Mauch Chunk Road at Evangate Drive
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP
Description: Evangate, a quiet residential road, terminates at Mauch Chunk, a state-owned two-lane road. Northbound traffic descends a hill as it heads away from Allentown.
Speed limit: 30 mph. The limit is posted at the intersection for southbound traffic, and other signs are posted within 0.1 miles north and south of here.
This request stood out because it’s between two weird intersections. A quarter-mile north of here is the corner of Mauch Chunk, Girard Avenue and Pirma Avenue, which has an oddly timed stoplight to accommodate the unusual crossroads. A quarter-mile south is the three-way intersection of North 18th Street and Mauch Chunk, where two lanes of travel have stop signs and no one seems to know who has the right of way.
The corner appeared to be a
dud off the bat. Drivers were respecting the speed limit, probably because they knew they were approaching one of those weird intersections. A few people also spotted a weird dude with a radar gun on the shoulder and slowed down to gawk. One concerned homeowner blocked traffic to ask what I was doing near the edge of her property and wouldn’t move until I explained myself.
Despite all that, things picked up as the clock neared 11 a.m. on Halloween. One sedan flew by at 55 mph, nearly double the posted speed limit. A commercial van hauling a trailer filled with yard equipment was going 44 mph. Overall, I recorded just five speeding vehicles, but I wouldn’t be surprised if things were significantly different during rush hour.