncorrosive level as another layer of protection to keep lead out.