During the May 6 council meeting, a citizen inquired about the possibility of adding left turn arrows at the lights from Main Street onto Walnut and Water streets. The traffic on Main turning onto Walnut, especially during the commuting hours, can get backed up all the way to the McDonald’s at times, he said.

To make matters worse, the 81-year-old Water Street Bridge is expected to be closed this summer for construction, which will likely create more traffic in the area. According to Council President Thomas Rieger, the borough has been instructed that once the bridge closes, a PennDOT engineer will be on site to make immediate traffic changes. Rieger also said the borough has made traffic light requests in the past in this location, but Penn DOT has denied those requests. Council unanimously agreed to send a letter to PennDOT requesting changes at this location again. Rieger said they would include a letter from the Chamber of Commerce, as they have given their support.

Fast forward to the May 20 meeting, Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft gave an update. According to Hartranft, PennDOT has agreed to do a traffic study at no cost, if the borough will fund the arrows if PennDOT believes they are warranted. According to Rieger, each arrow could cost $5,000. The borough would not have any say in how many or if any arrows get added.

In theory, there could be up to four arrows at an intersection or none at all. Rieger went on to explain there have been numerous traffic counts at this location over the years, but no formal traffic studies since the light was originally put in.

Hartranft said the study would not take place until the fall and would be during a 12-hour time frame, most likely between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Penn DOT will capture the highest two hours of traffic. She said they need to do it while school is in session and they won’t do it during the bridge construction because that wouldn’t give a true traffic estimate.

At the conclusion of the traffic study, there would be a permitting phase which won’t result in a quick fix to the current situation. Council unanimously voted to proceed with the study and commit funds for any changes, if needed based on the study results.