Patton Township officials talk troubled intersection

Supervisors furthered the discussion of the Park Forest Avenue/North Atherton Street intersection Wednesday, but is in no rush to restrict left turns from the avenue.

Issues arose surrounding the intersection in September when supervisors learned that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation would withhold approvals that will further the development of the former A&P site to proceed until the township prohibits left turns at the intersection. PennDOT reportedly based its reasoning on the amount of traffic accidents reported at the intersection.

The township began a traffic study after adding a traffic light when the Trader Joe’s Plaza opened, noting that there was a decline in crashes at the intersection. To date, there has been one crash at the intersection since October 2014.

The township posted an advertisement in the Centre Daily Times notifying Park Forest residents of PennDOT’s intentions and soliciting resident input. Comments were also welcome at a Monday work session.

Township Manager Doug Erickson said he collected 38 comments during that time period. Of the comments, 21 residents said they think the intersection is dangerous and avoid it, while 14 said they regularly make left turns out of the intersection and don’t want to see turns prohibited.

While the township doesn’t have to make a decision today, he said, the issue should stay at the front of everyone’s mind. He added that he’d recently spoken to the developer, who said progress is slowing down for the winter.

Supervisor Jeff Luck said state representatives and the business community frequently cite the need for municipalities to be able to respond quickly to the interests of developers. Those situations are dependent on the township’s partners to be quick and flexible as well.

“The assumption is that PennDOT would approach this with an open mind,” he said, “but it may have never occurred that it will be difficult for us to have quickness if we can’t have our government partners demonstrate the same level of quickness.”

Supervisor George Downsbrough said he would be supportive of engaging with PennDOT in changing its decision.

Erickson said he’s been tasked with going back to PennDOT and learning more details about the township’s responsibilities regarding a restriction — if just a sign is needed, or if the turn would need to be blocked off.

Some have requested a signal at the intersection, he said. The township traffic engineer will be directed to give a price proposal for a traffic study to evaluate if a signal could be installed.

In other business, supervisors approved the 2016 township budget. The budget remains unchanged from previous reports, as revenue total about $13.1 million with expenditures of $14 million. A $904,820 decrease in the cash reserve will leave a remaining fund balance of about $1.2 million.

The 2016 budget includes a 6.7 percent, or 0.6 mill, real estate tax increase, bumping the current rate from 8.9 to 9.5 mills. This comes as a result of a referendum passed in November 2014 approving the acquisition of more open space in the township.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Patton Township officials talk troubled intersection."