Left Turn Sign Needed at Intersection of Newtown-Yardley Road and Route 332

 

A Newtown Twp resident emailed me:

"Hi John, attached is a picture of the Bypass & Newtown-Yardley Road intersection. We need overhead signs by the traffic lights that show that both lanes turn to the left. Many people are unaware that this intersection allows both lanes to turn left. So many times the driver in the left lane proceeds to drive immediately into the right lane after turning unaware that another car turned beside him. I've avoided an accident many times anticipating this. This is the intersection where the new Wawa is proposed. A sign depicting double turning lanes is necessary when I'm sitting at the light on Newtown-Yardley Road turning left towards Shady Brook Farm."

I noted that "When I use that road I notice that the turns are indicated by arrows on the road. The left lane is for left turns only, the right lane can be left, straight, or right. Is that correct?"

The resident responded:

"John, you are correct about the painted arrows in the street. But once there are three cars in each lane, they're now sitting on top of the arrows. So additional cars in the two lanes are blind to the arrows painted in the street. A sign like this [see photo above showing a proposed sign] mounted by the stop lights would definitely help."

My personal survey of 132 residents revealed that the vast majority (90%) felt this was “definitely a good idea.”

Is This a Good Idea? Tell Me What You Think...

[Find the up-to-date survey results to date here, including dozens of comments from respondents.]

PennDOT Agrees!

It turns out that PennDOT agrees! After I posted a concern to the PennDOT Customer Care website, Mr. Michael Smith, Acting Traffic Signals Supervisor at PennDOT, responded “It does appear that additional signage would be helpful to motorists.” 

Newtown Township Must Act

Mr. Smith, however, noted that the “signal is owned by Newtown Twp. As such, any proposed change to the intersection (including signing), would involve a change to the permit. The twp would need to submit the change to PennDOT for approval, then it would the responsibility of the twp to have the signage installed. I would suggest you work with your twp engineer to determine exactly what signing to install, as well as submitting the application for it.”

Newtown Township Manager Micah Lewis passed this on to the Township Traffic Engineer. We are currently waiting for the Engineer’s response.

I will keep you informed about further progress regarding this matter. 

Posted on 23 Jun 2022, 13:10 - Category: Traffic