©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

New 4-way stops relieve neighbors
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

The four-way stop at Moreland Avenue and Winston Road is one of five recently established in Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy. (Photo by John Folo)

Four-way stops have multiplied in Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy in a response to community requests and increased traffic.

At Winston Road and East Moreland Avenue, a one-street stop — dubbed “conventional stops” by the city Department of Streets — was converted to a four-way on Saturday, June 17, said Mark Washington, district traffic engineer for the department. Winston Road neighbors filed the latest written requests for the four-way stop on June 5, 2006.

“The difference that it made already is just incredible to the quality of life on the street,” said neighbor John Follo, who had two cars struck within two days in 2004. “The speeding is out of control.”

Washington said the department studies all intersections or problem areas when a written request is made, and follows PennDOT requirements in determining the need for signs, lights and street marking.

When Winston-Moreland neighbors requested a four-way stop in 2004, the intersection’s accident history did not suggest a need for such a change, Washington said. The request made earlier this month triggered a re-evaluation, he said. The traffic data from the 2004 study, coupled with the most current accident data, were enough to constitute the need for the four-way stop.

According to the state’s requirements, in the three years previous to the written request’s submission, there must be five “correctable” crashes at an intersection within a 12-month period for an intersection to qualify for a four-way stop, Washington said. “Correctable” crashes are not caused by driver error — such as drunken or reckless driving — and could have been prevented by an all-way stop.

Two four-way stops were also added to Wayne Avenue in Mount Airy on Friday, June 9. These stops were placed after Councilman Michael Nutter and Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller filed requests with the department on May 3 and May 10, respectively, for stops at Wayne Avenue and Hortter Street and Wayne Avenue and Westview Street.

There was a study done at Wayne and Hortter last fall in response to another request filed by Miller, but the traffic situation did not meet the state’s criteria, Washington said. There is more traffic now because Wayne is used as a detour for Wissahickon Avenue, which is closed between Westview and Hortter while the Philadelphia Water Department completes the sewer construction begun in May.

The detour for the Willow Grove Avenue Bridge, which closed in March for structural repairs, caused two four-way stops to be placed along the detour route — one at Gravers and St. Martin’s Lanes, and one at Willow Grove Avenue and Seminole Street. Those went up in “anticipation of increased traffic volume,” Washington said.

The additional signs along both detours are permanent. If they were to be taken down after having been up a few months, it could cause other traffic problems, he said.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.