Supervisors Vote against Possible Traffic Study
Tough driving conditions concerned residents to ask Manor Township residents to ask for a possible traffic signal at the intersection of Route 66 and Fairground Road, but the cost, lack of accidents and concern caused supervisors to vote against asking PennDOT to study the intersection.
By Jonathan Weaver
A nearly quarter-of-a-million dollar cost and lack of community concern caused Manor Township supervisors to unanimously vote against a request for a new traffic signal.
Last month, three residents requested supervisors consider a traffic signal at the Fairground Road intersection with Route 66.
According to Township Secretary Jill Davis, PennDOT District 10 Traffic Engineer Dave Tomaswick estimated the light installation would cost about $250,000, and wasn’t sure if a traffic study would even warrant a traffic signal at that location.
If a traffic study was warranted, Manor Township residents would be responsible for installation and charges of the traffic signal.
Supervisor Paul Rearick motioned supervisors do not approve the study, to which Pat Fabian agreed.
“There haven’t been a lot of accidents there – I can’t think of a fatal accident there at all – and for many years, that intersection has been that way,” Rearick said.
“I don’t see a great need or want there at this time,” Fabian added.
The women presented a petition signed by more than 100 people – including an active state police trooper – but addresses to the residents were not provided to ensure their local ties.
Terrace Avenue Resident Larry Cecchi opposed the request and suggested there would be more rear-end accidents due to the grade of the roadway.
The petitioning residents knew Kittanning resident Georgia Cornman – who died at a fatal car accident at the Riverside Intersection – which is about a half-mile from the Fairground Road intersection – while trying to make a left-hand turn onto Route 128 to drive into downtown Ford City.
A 2012 traffic study at the Riverside Intersection traffic signal – which Manor Township helps pay for with Ford City Borough – after the fatal traffic accident determined that the existing traffic signal timing meets the required design criteria, providing a four-second yellow and a three-second all-red time for a total of seven seconds clearance time for motorists.
A new traffic signal in Manor Township will be added near the Buffington Road intersection to ease traffic toward the new Armstrong Junior-Senior High School.
Manor Township | jweaver December 15, 2014
By sickofpayingforit, December 15, 2014 @ 11:52 PM
Good call manor supervisors. Total waste of money. That road isn’t even close to “busy” compared to other roads that don’t have a red light. Not even remotely close to being considered busy.
Bonus points for NOT paying some tax-fed professionals to study something that doesn’t need done in the first place, and then using those results to make your case. I suspect this phenomenon of government officials taking the easy road of paying for studies instead of having to make tough decisions is more commonplace, locally, than many would admit. I certainly know the engineers don’t mind…….
I appreciate the decision being made prior to that massive expenditure, and correctly so!
By jorn jensen, December 16, 2014 @ 6:44 AM
Common sense supervisors - a rare breed. The Fairground solution is simple - headed north on 66, go out at the Fairground Road. Headed south on 66, or going to Fjord City, take Piper over to Fort Run Road and head down to Riverside - if that light, thanks to the way PennDOT has it set up, even smells a car off in the distance, you get an immediate green light and 4 lanes of coal buckets and semi’s get to slam the brakes and jakes to let you out.
Excellent post sickofpayingforit - Manor township Supervisors did their job - making a decision without spending a pile of money to do so. Nothing wrong with common sense.