YMCA Traffic Issues

At the Planning Commission meeting, the Y discussed plans to address the traffic the facility will generate. In particular, the Y intends to install a traffic signal at Hillcrest Avenue ... I voiced concerns -- which have been expressed to me by numerous residents -- about the impact of traffic leaving the facility and traveling across Eagle Road directly onto Hillcrest and into the Paddock Farms and other nearby neighborhoods. Because the Y did not address this concern sufficiently to me in its materials, I urged the Planning Commission to take action to address the residents' concerns and to do whatever possible to prevent further traffic into the residential neighborhoods.

As a result of my comments, the Planning Commission is requiring the Y (as a condition of approval) to conduct a traffic study showing the current patterns of traffic on the streets in that area (essentially the area bordered by Ellis Road, Darby Road, Lawrence Road, Hillcrest Avenue and adjacent streets), to conduct a study 6 months after the facility is open -- and to compare the results. The Y will then be required to report to the Township its findings and to either remediate any additional traffic or make recommendations to the Township for how to do so. This is essentially the same requirement the Planning Commission imposed on the developers of the Quarry Shopping Center on Township Line Road to address the concerns of residents in that neighborhood. I will continue to monitor the situation and to do what I can to keep non-residential traffic off of residential streets.