Township Council Approves Traffic Calming Devices in New Neighborhoods

Township council Monday night gave final approval to a new ordinance designed to slow down traffic through residential neighborhoods.

Following a public hearing earlier in the evening, council voted 5-2 to approve the new Traffic Calming Ordinance that will require developers to build in devices to new neighborhood streets. The devices could include speed bumps, elevated crossings for pedestrians, low-speed curbs, median islands and other measures in the ordinance that will slow down traffic.

Planning director Ed Zuk presented council with detailed information about the traffic changes, which are now part of the township’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Casting dissenting votes against the plan were council chairman Robert Atkison and councilman David Ball.

Atkinson said the amendment to the ordinance may cause more problems for township road crews and police.

“This will make us a Mickey Mouse street community,” Atkison said. “(This amendment) is going to cause a lot of problems for snow removal and for the police and fire departments.”

Council voted to table revisions to another ordinance that would set regulations on electronic signs and message boards in neighborhoods and along highways such as Route 19. Zuk presented council with an overview of the proposed regulations, which limit size and hours electronic signs can be used in residential areas as well as public routes.  

Councilman Robert Lewis said electronic signs are “garish,” and felt that they are too bright and distracting. Several business owners said they favored shorter times between messages that are displayed. Colors for backgrounds and texts were also discussed. Council said they needed more time to study the intensity of the lighting and timing for messages to be displayed.

During the public comment time at the meeting, Jet Miskis, a leader of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness group asked council to consider forming a three-member citizens advisory panel to work with council on revisions to the Marcellus Shale ordinance. She said the group has 79 members , and would like to see regulations in the ordinance that would require a closed-loop system for fracking water as opposed to evaporation sprayers or misters.

Council chairman Robert Atkison told Miskis that “nothing is going on now” with the ordinance revision.

“Just continue to come to the (council) meetings,” he said. “You’ll know what’s going on.”

On another matter, township manager Michael Silvesrti told council that an arbitrator has awarded the township’s firefighters a 3.5 percent pay raise in a new four-year contract.

The agreement with Local 4750, and the International Association of Firefighters, is retroactive to January 2010. It covers the township’s eight full-time and six part-time paid firefighters. The arbitrator’s decision was handed down on March 21.  

Finally, council delayed setting a date for the continuation of the . Council said they want to get a transcript from the hearing held on March 21 before setting the date for the continuation.