FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — Members of the Franklin City Council are planning on personally talking to residents of Otter Street to see what solutions they want for perceived speeding on the street between 13th and 14th Streets.
At both the November and December 2017 meetings, city resident Robert Cerro expressed concern about what he believed to be speeding on the block.
At Monday night’s regular council meeting, police chief Kevin Anundson said his department conducted a speed study of the area.
“There were 242 vehicles on the street during the study, and the average speed was 20.7 miles per hour (mph),” Anundson told the council. “The speed limit on the street is 25 mph. There was one vehicle that went through that could have been cited, and that one was going 39 mph.”
While the average speed was a little more than four miles per hour below the speed limit, Anundson told the council that his officers said that the vehicles did appear to be going faster than 25 mph because of the narrowness of the street and cars parked on the street.
“We are trying to slow down vehicles already going well below the speed limit,” Anundson said. “Now, it becomes a visual thing.”
Councilman James Johnson agreed with Anundson that it is more of a perception than a reality of speeding on the stretch.
“I have had people look at me like I was speeding on that stretch, and I wasn’t,” Johnson said. “What do you want me to do, get out and push? They just assume you are speeding.”
Councilman James Marshall asked Anundson what he thought about the possibility of speed humps on the road.
“If you are trying to slow them down that much, just change the speed limit,” Anundson said.
Marshall doesn’t believe changing the speed limit will work because people who are going to speed are going to speed.
“I see two solutions,” Marshall said. “One, reverse Franklin Avenue or, two, apply speed humps on Otter.”
“Police can’t be there all the time. Speed humps will be there. We need a permanent solution.”
Mayor Doug Baker said the problem isn’t that people are speeding but that the speed limit is too fast.
“I think we could put speed humps down and reduce the speed limit,” Baker said.
Anundson said the easiest fix would be to change Franklin Avenue back to the way it was before.
“It was even worse on Franklin Avenue,” Baker said. “It is a poorly designed street.”
Deputy mayor Donna Fletcher, joining the meeting by video conference, said she was concerned that if the city put speed humps in that people on the street would be back to the council complaining about the noise created by the speed humps.
“That is what happened in the 900 Block of Elk,” Fletcher said.
Baker suggested that instead of speed humps that the city might want to consider speed tables, which have a flatter top.
“That might be a better option,” Fletcher said.
Marshall said the best solution would be to include the residents in the decision.
“In the spring, I would like to have myself and a couple of other council members go over talk to the residents,” Marshall said. “We can tell them this is what we came up with. This is the good that goes with that and this is the bad that goes with that. Ask them what they want. We need to get to as many people who live there and see what they want to do. They live there, not us.”
Baker said he liked that approach.
“It gives them an opportunity to be involved,” Baker said.
Cerro wasn’t present at the meeting.
In addition to the speed concerns on Otter Street, Anundson also addressed council about a speed study on Atlantic after complaints from Franklin Industries about speeding in the area, even by school buses.
“We did a traffic study there,” Anundson said. “Of the 207 vehicles that went through when we were there, the average speed between Atlantic and Missouri was 35.03 mph. The posted limit is 35 MPH. There were only four that would have been citable with the highest being at 55 MPH. The average of the vehicles over the speed limit was between five and seven miles per hour, and of the 11 school buses, there were no issues. The average speed of the school buses was 33 mph.”
Anundson said one of the problems of patrolling the area near Franklin Industries is finding a good place for his officers to sit and set up their speed devices and not be a hazard.
“We usually sit around the corner from the former Taylor Pub where speeds are faster,” Anundson said.
BAKER; RE-ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBERS SWORN IN
Baker — as well as re-elected council members Mike Dulaney and Johnson — were sworn in prior to the meeting. Re-elected councilman Samuel Lyons was excused for the meetings and will be sworn in at a later date.
Watch the swearing-in ceremony with solicitor Brian Spaid presiding.
FLETCHER RE-ELECTED DEPUTY MAYOR
Fletcher was re-elected as the deputy mayor in a unanimous vote.
“If Doug wants me to serve again, I will,” Fletcher said.
Baker said he would, and Fletcher agreed.
TRASH CARTS STARTING TO COME IN; RECYCLING CARTS MIGHT BE A WHILE
City Manager Tracy Jamison said that the trash carts are starting to come in, but that the recycling carts won’t be in until April.
She reminded city residents that they have until January 31 to choose what size of trash cart they want, and if they don’t pick, Tri-County will give them a 95 Gallon cart.
“There is information on our website with a chart that explains it all,” Jamison said.
Fletcher asked what people who are away for the winter should do to make sure that their carts aren’t delivered when they aren’t home.
“They should just call Tri-County and let them know not to deliver the carts until their service gets reactivated,” Jamison said.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business the council:
The next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on February 5 at the city building.
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