Supervisors in Unity aren’t ready to make a decision on potential changes to the Wimmerton Boulevard intersection with Route 30 after only about 14% of residents in the adjacent housing development weighed in on plans for the project.
According to Supervisor Ed Poponick, 56 people out of about 400 who reside in the Wimmerton housing plan responded by listing their preference among three options for the intersection.
The township’s proposal to eliminate left turns from the boulevard onto Route 30 eastbound, as a safety measure, was favored by 21 respondents. That was a slight margin over the 19 people who would rather see a traffic light added at the intersection.
There were 16 respondents who voted for no change. The survey comes after between 40 and 50 people attended a Sept. 20 display of plans at the township building and others made their wishes known via email.
“It’s hard for us to make a determination with just that little bit of input,” Poponick said. “It’s telling us maybe a lot of residents up there don’t really care about what happens.”
Supervisor Michael O’Barto said he’d hoped for at least 50% of Wimmerton residents to make their preference known.
Poponick said he and fellow supervisors O’Barto and John Mylant will “sit down and talk about it and go from there.”
After the project was proposed this summer, some Wimmerton residents turned in their own survey, which purportedly received 261 responses: 131 in favor of adding a traffic signal; 78 preferring the status quo; and 52 satisfied with eliminating left turns.
If left turns are eliminated at the boulevard, residents would use a side road to access Route 30 eastbound at Saint Vincent Drive, where there is an existing signal.
The township has applied to PennDOT’s Automated Red Light Enforcement program for funding to modify the intersection. That program is funded with fines collected at select intersections equipped with cameras to catch motorists who run red lights.
Township engineer Dan Schmitt has said the township could know if the application is approved by spring.
