A Salisbury Township Police Department traffic study of Lehigh Avenue recommends posting four 25 mph speed-zone signs and two "Watch Children" signs along the township east side thoroughfare.

Results of the study were presented at the July 25 township Board of Commissioners meeting by township Police Officer Bryan S. Losagio, who conducted the study.

Losagio also recommended township east side police patrol units make extra rounds to establish a greater police presence to deter unsafe and reckless driving.

A manned speed-timing detail along Lehigh Avenue was not recommended based of the study's average vehicles' speeds.

"This is excellent," township BOC President James Brown said of the study. "It's very well-written. It's one of the best reports I have seen."

Residents presented a petition said to be signed by 45 Laubach Park area residents requesting township officials to step up traffic enforcement along Lehigh Avenue. At the July 11 commissioners' meeting, Rita Bittner and Colby Jackson warned speeding vehicles put youths and parents using Laubach Park at risk.

Township Manager Randy Soriano said he would send a copy of the report to Jackson.

"We did a full study," Losagio said to a reporter for Salisbury Press after the July 25 meeting. "According to the numbers on this study, we're going to continue patrolling."

The township board commissioned the Lehigh Avenue Traffic Safety Speed and Volume Study, a five-page report, including charts.

Losagio conducted the seven-day, 168-hour, study done 24-7 July 14 through 20 in the 1300 block of Lehigh Avenue near Laubach Park.

Equipment used for the study was a portable radar sign mounted on a traffic pole on the south shoulder of Lehigh Avenue.

The speed limit in the 1600 block of Lehigh Avenue is 25 mph. No speed-limit signs are posted. However, Pennsylvania law states 25 mph is the speed limit in residential areas.

During the seven-day study, the average speed of 3,136 vehicles traveling eastbound was 21.54 mph.

The average volume per day was 452.67 vehicles.

In comparison, according to the report, Salisbury police when patrolling Fish Hatchery Road and Flexer Avenue, stop on average three to four speeding vehicles per hour traveling above 40 mph.

Whereas, during the seven-day Lehigh Avenue study period, the police department would have stopped only 28 vehicles, or one vehicle every six hours.

The study noted one motorist's vehicle was traveling 53 mph on Lehigh Avenue.

By law, local police using non-radar speed-timing devices must allow a minimum of 10 mph over the speed limit prior to stopping and issuing a speeding citation to a motorist.

Losagio recommended posting the four 25 mph speed-zone signs along Lehigh Avenue:

Near South Fairview Road approaching Laubach Park for eastbound traffic;

Near Center Place approaching Laubach Park for westbound traffic, and

Two mid-block, one in each direction, in the area of the Laubach Park main entrance and exit.

Also recommended was the placement of two large yellow and black "Watch Children" signs, with one placed near the initial 25 mph speed-limit sign. The location of the second "Watch Children" sign was not indicated in the study.