Oaks Neighborhood Association Presents Traffic Calming Plan

Sitting on your front porch, you watch cars whiz by at high speeds.

Perhaps you roll your eyes and head back inside, watching your children and pets carefully. Maybe you take the issue to your municipality, seeing if police or personnel can help with speeding enforcement or other ways of slowing speeders.

A group of Oaks residents did just that, and then took it further. On Wednesday evening, members of the Oaks Neighborhood Association presented a plan for traffic calming on the main road that splits through the residential village, Egypt Road.

Audubon Land Development, the company behind the 422 Business Center, is working on plans to widen Egypt Road, a state road, around the 422 interchange.

Residents of Oaks have visited municipal meetings several times over the past months to voice complaints about speeders and heavy traffic through the residential neighborhood.

They angled to get involved in the comprehensive planning process in the township, and then on Wednesday night, Peter Anderson of the Oaks Neighborhood Association presented a proposed traffic calming plan to the Upper Providence Planning Commission.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a gateway to this township,” Anderson told commission members.

The plan, though not engineered, abides by Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) 422 master plan ideals as well as Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) best practices, according to Oaks Neighborhood Association members.

Oaks residents took the plan to representatives from PennDOT and DVRPC, as well as the Montgomery County Planning Commission and now, the Upper Providence Planning Commission.

“Reaction from PennDOT was very positive,” Oaks Neighborhood Association member Erin Murphy said in a press release. “We’re very pleased that these key agencies were enthusiastic and expressed no reservation about the plan’s feasibility.”

The traffic calming plan as presented includes streetscape amenities, gateways, nodes, lighting and signage suggestions and more. A deceleration zone outlined in the plan lets drivers coming off of the expressway know to slow down before the residential area. The plan covers the area from Cresson Boulevard to Brower Avenue on Egypt Road.

As of the planning commission meeting, the group hadn’t yet met with Audubon Land Development representatives, though a meeting is planned in the coming weeks.

“We’ve been able to open the conversation and so we’re moving forward to see how these visions can mesh and what’s possible within a certain timeframe,” Gil Zimmerman, of the Oaks Neighborhood Association, said.

Funding for the traffic calming improvements is still uncertain, and timing is important, as some of the proposed amenities would best be added before the Egypt Road widening begins.

Members of the association plan to meet with Audubon Land Development within the next two weeks, and they'll also discuss and examine funding issues going forward with the plan.