John Mack - Newtown Supervisor
Tara Blvd Crosswalk Improvement Timeline

Tara Blvd Crosswalk Improvement Timeline

 

UPDATED 1 OCTOBER 2024

Back on November 15, 2022, residents of Newtown Walk invited me, supervisor Dennis Fisher, and PA State Representative Perry Warren to observe the excessive speed of motorists at the Newtown-Yardley Road/Tara Blvd entrance to their development. There is a “midblock” crosswalk at that intersection, which residents use to access the Newtown Trail on the south side of NT-Yardley Rd. At the time, there was also a school bus stop at that location.

Needless to say, residents were concerned about the safety of pedestrians – especially children – using the crosswalk some of whom have experienced close calls with cars.

In an email correspondence to me, Newtown Walk resident Valerie Mihalek said: “Thank you Supervisors Fisher and Mack for taking the time yesterday to meet with us at the pedestrian crosswalk.

“We felt the meeting was very beneficial,” said Ms. Mihalek. “Just to summarize:

  1. We will be attending the Dec 7th BOS meeting to hear and give feedback to the traffic engineer's study results.
  2. Many of us would be willing to meet with anyone else from the township at the pedestrian crosswalk to help them better understand our safety concerns and requested solutions.
  3. Our requests are: Lower the speed limit to 25mph to the Lower Dolington Rd traffic light as well as install a pedestrian activated blinking light.

“As you both saw yesterday ...especially with Supervisor Mack entering the crosswalk where cars would not stop for him, (even with him having his hand out asking them to stop) the crosswalk is extremely dangerous for a multitude of reasons. One car on a second attempt at the crosswalk stopped abruptly at the last minute with the car behind him nearly plowing into his car. This all happened while the sun glare was not there due to the clouds. It's even worse with the sun glare as Representative Warren saw.

“We appreciate your efforts in advance for continuing to move the ball forward to take action to make this crosswalk safer for all who use it.”

A lot of Board of Supervisors (BOS) discussions, proposals, and communications with PennDOT has happened since then. I thought this was a good time to review the process to see where we are and when this problem will be addressed by making this crosswalk safer.

Timeline
  • June 5, 2022: A Newtown Walk resident sent an email to me and supervisor Snyder with the subject line “Dangerous pedestrian crosswalk at intersection of Tara Blvd. and Newtown-Yardley Rd.” Residents of Newtown Walk who want to walk into the borough must cross Newtown-Yardley Rd. at the cross-walk by Tara Blvd. “There is a marked crosswalk with a sign in the middle of the road reminding traffic to yield to pedestrians,” said the resident. “This sign is almost uniformly ignored by cars driving down Newtown-Yardley Rd. The sign in the middle of the road is clearly  inadequate. The  only reason that we haven't had a serious pedestrian accident at this location is that pedestrians have been careful. At the minimum, this crosswalk needs a blinking light similar to the crosswalk on the less-traveled Lower Dolington Rd. at the entrance to Windemere/ Newtown Walk.”

“More appropriate would be a pedestrian push-button stop light that would assure safe passage by pedestrians across the road to joint the Newtown Trail into town. Hopefully, the infrastructure funding received by the Township can be used to improve this situation. This issue has come up in discussions within Newtown Walk, and I expect that this is not the last email you will receive on this topic.” 

  • June 17, 2022: Manager’s Report states “The crosswalk at Tara Blvd & Newtown Yardley Road will be striped with ‘piano striping’ crosswalk paint in response to recent complaints and concerns about safety issues with the crosswalk.” This was after several residents of Newtown Walk sent emails to the Township Manager/Supervisors on or about June 5, 2022. Residents requested more, including a pedestrian-activated beacon or flashing light.

  • June 24, 2022: Public Works Dept Report states “Newtown-Yardley Rd and Tara Blvd, installed ‘piano key’ crosswalk.”

  • August 10, 2022: At the August 10, 2022, Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Newtown Township Police Chief Hearn gave a report regarding this issue. “We had an enforcement initiative at Tara Blvd and Newtown-Yardley road as a result of complaints received to the board and to myself via email<’ said the Chief. “We had 47 separate details at that location over 29 hours including myself and Lieutenant Harris on separate occasions. There were videos of compliance of the yielding to pedestrians. There were 93 pedestrians to cross. There were only six violations observed and in each violation the driver's behavior was not egregious and on at least two occasions the violation was made by the pedestrian.” Background: “Newtown-Yardley Road Pedestrian Safety Measures.”

  • September 9, 2022: Newtown Engineer – Remington Vernick Engineers (RVE) – report, first mention: “RVE is currently reviewing options to improve the pedestrian connections at Tara Drive.”

  • September 30, 2022: Public Works Dept report: “Started installing various safety controls as recommended by RVE Traffic Engineer.”

  • October 7, 2022: RVE report: “RVE provided the Township with a sketch for improvements at the Tara Boulevard entrance which included increased pavement markings and flexible delineation posts.” Completed on 10/21/2022.

  • October 26, 2022: Valerie Mihalek, Greg Zukowsky, and other residents of Newtown Walk - including children - asked that the BOS add to a future agenda their request for additional pedestrian safety measures on Newtown-Yardley Rd and Tara Blvd.

  • November 4, 2022: RVE report: “RVE is currently reviewing available incident data from the Township Police Department and is reviewing options of reducing the speed limit and adding additional pedestrian flashing crosswalk devices.”

  • November 4, 2022: Manager’s Report: “Keystone Communities Program Grant. Sen. Santarsiero has requested that DCED set aside $50,000 for the design and implementation of pedestrian safety measures/signals, if warranted, along Sycamore Street and Newtown-Yardley Road. The funding is intended to be allocated to improve pedestrian amenities on Sycamore Street and potentially at the intersection of Newtown Yardley Rd. & Tara Dr.”
  • November 15, 2022: Supervisors John Mack and Dennis Fisher as well as State Representative Perry Warren visit with Newton Walk Residents at the Tara Blvd and Newtown-Yardley Rd to witness for themselves how unsafe the crosswalk is even with the safety measures that were recently implemented.
  • November 22, 2022: BOS adopts Resolution 2022-R-24 for Keystone Communities Additional Appropriation Funding ($50,000) for N Sycamore St pedestrian safety project.
  • December 7, 2022: BOS approves application to PennDOT to lower the speed limit to 25 mph on Newtown-Yardley Rd and install a pedestrian activated overhead flashing light (RFB) at this roadway at the Tara Blvd pedestrian crosswalk. See “Traffic Speed Study” by Remington Vernick Engineers (RVE).
  • December 15, 2022: Residents of Newtown Walk contacted Donald Centofante, Traffic Studies Supervisor for PennDOT District 6-0 regarding who has jurisdiction over NT-Yardley Rd. I emailed Micah Lewis and asked him to “arrange a phone call to Mr. Centofante to determine once and for all if NT-Yardley Rd is a township road and what exactly PennDOT's role - if any - is in lowering the speed limit on that road to 25 MPH between the boro (Washington ave) and Lower Dolington Rd. Also regarding signage and RRFBs [Rectangular Rapidly Flashing Beacons].”
  • December 12, 2022: RVE had a meeting with Police Chief Hearn regarding the possible reduction in speed limit from 35mph to 25mph along Newtown-Yardley Road near Tara Boulevard. The Department had no objections to implementing the reduction and will enforce as they are able to with their available resources. See RVE’s updated memorandum summarizing the findings.
  • December 20, 2022: Ms. Colubriale of RVE contacted Donald Centofante (PennDOT) and reported “Newtown-Yardley is a Township Road,” she said in an email on 12/20/22. “PennDOT does not have specific involvement with the speed limit reduction on a Township Road, however, we reviewed our recommendations with them and take their guidance and design standards into consideration. That said, Don was generally agreeable to the reduction of speed from 35mph to 25mph in that area.”
  • January 25, 2023: Reduction of the maximum speed limit on Washington Avenue/Newtown-Yardley Road between Lower Dolington Rd and the Newtown Borough Line from 35MPH to 25MPH

  • February 3, 2023 to May 4, 2023: RVE Report: Design is underway for the RRFB.
  • June 14, 2023: Supervisors approve a resolution to apply for an Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) grant for the construction of pedestrian-activated overhead RRFBs at the Newtown-Yardley Rd/Tara Blvd crosswalk and N Sycamore St/Silo Dr intersection. During the discussion, Newtown Walk residents, including Charles Feuer and Valerie Mihalek, were disappointed that this grant money, if awarded, would not be available until 2024 while accidents and near accidents continue to occur at the Tara Blvd crosswalk. I asked if work begin on this project BEFORE the grants are announced so that this project is NOT further delayed. I noted that I received multiple email inquiries from residents of Newtown Walk who are anxious to see this project move forward ASAP. I also noted that the 2023 Budget includes $250,000 from the American Rescue Fund to be used for “Sycamore Street Construction.” After public comment the BOS agreed to determine if funds allocated to N Sycamore St can be used for the Tara Blvd project as soon as possible. Nothing further was heard regarding this request.
  • September 7, 2023: Email from Mr. Lewis to BOS: “Attached is a draft of the RRFB Permit Plan at the intersection of Sycamore and Silo for submission to PennDOT. This will have a 40’ mast arm on the SE corner with overhead & post mounted signals (Assembly #1), as well as a 14’ pedestal with signals on the NW corner (Assembly #2). To activate the crossing, 5’ stub poles with push buttons will also be provided on the SW and NE corners. Once we submit to PennDOT for permit approval, they should respond with any comments within 30 days of submission.”

  • October 27, 2023: RVE submits plan for overhead RRFBs to PennDOT; estimated cost: $143,560.00 [vs. $183,371.00 for Silo Dr/N Sycamore St crosswalk]; $250,000 was set aside in the budget.
  • January 8, 2024: RVE says PennDOT sent “clarification on comments”
  • February 5, 2024: ARLE $326,931 Grant awarded; plus $250,000 set aside = $576,931 for safety improvements at Silo Dr and Tara Blvd crosswalk sites; also, according to RVE, “Plan revisions, internal discussion with Township, and various conversations w/ PennDOT regarding clarification and PennDOT policy”
  • March 3, 2024: RVE resubmission of plans to PennDOT based on comments
  • April 16, 2024: Response from PennDOT requesting the two RRFB pedestals and median refuge island with push button, in lieu of mast arm
  • June 10, 2024: RVE submits revised plan – pedestrian activated RRFBs – to PennDOT
  • June 26, 2024: Additional comments from PennDOT “adding to their last review,” says RVE. “Now requiring a 3rd RRFB on the refuge island as well as a strain pole with luminaire on the south side of Newtown-Yardley, in lieu of their previous request for a RRFB pedestal. Note: our original mast arm had a luminaire before they requested to remove the mast arm and add the pedestals.”
Next Steps
  • July 2, 2024: The next steps according to Dominic Cundari - the Township Engineer - are:
  1. RVE to amend the plan according to PennDOT’s recent comments.
  2. PennDOT approval of RRFB Signal Permit based on the amended plan
  3. RVE prepares Bid for project (Tara Blvd AND Silo Dr crosswalks)
  4. BOS approves the Bid to be submitted to PennBID
  5. Bids are received, reviewed by RVE
  6. BOS approves awarding of Bid on recommendation from RVE
  7. Work begins
  • July 5, 2024: According to Mr. Feuer, “… what RVE has failed to explain to you and the Board of Supervisors (BOS) is that the current submission by RVE to PENDOT will get the permit issued by PENDOT. PENDOT’s additional suggestions [are] options. They are NOT REQUIREMENTS, merely suggestions. I confirmed this when I spoke with Pat McCourt (PENDOT).

“RVE is creating an unnecessary step to this project. The future Construction Plan can or does not have to include the suggestions. That is the decision that should be made at the BOS Meeting on July 10 and the reason for my request for Richard Rezer to be present to inform the BOS accurately their options.”

  • July 8, 2024: Mr. Lewis’s Rebuttal – “We have spoken to RVE about the confusion. RVE directly requested clarification from PennDOT related to the markups they had previously provided. PennDOT confirmed that the revisions are necessary in order to issue the permit. RVE will be re-submitting the plan to PennDOT including the revisions in the near future. The re-submission will need to be accepted by PennDOT, but will not be required to go through another PennDOT review ‘cycle.’”
  • July 10, 2024: At the July 10, 2024, Board of Supervisors meeting, Charles Feuer, Al Default, and Valerie Mihalek - all residents of Newtown Walk - asked about the next steps in the process to add pedestrian improvements to the Tara Blvd mid-block crosswalk. Mr. Cundari - the Township Engineer - does his best to answer their questions and concerns. View the video”

I'm estimating “NEXT STEPS” will take at 3 to 4 more months, which brings us into November 2024. The fact that the project will be for Tara Blvd combined with Silo Drive means that work on the Tara Blvd crosswalk may not begin until AFTER Silo Dr, which will have priority based previous discussions by the BOS. Due to winter, that may mean work may not be done on improvements to the Tara Blvd crosswalk until the spring of 2025 – nearly 3 years after resident complaints were received by the township. 

  • July 23, 2024: Township Micah Lewis informed Charles Feuer – resident of Newtown Walk – that “Late Monday afternoon (yesterday) the Township received the approval letter for the Newtown Yardley/Tara Dr. signal permit from PennDOT. The Township has not had any further correspondence from PennDOT regarding the Sycamore/Silo application at this time.”
  • July 24, 2024: Mr. Feuer asked if “the Sycamore/Silo Crosswalk Project is being treated independently from NYTCP [Newtown-Yardley Rd Crosswalk Project] by RVE and Newtown Township, as the PENDOT permit has not been received by the Township for that project.” He wanted verification that “the Sycamore/Silo Crosswalk Project will not, in any way, impact or delay the progress of the NYTCP to its completion.” As mentioned by Mr. Cundari at the 10 July 2024 BOS meeting, these are two separate projects. It is assumed, therefore, that the township does NOT have to wait for PennDOT’s approval for Sycamore/Silo crosswalk before a bid for NYTCP can be sent out, awarded, and construction started.
  • August 9, 2024: The RVE August 9, 2024 Report states  “The Traffic Signal Permit Plan was submitted to PennDOT on 7/12/24 and an anticipated response date was set by PennDOT for 8/11/24.” [NOTE: 8/11/24 is a Sunday!!!] Also “RVE is actively working on the bid documents for both crosswalk locations and has requested authorization to bid the Newtown Township Pedestrian Upgrades project.”
  • August 14, 2024: At the 14 August 2024 Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Dominic Cundari - the Township Engineer from Remington-Vernick Engineers (RVE) - requested that the BOS authorize RVE to advertise a single bid for both the Silo Dr AND Tara Blvd crosswalks despite the fact that the township has not received PennDOT approval of the Silo Dr crosswalk improvement plan.

My attempt to vote on moving ahead with the Tara Blvd project while we await a PennDOT response regarding Silo Dr, was met with "crickets" - i.e., no response from the other 3 supervisors present. Newtown Walk resident Charles Feuer summed up the situation in comments made at the meeting and in a followup email to supervisors (see below).

  • August 19, 2024: Newtown Supervisors received this email from Charles Freuer on Monday, 19 August 2024:

"Newtown is still reacting to the disconcerting decision by the Board Of Supervisors(BOS) last Wednesday to instruct the Township Engineers(Remington Vernick Engineers, RVE) to delay the Advertising & Bid Process for the Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project despite permit issuance by PENDOT.

"The decision by the Township Engineers to delay and bundle two mutually exclusive projects, by their own description, for a Public Safety issue where no benefit exists and the funding has already been received by Newtown Township from PENDOT by  ARLE Grant for both projects is unthinkable and unbelievable. 

"Newtown BOS Member, John Mack, even motioned and called for a BOS vote to move the Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project forward in the completion process while awaiting Sycamore/Silo Permit and was silenced by all of the remaining BOS Members present. Further, RVE has had a month since the Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project Permit was issued by PENDOT and told the BOS they have not completed the documentation for Advertising and Bidding the project while they wait for a different permit. 

"I took it upon myself to call PENDOT last Friday to speak to the PENDOT Traffic Coordinator in charge of the two projects permitting. He had expedited the Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project permit for us. He told me that the Sycamore/Silo Drive Crosswalk Application was still in process. I asked him if he could expedite the review and permit and he said he would have it issued ASAP due to its Pedestrian Safety Status. He also remarked that this would have been done if RVE had requested it from the initial Application as a Public Safety Issue!  Note: 2 years ago, the Sycamore/Silo Crosswalk Project was started prior to Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project and applied to PENDOT before the Newtown-Yardley/Tara Blvd Mid-Block Signaling Crosswalk Project for its permit.

"I and others request that this contractor, Remington Vernick Engineers be removed as Township Engineers upon completion of these projects."

  • August 23, 2024: Mack asks if RVE has heard from PennDOT re Silo Dr crosswalk application:

"It's been nearly 2 weeks since PennDOT's supposed 8/11 deadline. What have you heard from them, if anything? We've heard from Mr. Feuer that they may have ‘concerns’ regarding the latest plan RVE sent them. I now have concerns that they will come back requiring even MORE changes, meaning substantial delays. Someone needs to tell PennDOT to EXPEDITE their review and response and that means NOW!”

Response from Dominic Cundari, RVE engineer: “Correct, we have been in contact with PennDOT and no word yet. Our Traffic Engineer was once again going to reach out to Pat McCourt (who Mr. Feuer has been in communication with [see Auust 19, 2024]) today to look for an update as well as discuss Mr. Feurer's most recent email.”

Followup: PennDOT issued their review of the Sycamore/Silo RRFB Permit Plan on August 23, 2024. Supervisors were notified of this on August 26, 2024. See the “North Sycamore Street Pedestrian Safety Timeline” for details.

  • August 26, 2024: Accident at Tara Blvd crosswalk. Mr. Feuer sent me this photo showing two cars involved in an accident approaching the Tara Blvd crosswalk coming from the west:
It appears that the van may have bumped into the sedan probably when it stopped
for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Luckily no pedestrian was struck.

“The end result is that the delay [in bidding for the Tara Blvd crosswalk project] remains and that pedestrians and cyclists remain at risk,” said Mr. Feuer in an email to the township supervisors and manage. “The justification [for the delay, see above] is unfounded, unsupported and of tremendous liability to Newtown Township! This is further supported by the accident at the Tara Crosswalk yesterday afternoon...thankfully, no pedestrian was injured or killed.”

Back in November 2022 when I used the crosswalk a car almost slammed into another car that had stopped for me. Without flashing RRFB’s, drivers do not have sufficient warning that traffic ahead may stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Given the fact that many drivers are greatly exceeding the 25 MPH speed limit, incidents like this one may result in a car being pushed into the crosswalk and harming a pedestrian. JUST SAYIN’!

  • August 29, 2024: Supervisors were informed that the Bid specifications/package for the Sycamore/Silo and Tara/Newtown Yardley Road signals have been completed and will be advertised next week for bidding/proposals from contractors.

FOLLOWUP (August 30, 2024): The Township Engineer offered these details: “The first advertisement date would be next Friday, September 6th and bids would be scheduled to be opened three (3) weeks after, September 27th.”

NOTE: The ARLE contract includes a timeline that anticipated a “Bid Opening and Project Award” date of July 2024. It also anticipated that the “Contract and Project Award” would be made in August 2024 and that 9 weeks of construction would begin in September 2024 and be complete by October 2024. See September 11, 2024, however, for a note about when construction can begin.

At the 11 September 2024 Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Township Engineer Dominic Cundari gave a brief update of the Tara Blvd and Silo Dr crosswalk RRFB projects. Mr. Cundari specifically noted that PennDOT had not yet issued a permit for the Tara Blvd/Newtown-Yardly Rd crosswalk despite a timely response by the engineers to a previous PennDOT comment. Nevertheless, a bid for construction of the projects was published anticipating that PennDOT would have no further comments and would issue the permit.

It should be noted that the ARLE Grant covering the costs of these projects specifically states that “Construction activities shall not begin until PennDOT approves the Final Plans and gives the Sponsor written authorization to proceed."

  • September 27, 2024: Bids Are Opened

The township received a total of two (2) bids as follows:

  • T. Schiefer Contractors, Inc.
    • Base Bid - $391,915.00
    • Alternate Bid No. 1 (decorative poles) - $117,000
  • Armour & Sons Electric, Inc.
    • Base Bid - $437,445.00
    • Alternate Bid No. 1 (decorative poles) - $103,125.00

The Township engineers have started to review all the submitted documentation and will have a recommendation for award as soon as possible. The bids do need to be submitted to ARLE for their review and approval as part of the grant contract. Note that the township received an ARLE Grant of $326,931 for these projects. An additional $50,000 is available from another grant.

RVE Invoices Related to Tara Blvd Crosswalk

The following data was obtained by analyzing 2023 and 2024 Bills Lists (no bills that could be identified as related to this project were found in the 2022 Bills Lists). To date (8/26/24) RVE bills for the Tara Blvd crosswalk project totals $24,385.86:

Posted on 09 Jul 2024, 01:20 - Category: Public Safety