A pedestrian safety meeting was held Jan. 15 in Chestnut Hill with Councilwoman Cindy Bass, Department of Streets Chief Highway Engineer Stephen Lorenz, and David Rivenbark, chief of staff to State Rep. Tarik Khan. The following summarizes a letter sent to these officials after the meeting:
Thank you all for joining the Chestnut Hill community meeting on pedestrian safety that took place on Jan. 15 and hearing concerns from representatives of our 10,000 residents, 200 businesses and strong cultural and education institutions in Chestnut Hill. As shared at this meeting, we cannot wait any …
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A pedestrian safety meeting was held Jan. 15 in Chestnut Hill with Councilwoman Cindy Bass, Department of Streets Chief Highway Engineer Stephen Lorenz, and David Rivenbark, chief of staff to State Rep. Tarik Khan. The following summarizes a letter sent to these officials after the meeting:
Thank you all for joining the Chestnut Hill community meeting on pedestrian safety that took place on Jan. 15 and hearing concerns from representatives of our 10,000 residents, 200 businesses and strong cultural and education institutions in Chestnut Hill. As shared at this meeting, we cannot wait any longer to make improvements to pedestrian safety for our community. This letter seeks to confirm our shared agreement:
On behalf of the panel, Councilwoman Bass committed to the use of ITAP funding for "crosswalks and traffic calming measures" on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill. Please confirm exactly what this includes and the timeline for the work. We have requested that crosswalks be repaired and restriped from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Cresheim Drive. The group is requesting a plan for the work needed from Stephen Lorenz's office within the next 30 days. We are interested in collaborating on a reasonable implementation schedule that allows the work to occur as soon as possible within the next six months.
There was an expressed commitment to restripe crosswalks in residential areas. Again, we would welcome a plan to understand what streets this would include and the timeline for the work to be done.
Information was shared regarding the city's commitment to installing speed bumps near all schools. Please confirm that all the Chestnut Hill education centers will be included: Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, Our Mother of Consolation School, The Crefeld School, Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Early Childhood, Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences (excluding Germantown Ave.), Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Chestnut Hill College (side street). Please share what the timeline is for this work to begin and be completed.
There was an understanding by all parties that crosswalk restriping is not enough for pedestrian safety. It was agreed that the next step would be for the Pedestrian Safety Task Force and the appropriate city employees to meet and begin planning for both shorter and longer term solutions to meet our community's needs for increased enforcement and traffic calming measures (i.e., the possibility of installing traffic lights on the lower hill, speed cameras, bump outs, and others to be named). We would like to begin this plan as soon as possible. Please provide contact information for the staff that we should be in touch with about this project.
We understand that PennDot plays a key role in both the short term and long-term plans for Germantown Avenue, and we will be meeting with a representative from PennDot regarding the agency's plans as soon as the meeting is confirmed. If you would like a representative from any of your offices to be part of that meeting, please let us know as we would welcome their participation.
This letter seeks to confirm our understanding of key outcomes from the Jan. 15 public meeting and to request information on the next steps for immediate progress on pedestrian safety issues in Chestnut Hill. We look forward to working with the necessary city agencies and believe that a private/public partnership has the potential to have the greatest success. The task force and Chestnut Hill's civic organizations commit to providing avenues for an open dialogue with the city and expertise regarding the unique characteristics of our historical neighborhood that may impact these projects. We are also available to partner with the city on any state or federal grant applications to fund this and future work.
We appreciate the enthusiasm you expressed for pedestrian safety goals and we look forward to your response. Thank you.
From the CH Pedestrian Safety Task Force