Crowded streets surrounding Cherokee High School during the July 4 celebration fireworks presentation raised concerns for resident Danielle Frigola of Erindale Drive.
During the public comment portion of last week’s council meeting, Frigola reminded Mayor Randy Brown of the email she sent prior to the celebration about the narrow road and crowding of cars, which ultimately caused issues for residents.
“Erindale was filled with cars on both sides of the street. Someone parked in front of my driveway. I couldn’t get to my own house,” Frigola said.
She told council how the standstill traffic and cars parked along the street made it impossible for an emergency vehicle to enter the area in the event a resident needed it.
“There was 45 minutes of no movement on the street followed by more than an hour of bumper-to-bumper traffic,” Frigola said. “There has to be a way to fix this.”
Frigola suggested making the street one-way for the night, in addition to allowing parking on only one side of the street.
“There’s no easy solution right now,” Brown said. “Fire and police make final decisions and I don’t know the method to move traffic.”
According to Brown, there would be no effective way to enforce parking on one side of the street with temporary police orders, but would consider it while planning for next year’s event.
Brown said a map of traffic patterns is slated for availability by January for residents, pending further discussions and approvals.
According to Brown, more than 40,000 residents and visitors from surrounding communities came out for the night’s activities.
Brown said he would take suggestions from residents of the Erindale Drive section to see “which sticks” for plans for next year.
In other news:
Lloyd Humphrey, a National Multiple Sclerosis Society volunteer, discussed the importance of the City to Shore Bike MS fundraiser.
The 75-mile “complicated” ride goes through 2.7 miles of Evesham Township.
Last year, the MS Society raised $5.6 million from Bike MS for the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter, which is located in Center City Philadelphia and benefits patients with MS in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Of that money, 77 cents of every dollar goes to patients with MS, Humphrey said.
“The treatment for MS is the best it’s been in years, with profound treatments and drugs that are better than ever,” Humphrey said.
Team Evesham, which has more than 100 members, raised more than $100,000 during last year’s event, according to Team Evesham member Sandy Student. The team was the second highest fundraisers, behind only the University of Pennsylvania, which raised more than $115,000.
Humphrey thanked Brown and council for their support in addition to police, fire and EMS for their service during the ride and assistance in making the event run smoothly.
Bike MS City to Shore is scheduled for Sept. 28. For more information, visit bikepae.nationalmssociety.org.
The next township council meeting is scheduled for July 23 at 6:30 p.m.
