I have attended the monthly TAPS meeting for about eight years and during that time have made numerous requests for measures to calm the traffic and improve pedestrian safety on Coles Mill Road. These years of attendance and multiple requests have resulted in the addition of five 25 mph signs and one dangerous curve sign. There is a perplexing reluctance by the Commissioner for Public Safety to address pedestrian safety considering Coles Mill’s disconnected sidewalks and weekly traffic count in excess of 24,000 vehicles.
Various safety requests have been made, including a petition for a cross walk signed by local residents, but all have been rejected out of hand. In 2008 the Borough agreed to the installation of rumble strips and contacted various residents along Coles Mill regarding strip location. Unfortunately the Borough Engineer, an employee of Remington and Vernick, changed employment and a new engineer from R&V was appointed.
With this change, all records and commitments to install rumble strips were lost or claimed never to have existed. However, by July 2012 the Borough et al agreed to the installation of rumble strips and the Borough Engineer committed to completion within 90 days from the July meeting. Currently Coles Mill is without the rumble strips some nine months later. Clearly management oversight is required by the Commissioner for Public Safety to ensure the commitment to the safety of Coles Mill residents is promptly implemented.
Some parts of the Borough fare better in terms of traffic and pedestrian safety measures, various speed bumps, cross walks, necked down traffic lanes have been installed. However, most troubling are the weight limit signs installed on roadways lacking bridges. Furthermore, weight limit signs on the few roads with bridges have long since been rendered obsolete by bridge repairs. Such bogus and outdated signage serves only to redirect heavy traffic to other streets such as Coles Mill.
The profound lack of oversight of the Borough’s engineering projects may be remedied at the upcoming elections for Commissioners.
Is there a candidate prepared to forgo glad-handing and provide the necessary oversight to ensure the implementation of safety improvements in a fair and open manner?
Frank Davenport
