Lederach traffic light discussed

Questions remain regarding what type of light will be installed and whether it will be permanent

There’s no question that a traffic light will be installed at the five points intersection in the Lederach section of Lower Salford Township.

“The question is what type of signal it will be and whether it’s permanent,” said George Gumas, the PennDOT project manager for the job.

The traffic light is being installed because Route 113 through the intersection is part of the truck detour route for scheduled bridge replacement work on Route 63 in Upper Salford, he said at a September 20 public meeting to discuss the traffic signal plans. The meeting at the Lower Salford Township building was attended by about 100 residents.

“We’re looking at detouring about a thousand trucks a day,” said traffic engineer Nik Kharva, who is designing the signal for the intersection of Route 113, Cross Road, Salfordville Road, Morris Road and Old Skippack Pike.

That’s in addition to the traffic already going through the intersection, he said.

The detour is expected to last about six months and take place in 2019, but the traffic light could be installed before then, Gumas said. The decision on whether it will be permanent or removed af-

ter the detour ends is up to the township, he said.

Seven options for the intersection were considered, including some that aren’t viable, such as installing stop signs on each of the legs, Gumas and Kharva said.

The recommended option is to make parts of Old Skippack Pike and Morris Road one way leading away from the intersection when the traffic light is installed, they said.

Adding the traffic signal, which is warranted by the amount of traffic going through the intersection, will improve safety and reduce speeds, Kharva said.

The one way plans are the most efficient for traffic at the intersection and only a short portion of Old Skippack Pike and Morris Road would be one way, Stephanie Butler, Lower Salford’s traffic engineer, said.

In answer to resident questions about a longdiscussed bypass around the intersection, “Unfortunately, it is a very expensive project,” Butler said. “The state does not have the funds.”

While some residents said they thought the decision had already been made about whether the traffic light will become permanent, township officials said no decision has yet been made.

The township wants to take a long, hard look at the question before reaching a conclusion, Lower Salford Township Board of Supervisors member Keith Bergman said.

“We want to have all the information before we make that decision,” he said.

Issues raised by residents included the amount of space for trucks and buses turning at the intersection; drivers cutting through parking lots, which the residents said is already happening and could increase under the plans; and the effects on the surrounding roads and for nearby residents and businesses. Residents also asked about having work done to reopen closed bridges in that area, but were told those are county bridges. The bridge work on Route 63 and the traffic light installation are state projects.

Lower Salford Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Gifford said the township has been discussing a traffic signal at the intersection for the 27 years he’s been on the board, but in the past was told road widening would be needed and a building would have to be removed in order to make way for the traffic signal. The current plans do not include the removal of any buildings.

Adding the traffic signal will increase safety, he said.

Architect Phil Lederach, whose office is at the intersection, said he would rather see a traffic signal installed than having the bypass built. When the Sumneytown Pike Mainland bypass was built, it “basically cut off Mainland. It’s become almost a ghost town,” Lederach said.

He said he owns three properties that will be affected by the plans for the traffic light at the intersection.

“My [property] values will probably go down and my property taxes will go up,” he said.

The township doesn’t get its fair share of state gasoline taxes, he said.

He said he’s seen accidents at the intersection, including ones that hit the building, along with other drivers running over the yard and drivers using the parking lot as a cutthrough.

“That intersection needs to be cleaned up,” Lederach said.

“I think a solution can be worked out,” he said. “Hopefully, we’re openminded and decisions haven’t been made.”

Township officials said they will post information from the Sept. 20 meeting on the township website, along with announcement of future meetings to discuss the issue and reach a decision.