The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners met April 13 and heard from township Engineer Peter Terry regarding recent work done on Water Street and his advice on how to proceed with the future of the roadway.

Terry noted Keystone Engineering completed its survey of the street, an action approved by commissioners in September of last year. The biggest concern he noted is pedestrian safety on Water Street, mixed with speeding on the roadway.

Terry offered options for the board to consider, while noting the downsides to some of his ideas on handling Water Street’s safety.

“The road is too narrow. You don’t have enough room,” Terry said.

His first suggestion was to make Water Street a cul-de-sac, which Mayor Joseph Marx Jr. suggested after the December 2024 death of Edward Tomcics, who was struck by a vehicle while walking across the street. Terry said the southern portion of the road is too narrow, and some signage issues on Water Street need to be addressed, along with safety issues.

“They can be handled with signage, pavement markings, but we have a substandard road no matter what’s done,” Terry said about handling safety issues on the street.

Speed humps were another option, with Terry suggesting four might be needed on Water Street to control the flow of traffic and stop speeding.

“Speed humps sound great, but they suck,” Terry said. “They’re terrible to maintain, they make a lot of noise, and they’re a disruption, with lots of challenges with them. They cost a lot of money, and you have to worry about drainage and maintenance.”

Terry said they have an issue with vehicles having to turn around because the right-of-way is so narrow. He added that access to the rail trail is also a problem because you have to go over roads the township doesn’t have control over.

Terry also added the box culverts on the southern end of Water Street are a problem.

Commissioners noted the street also has stormwater issues.

“We would love to sit down with the mayor and show you some options, tell you what we think we want to do, lay out numbers and costs for you. None of this comes cheap,” Terry said. “These are expensive improvements, not something you can do quickly and easily.”

Terry also said he thinks there’s a lighting issue on Water Street as well. No solution has been determined for that as of now, as another study may be needed.

He said a decision needs to be made whether the township wants two-way traffic on the street or a cul-de-sac.

“There is a speeding problem, but it’s not a huge problem as compared to a lot of places in the township,” Terry said. “Is it a safety problem? Yes, because you’ve got pedestrians and nowhere safe for them to walk.”

Commissioner Ken Snyder asked Terry if improving the road conditions on Water Street would end up hurting the township, motivating people to speed on that street.

“Because of right-of-ways and obstacles, we really can’t do anything other than make it one way or close it,” Snyder said.

Terry responded by saying they could keep it two-way as it was before, “with some real controls,” he added.

He added the township could also add additional box culverts on the street. There was one already on the street before its closure, toward the southern end.

Terry noted UGI has a project to replace lines down there.

“We may get a total road reconstruction or repaving as part of that,” he said. “I don’t know that for sure, but that would be some future improvement of the roadway condition. The right of way isn’t that wide; the houses and utility poles are too close.”

Commissioner Elizabeth Fox asked about adding rumble strips on Water Street, noting they wouldn’t cause any drainage issues. However, Terry advised against that idea, saying they’re not effective at slowing drivers down, while adding that they’re very loud.

“I don’t think I could sleep at night if I had rumble strips outside my house,” Terry said. “They’re annoying to anyone who lives on Water Street.”

Commissioner Randy Atiyeh suggested looking at a solution where the street was only open at specific hours of the day, such as 7-9 a.m. and then 4-6 p.m.

Terry was cautious about that idea. He noted the police collected speed data from Water Street during their survey.

“The higher speeds are during the commuting periods. It’s the through-trips that are going the fastest. It’s not the local trips during the rest of the day,” he said.

Terry said there are at least four or five recommendations based on the survey and study completed on Water Street that the township will have to do no matter what, adding they need to evaluate costs for those options before a final decision can be made on maintaining Water Street’s safety into the future.

Terry said the southern end of Water Street isn’t fit for traffic, but more so for a trail. He suggested using the road as a trail with connectivity to the Ironton Rail Trail and providing a turnaround at the southern end by figuring out how to get a right-of-way from the railroad and build a cul-de-sac. Terry called this “a great solution.”

“You end up with a very long cul-de-sac that has emergency access with a gate that can be lifted and accessed from the south, so you would have that option to get in there,” Terry said. “You wouldn’t have to solve all the box culvert and stormwater problems you have at the southern end.”

He argued that sooner or later, the box culverts will fail, and the township would have to maintain huge costs at keeping the road open.

“The box culverts are in bad shape,” Terry said. “It’s a long-term liability.”

Terry also suggested the road could become one way, either northbound or southbound. However, Water Street residents attended a meeting in October of last year and argued making the street one way would still encourage speeding and reckless driving.

The township already cannot get a school bus there because of the size and scope of the bus, which Marx noted at several meetings last year.

Terry suggested meeting with Marx to discuss future possibilities for Water Street, especially how to maintain safety issues on the roadway.

“Do we want to try and go with a route that keeps the road closed to through-traffic and develop a cul-de-sac?” Terry asked the board. “Or do we want to keep two-way traffic going through here and do everything we can to control speed?”