Traffic to be studied on Westland Drive in Hempfield, with an eye on improving safety

Hempfield officials are planning to examine Westland Drive to see if improvements could remedy residents’ concerns about speeding in the neighborhood.

Township supervisors this week approved seeking proposals for a traffic study on the road that spans the Wendover and West Point neighborhoods.

“It’s one of the neighborhood routes that we’ve received complaints about throughout the years,” said township Manager Aaron Siko.

The study will be similar to one recently completed on Fosterville Road. Township officials worked with an engineering firm last year to gather resident input and examine the road in the Fort Allen neighborhood.

Results of that study led to the installation of temporary speed humps and plans for next year to add permanent speed humps to part of Fosterville, Siko said. Signage is expected to be updated and added in the future.

Supervisor Bill Bretz said after seeing the results from the Fosterville Road study, he hopes some type of calming action can be taken on Westland Drive.

“I think it’s a great idea to look at and see what kind of solutions we can come up with (to) … maybe discourage pass-through drivers in that area as well,” he said.

The new study will focus on two miles of Westland Drive, between Mt. Pleasant Road and Route 130. Speeding is the main complaint from residents there, Siko said.

The street is pretty similar to Fosterville Road — it runs along well-kept homes in a dense residential area with numerous side streets.

The speed limit on two-lane Westland Drive is 25 mph. There are no pavement markings aside from the word ‘slow’ painted on the road in several locations.

Street signs encourage drivers to watch out for children. The road is heavily traveled with vehicles, buses and pedestrians and there are two schools off it, along with a church.