posted by Joe Polk at 10:40 AM /
NOTE: The following is a guest posting by Dan Miller, 5th Ward Commissioner:
Friends:
There is a controversy brewing in the streets of Mt. Lebanon's 5th Ward. As a resident here for over six years I have learned that such fervor can mean only one thing- a debate over traffic.
This new Commission inherited a partially voted upon traffic calming plan that focuses on the Mapleton cut through corridor. I say partially because one element of this plan is already in implementation. New traffic signals are sprouting up on Cochran Road from Cedar to Bower Hill. If you have ever tried to take a left from Cochran to Bower Hill, you know why there is a problem- the current timing pattern on those lights do little to help speed the flow of traffic on those primary roads. This is a clear contributor as to why people feel compelled to cut through the Mapleton corridor.
But those lights are not the controversy.
Instead, there is a debate about a series of turn restriction signs that would limit access to and from Bower Hill on a number of secondary streets. The Traffic Board has been working on this plan for at least the last couple years. The main focus is on Mapleton. It links Cedar with Bower Hill and is absent any traffic lights, provides steep slopes for cars to fly down, and has stop signs that many consider to be optional. Each resident on Mapleton can tell stories of near-misses or the inability to pull out of their driveway because of traffic. Several will tell you how they have been yelled at for parking in front of their own homes. In recent years these problems have only increased as more traffic comes from USC and Peters to meander through this area in the never-ending search to save a couple of minutes from their commute.
I was formally presented with a traffic calming plan several months ago. I found it to be unacceptable because I believed it would merely shift the traffic from Mapleton to Marlin Drive. I told the traffic engineer that I would not support it and suggested he develop options that would protect Marlin and perhaps Coolidge. A new plan was created.
In accordance with a campaign promise, I have been taking this plan door to door to both alert residents to its possibility and to solicit feedback. As one can imagine, there is a wide variety of responses. Many who hear of the possibility to cut a couple thousand cars from passing their homes each day are excited. There is another large percentage who are adamantly opposed to any such plan because of a fear that Mapleton's problem will become theirs. And there are those in the middle, who are skeptical but willing to try something as long as I keep my word to remove the signs if the problem was merely shifted to them. (The signs are incredibly cheap compared to the $220,000 spent on the traffic signals.)
Although I have received several much appreciated accolades from residents who were surprised to see a Commissioner at their door who is NOT running for office, I have also received some responses where the tone may be a bit harsh. Although I did not create this plan, as a person who has put himself in the public arena I expect and accept a certain degree of that. However, I have also become aware of harsh arguments between neighbors over this issue as well as some disparaging emails and incorrect flyers that have been circulating.
While I am very pleased that residents are looking to mobilize and participate on this issue, I hope that such a discussion can be done in a manner and tone that is appropriate and respectful of differing opinions. There is clear passion on both sides and I have little hope that my vote on this issue will meet with universal acclaim. This is not an enviable position. However, much like those supporters that have waited for years for the Commission to make a decision regarding the athletic fields or the pool, I believe we cannot pass the buck on this and that we owe people a vote.
Let me reassure you that I will not vote for a plan that I sincerely feel will merely shift traffic from one secondary street to another. If I hadn't raised a concern for Marlin a couple of months ago it is quite likely that a vote on this would have already occurred. I am very much aware that any plan would, at best, be a trade off between adding time for local traffic to enter and exit their own neighborhood versus eliminating a couple of thousand cars thought the area daily- and the impact and preference of both can be subjective.
As a volunteer firefighter I am very concerned with public safety. I am just as concerned for the children at the day care at the bottom of Mapleton as I am for the family that crosses the street on Coolidge. During the next couple weeks I will continue to come to your doors to discuss this issue. I urge you to continue to communicate with each other and the Commission. I promise to double my efforts to make sure this debate is conducted in a manner fitting of our community, and I will continue to document any and all feedback that I receive.
Sincerely,
Dan
www.danmillerward5.com
Friends:
There is a controversy brewing in the streets of Mt. Lebanon's 5th Ward. As a resident here for over six years I have learned that such fervor can mean only one thing- a debate over traffic.
This new Commission inherited a partially voted upon traffic calming plan that focuses on the Mapleton cut through corridor. I say partially because one element of this plan is already in implementation. New traffic signals are sprouting up on Cochran Road from Cedar to Bower Hill. If you have ever tried to take a left from Cochran to Bower Hill, you know why there is a problem- the current timing pattern on those lights do little to help speed the flow of traffic on those primary roads. This is a clear contributor as to why people feel compelled to cut through the Mapleton corridor.
But those lights are not the controversy.
Instead, there is a debate about a series of turn restriction signs that would limit access to and from Bower Hill on a number of secondary streets. The Traffic Board has been working on this plan for at least the last couple years. The main focus is on Mapleton. It links Cedar with Bower Hill and is absent any traffic lights, provides steep slopes for cars to fly down, and has stop signs that many consider to be optional. Each resident on Mapleton can tell stories of near-misses or the inability to pull out of their driveway because of traffic. Several will tell you how they have been yelled at for parking in front of their own homes. In recent years these problems have only increased as more traffic comes from USC and Peters to meander through this area in the never-ending search to save a couple of minutes from their commute.
I was formally presented with a traffic calming plan several months ago. I found it to be unacceptable because I believed it would merely shift the traffic from Mapleton to Marlin Drive. I told the traffic engineer that I would not support it and suggested he develop options that would protect Marlin and perhaps Coolidge. A new plan was created.
In accordance with a campaign promise, I have been taking this plan door to door to both alert residents to its possibility and to solicit feedback. As one can imagine, there is a wide variety of responses. Many who hear of the possibility to cut a couple thousand cars from passing their homes each day are excited. There is another large percentage who are adamantly opposed to any such plan because of a fear that Mapleton's problem will become theirs. And there are those in the middle, who are skeptical but willing to try something as long as I keep my word to remove the signs if the problem was merely shifted to them. (The signs are incredibly cheap compared to the $220,000 spent on the traffic signals.)
Although I have received several much appreciated accolades from residents who were surprised to see a Commissioner at their door who is NOT running for office, I have also received some responses where the tone may be a bit harsh. Although I did not create this plan, as a person who has put himself in the public arena I expect and accept a certain degree of that. However, I have also become aware of harsh arguments between neighbors over this issue as well as some disparaging emails and incorrect flyers that have been circulating.
While I am very pleased that residents are looking to mobilize and participate on this issue, I hope that such a discussion can be done in a manner and tone that is appropriate and respectful of differing opinions. There is clear passion on both sides and I have little hope that my vote on this issue will meet with universal acclaim. This is not an enviable position. However, much like those supporters that have waited for years for the Commission to make a decision regarding the athletic fields or the pool, I believe we cannot pass the buck on this and that we owe people a vote.
Let me reassure you that I will not vote for a plan that I sincerely feel will merely shift traffic from one secondary street to another. If I hadn't raised a concern for Marlin a couple of months ago it is quite likely that a vote on this would have already occurred. I am very much aware that any plan would, at best, be a trade off between adding time for local traffic to enter and exit their own neighborhood versus eliminating a couple of thousand cars thought the area daily- and the impact and preference of both can be subjective.
As a volunteer firefighter I am very concerned with public safety. I am just as concerned for the children at the day care at the bottom of Mapleton as I am for the family that crosses the street on Coolidge. During the next couple weeks I will continue to come to your doors to discuss this issue. I urge you to continue to communicate with each other and the Commission. I promise to double my efforts to make sure this debate is conducted in a manner fitting of our community, and I will continue to document any and all feedback that I receive.
Sincerely,
Dan
www.danmillerward5.com
Labels: 5th ward, Dan Miller, traffic calming
4 Comments:
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thanks for the heads-up on this issue, which I thought was "dead."
Because we live just around the corner from Mapleton, we are on that road almost every day. We "cut thru" Mapleton to go to the CVS drug store. We go onto Mapleton and then Academy to get to the bank and Rolliers. And yes, we drive on Mapleton and turn right onto Bower Hill on our way to the Beverly shops and to get downtown.
According to the people on Mapleton, we are seemingly doing something evil...we are cutting thru their residential street to get to local shops and other destinations. And why wouldn't we? We live in the neighborhood, pay the same tax rate they do (local wage tax, municipal school, county , state and federal...and gas taxes).
Should all of the neighbors on all of the surrounding streets, including Cedar, Academy, Marlin, etc....be inconvenienced every day of our lives? Does anyone think that more traffic on Bower Hill, Cedar, Cochran and Washington is a good thing for anyone?
Shall all "cut throughs" be prohibited? Don't forget streets like Florida and Baywood which connect Cedar and Cochran. Shall we close them to through traffic? Will all streets be closed to everyone except the residents who live on them? Then what about Washington, Cedar and Bower Hill -- people live on those streets, too, and I'll bet it's a bit harder to get out of those driveways, than the driveways of Mapleton.
Of COURSE there will be more traffic on Marlin and other side streets if we are all banned from Mapleton.
But I'll be glad to make a deal with every resident on Mapleton. I'll be glad to stay off your street if you stay off mine...which happens to be Cedar Blvd.
Linda Wilson Fuoco
Come February 2009, the Mapleton Marietta traffic calming issue will enter year 5 of public debate. That's right - this issue was first brought to the Traffic Board at its February 2005 meeting. In reality, the debate extends back even further as earlier requests were made of the Traffic Board which were denied in the pre-Traffic Calming Policy era.
By way of background, prior to late 2004 Mt. Lebanon had no formal traffic calming policy. Prior to that time, complaints or concerns raised by citizens were made to the Traffic Board. The Traffic Board, in consultation with the township's independent traffic engineer, would evaluate the problem and recommend a solution to the Commission if possible. However, the Traffic Board and the Commission often had limited options in trying to solve these problems. Pennsylvania law dictates how and where stop signs and other traffic control devices can be used. For example, I'm sure many would be surprised hear that stop signs may NOT be used to control speed. Instead, the placement of a stop sign must satisfy certain specific criteria as spelled out in the Pennsylvania statutes. Similarly, there are restrictions on the use of other traffic control signs, speed limits and those other tools that we commonly think of when trying to slow down traffic or keep it off of our side streets.
As a result, the Traffic Board (again with the assistance of an independent traffic engineer) developed a Traffic Calming Policy. The Policy (available on the Mt. Lebanon website) is designed to create a framework for reviewing those heavily travelled neighborhoods in which traditional traffic control devices (stop signs etc) are not practical or legal. The Policy essentially empowers the Board and the Commission to implement other measures in effort to reduce volume and speed in these neighborhoods.
The one and only example of the Policy in action is in Mission Hills. The speed humps on Jefferson and Orchard were installed as the result of that neighborhood's participation in the first ever Traffic Calming study. If memory serves, the Mapleton-Marietta neighborhood is the second area to be evaluated under the Policy, and at last glance there were some 4 or 5 other neighborhoods on the waiting list.
During my tenure on the Traffic Board (which included the period in which the Policy was formulated), I have moved from being a traffic calming skeptic to a traffic calming advocate and back again to a skeptic.
Our streets and neighborhoods were not laid out or designed to handle the traffic volumes that they now are asked to bear, and I truly appreciate that this is troublesome for many residents. However, for every person that is concerned about the problem, there are just as many residents who appreciate the convenience of the neighborhood streets and do not want to alter the status quo. During our public meetings on the Mapleton area we heard impassioned speeches from residents on both sides. Moreover, while some streets see more traffic than others, this is certainly something that is considered during the home buying process. I don't think anyone who purchased a home on Mapleton, Marietta, Greenhurst, N. Meadowcroft, Overlook, Jefferson or Orchard in the last 10 years can contend that they did so because it was thought to be a quiet, rarely traveled street. Those streets have served as cut throughs for decades. Personally, I lived on a heavily travelled cut through street for over 10 years with 3 kids. Our house sat in front of perhaps the two most ignored stop signs in Mt. Lebanon. When we moved for more space, we chose a dead end street.
The reality is that most of Mt. Lebanon's neighborhoods have been in existence for over 50 years. The community was laid out at a time when it was at the "end-of-the-line." Upper St Clair remained largely farmland and Peters Twp must have seemed like another world all together. Cut through traffic from the outside simply didn't exist.
Today, with the development of USC, Peters, South Fayette, Cecil and others, Mt. Lebanon is less like the quiet suburbs and more like a city neighborhood. (See the Concentric Zone Theory from your Sociology 101 class in college). I compare the current scenario in Mt Lebanon to certain city neighborhoods like Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, Ben Avon and Aspinwall. Blasphemy, I know. But if you don't believe, spend some time driving through those neighborhoods and then out in Peters Twp, South Fayette, Cranberry and other new developments. We are most definitely a city neighborhood, and city neighborhoods have and will always have overburdened streets, parking shortages and heavy volumes of cut through traffic.
In fact, with the exception of a perhaps Virginia Manor (where you pay a heavy price for the peace and quiet), there aren't too many neighborhoods that are immune from cut through traffic in Mt. Lebanon. Mission Hills gets its share as the only pathway from Washington Rd to Mt. Lebanon Blvd. between Castle Shannon Blvd and Mt. Lebanon Blvd itself. The N. Meadowcroft/Overlook stretch absorbs a heavy volume of Downtown commuters. The Marlin stretch between Bower Hill and Beverly is heavily travelled. Greenhurst gets plenty of cars leaping from Cedar to Bower Hill. And so on.
And it's not simply those nasty outsiders who speed and create the volume. How many Lebo residents cut through Mapleton-Marietta to get to Beverly Rd or Downtown? How many cut through the Foster area to get to S. Hills Village or the big Giant Eagle? How many residents use N. Meadowcroft on their way to work? How many skip from Cedar to Bower Hill on "quiet" residential streets like Longridge, Salem or Duquesne? I'd like to meet the Mt. Lebanon driver who only uses Washington, Bower Hill and Cochran Rds. Similarly, I'd like to see the grid lock that would be created if that became the requirement. After all, if you shut off Mapleton-Marietta, you conceivably owe the same obligation to similarly situated neighborhoods. Eventually, each neighborhood becomes an island, but more likely the burden just gets shifted. The example I gave back in 2005 involved the commuter who generally uses the Mapleton Marietta neighborhood as a cut through for his morning commute to Downtown from Upper St. Clair. If that corridor is no longer available, this commuter will undoubtedly use some combination of Kelso, Greenhurst, Salem, Moffet, Scrubgrass, Parker, Midway, Overlook, N. Meadowcroft and other residential streets as alternatives. He will not simply take his medicine and ride Rt 19 all of the way in. And others will do the same. Traffic is like water. It will find the path of least resistance.
Lastly, as noted above, Mapleton-Marietta is just one of about 5 neighborhoods that are currently on the Traffic Calming waiting list. If we try to fix their problem, we must try to solve the others. Traffic Calming studies can run between $7,500 and $20,000, depending on the size of the neighborhood, the amount of work involved, etc. This does not include any costs associated with implementation. So, with the neighborhoods currently in the queue, we're looking at a significant price tag just to study (and not necessarily shift or fix) traffic patterns. Personally, I think that the money is better spent elsewhere.
I would like to remind everyone that every street in Mt. Lebanon is a residential street.
Residents who live on Bower Hill, Beverly, Cedar, Cochran, Scott and Washington Rd would all I am sure like some traffic calming too. My family moved from Homewood to Mt.Lebanon in 1961. My older siblings at that time thought we were moving out to the sticks. Forty seven years later; we aren't in the sticks anymore. The fact of the matter is that most of Mt. Lebanon has become a cut through. We are in the way of people getting from point A to point B.
I have lived on Bower Hill Rd for most of my life. I could go on and on about what I have endured over the years just trying to pull in and out of my driveway, the horns, the hand gestures, the yelling of profanities. I could also tell many stories of the tragic accidents, and the numerous wrecks that have landed in my front yard. I know this is where I choose to live and raise my family and the real estate value of my property reflects the fact that we live on a busy street. But this doesn't mean that we should be treated differently than any other section of the municipality.
Would I like to have speed bumps, rumble strips or roundabouts installed to slow & calm the traffic on Bower Hill? Sure. Do i think it would be practical? No. Just as I don't think it is practical to do so on any other "residential" street in Mt. Lebanon.
I can empathize with those living on the side cut through streets. I lived on one of them, Parker Dr, I know what it's like. However, if special consideration is given to Mapleton and Marietta like what has already been given to Orchard and Jefferson there will be many, many more in line to have their streets calmed.
Oh and by the way, the rumble strips on Orchard don't look like they are holding up very well.
I noticed the other day when I was CUTTING THROUGH.
I agree with you Dave, spend the money elsewhere.
There is one other point that I failed to make above. I would be all in favor of turn restrictions as long as they limited the flow of traffic onto Bower Hill past my house. No turns onto Bower Hill from Cochran and Washington Rds would be nice. Sound absurd??
Parallel streets like Cedar Blvd and Scrubgrass would pick up the additional flow of traffic. The residents on those streets wouldn't mind. The township (or county) could then convert these streets along with Cochran Rd into four lane major arteries. There was a failed attempt to do this with Cochran Rd many years ago, maybe it's time to look at it again.
Many streets now classified as "secondary" that are used as cut throughs could be widened and reclassified as "major arteries". Just think how much quicker your street would get plowed and salted. The down side is; you would have to buy brown paper lawn bags from Rolliers and bag your leaves. No more raking them out to the street.
This would solve most of our traffic problems and allow our neighbors in our southern communities a swift commute to and from work.
It would also allow my kids and many other children who live along the Bower Hill corridor the opportunity, after generations, to once again, play wiffle ball in the street.
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