Update on Traffic Concerns on West 6th Avenue

This is a follow-up article on the traffic issue on West 6th Avenue in Conshohocken. As we previously reported, West 6th Avenue gets a lot of pass through traffic from Colwell Lane and Fayette Street and vise versa. Residents are concerned due to the speeding, which prevents them to safely back out of driveways and crossing the street.

Residents engaged their representative on Borough Council, Anita Barton (D, Ward 4). Barton brought up the issue at the July 5th meeting of Borough Council with the hopes of getting approval for two speed tables (these are like speed bumps, but wider). Other members of Borough Council quickly rejected that idea and said that traffic overall needs to be addressed and they want to do it in a comprehensive fashion.

One thing that did come out of that meeting is that Mayor Bob Frost could authorize a temporary emergency stop sign. The location discussed was at the corner of West 6th Avenue and Freedly Street.

Since that meeting, we found ourselves driving over a temporary bump on Righter Street (pictured above). This got us curious and here is what we found out:

  • The movable speed bump on Righter Street was originally placed near West 12th Avenue and Maple Street due to traffic concerns there
    • The estimated cost was approximately $8,315.00 and this price would require additional signage and pavement markings to meet PennDOT standards estimated to cost between $800 and $1,000 (Meeting Minutes, 6/15/15)
    • When Borough Council voted to purchase and install the speed bump at West 12th and Maple Street, Council member Tina Sokolowski (D, Ward 3) seconded the motion to approve, but only once it was stipulated that “Council reviews the policies of other municipalities on when to install speed humps and Borough staff puts into writing documentation on why Council agreed to purchase this particular hump and install it as well as creates an official policy for speed hump installation in the near future. ” (Meeting Minutes, 6/15/16)
  • According to Council member Anita Barton (D, Ward 4), the speed bump at West 12 Avenue and Maple Street was removed because the residents living around it felt it wasn’t working and that it made too much noise
  • This speed bump was then moved to Righter Street to calm traffic and encourage drivers to actually stop at the stop sign

So we were wondering why this speed bump was approved, but not the request for a speed table for West 6th Avenue. According to Barton, the proposal for West 6th was for two permanent speed tables made of asphalt, which is a lot more than a temporary movable device.

We also discovered that the “official policy” that was supposed to result from the vote to approve the purchase and installation of the speed bump originally at West 12th Avenue and Maple Street does not exist. It has been just over a year.

In regards to the temporary emergency stop sign at Freedly Street, Mayor Frost has not yet ordered it.