We were planning to write a very detailed explanation of why we think local politicians in Conshohocken can not be considered serious when they say they are concerned about traffic, however, we are going to be brief.

Last week we were having a conversation with someone and the topic of AmerisourceBergen moving to Conshohocken came up and of course traffic was mentioned.

During the conversation we said that what is interesting is that Conshohocken’s Borough Council sold the grass area at the corner of West Elm Street and Fayette Street and the old firehouse (through the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority) and then rezoned those properties and adjacent ones to allow much bigger development. For example, the building height allowed prior to the rezoning was 40 feet. It is now 180 feet. The publicly owned properties are shaded in the photo at the top of the article.

All of this was done knowing that the intersection of West Elm Street and Fayette Street was (and continues to be) rated a F. 

This also didn’t happen in a bubble. There are three approved sites in Conshohocken for large office buildings. There are also one 600 unit and one 300 unit apartment communities approved, but not built.

In the mix of all that, when Borough Council had the opportunity to create open or public space or seek a developer willing to work within the existing zoning, they decided to go big. 

They went big at a F rated intersection. 

So don’t let any local politicians tell you they are serious about traffic.

Their actions don’t show them to be.