With recent action by Allen Township to approve a FedEx warehouse hub and an indifferent response from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding heavy warehouse traffic that will be routed through Hanover Township, Lehigh County, the Hanover council is taking action to protects its interests.

The council looked at a proposed ordinance at its Aug. 20 meeting. The ordinance would require a project developer to provide a traffic study to the township for any proposal that would cause more than 500 vehicle trips on township roads.

International freight giant FedEx proposed a ground transportation hub on property currently owned by Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allen Township. On Aug. 14, the Allen Township Board of Supervisors approved the first phase of the plan.

During the approval process, Hanover Township officials had frequently expressed concerns about the heavy traffic that will move along Hanover roads between Route 22 and the warehouse complex.

The council feels even with the additional traffic lanes identified in the plan, there is a specific danger that streets in the township could be gridlocked at certain times of the day.

Allen Township and PennDOT accepted a traffic study prepared by the Pidcock Company indicating that there would be no significant impact on the traffic in the township or on Route 22, but Hanover officials contend the impact on Route 22 was not adequately addressed in the traffic study.

In a special meeting with PennDOT Aug. 12, Hanover presented its concerns and produced a copy of a traffic study from Gilmore and Associates for consideration.

Council asked that the project be delayed until the impact on Route 22 could be further analyzed, but PennDOT rejected the study and minimized the township's concerns.

On Aug. 14, council Chairman Bruce Paulus and borough Solicitor Jackson Eaton presented their concerns and the Gilmore study to the Allen Township supervisors.

The Hanover representatives were dismissed without due consideration by the Allen Township board and the Gilmore study was derided by Allen officials.

Most of the traffic coming from the FedEx hub will be directed into Hanover Township along Willowbrook Road, a street controlled by the township. Race Street and Airport Road are roadways in Hanover Township included in the traffic flow, but these are state-controlled roads.

Eaton introduced an ordinance at the meeting requiring a traffic study from any developer who is contemplating a project in the township that involves more than 500 vehicle trips on township roads.

"Right now there is nothing before the township to consider," Eaton said after the meeting. "This is only a precautionary measure."

In other action, the council approved its Five-Year Capital Budget, which is largely unchanged from prior years.

The council also passed a proposal that requires anyone using a township park pavilion to obtain a permit for the gathering. The previous rule required a permit if the renting party exceeded 30 people, but that rule was frequently ignored.