According to the EASD Beak Creek School proposal, this area will see the majority of Faculty/Staff, and Parent drop-off traffic from the direction of the population center and West Donegal Township.  There are many identifiable problems with intersections and roadways.  The notes refer to the photo.  These problems need to be researched and either dismissed or resolved before approving the plan.

In general, the traffic along College Avenue is bustling during the same times of the day and year as the proposed intermediate school.  College Avenue has at least 44 parallel parking spaces that are day use only. This means that students and staff will be trying to parallel park during peak traffic times.  The College’s Plant Operations center is on the north side of College Avenue, requiring that lawn mowers, golf carts, service vehicles, aerial lifts, etc, must traverse and cross College Avenue.  These vehicles typically use College Avenue during the peak school hours.

Note #1
* Traffic on College Avenue is going to increase dramatically due to the growth in West Donegal Township and the new South Square.  There is a crosswalk with a flashing pedestrian light.  Pedestrian traffic for the College coincides with the traffic for the school.  Is this a bottleneck?

Note #2
* The intersection of Chestnut Street and College Avenue is often congested in the morning, and especially during inclement weather.
* The intersection is hampered due to the narrow south entrance to Chestnut Street.
* Parent drop-offs in the morning have difficulty making this turn from College Avenue.  Traffic heading to the intermediate school will need to turn left onto College Avenue, further congesting this intersection.

Note #3
* This intersection is already busy due to High Street bound main campus school traffic and the College opening.  Traffic from the population center and the booming housing construction in West Donegal Township will flow through this intersection.  Will this intersection require a traffic light?Â
Note #4
* The Intersection of East Park Street and Chestnut Street is congested in the morning.  Generally, the traffic is headed in the same direction as parents drop off students at the High School/ Middle school complex.
* Traffic headed for the Intermediate school will now need to cross this flow of traffic, further congesting this intersection.

Other Notes:
* Currently these intersections are located in the borough and are not being studied.
* College Avenue will likely see an explosion of traffic when the new South Square is complete, and 450 or more houses are constructed in West Donegal Township.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Editorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.