'Blight' On Abington Road Draws Concern From Local Woman

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — Old York Road in Abington Township is busy with traffic and bustling with businesses while serving as a main gateway to the suburbs from Philadelphia.

But one resident says the road is plagued with trash and has characterized the situation as "blight."

Adele Kubel has been trying to get garbage along the 3.2-mile stretch addressed for a few years.

"The standard of living has gotten much lower," she said.

The lifelong Abington resident says she noticed trash increased during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and decided to take up the cause.

Properties along the road are "derelict" and are rarely cleaned, Kubel claims.

She bought her concerns to the township, which she alleges has not responded adequately.

"They're disinvesting in Abington," she said.

Property owners are responsible for keeping their areas clean from trash in the township and can face fines when cited by the township if the local magistrates OK financial fees.

Kubel, however, said property owners are not held to those local regulations.

She claimed the township issues warnings more than holding potentially out-of-code property owners accountable for refuse.

But Abington Township Director of Code and Community Kim Hamm says that's simply not the case.

"We issue anywhere between 60 and 100 notices monthly," Hamm said.

There are more than 23,000 properties in the township to oversee, she said.

Kubel rallied about 700 residents to sign a petition regarding the alleged trash issues along Old York Road, but Hamm said the township does not get constant complaints or constant concerns about trash along the road.

Hamm said the township does respond to residents' complaints.

Residents can submit a request for service online here.

That's not to say Abington doesn't have issues with litter.

"We issue regular violation citations to a number of properties throughout the township for trash, rubbish, and overgrown vegetation," she said. "Some properties certainly have more issues than others, and we follow up as the law allows us to."

Hamm told Patch citations for such violations have been issued as recently as Jan. 25.

"When a violation is observed, we act appropriately," she said.

Depending on the level of violations, the response could be a knock on the door or issuing a citation.

Hamm said officials are working with business proactively to deal with trash receptacles to ensure they don't have recurrent issues.

Old York Road, Hamm said, is a bit of wind tunnel which can lead to inadvertent spread of garbage.

The township's Street Maintenance and Services has a street cleaning program that runs year round, however it only has one street sweeping unit.

Kubel says that's not enough.

"I drive all the time and I see no cleaning machine out," she said. "They may not have time or enough people."

Hamm encouraged residents to organizer neighborhood clean-ups for areas of potential concern.

"It's a great way to support your community and actively give back," she said.

Kubel described the issue as "blight." Hamm said, yes, litter is annoying, but it's not blight.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development defines blight as "deterioration sufficient to constitute a threat to human health, safety, and public welfare."

Still, Kubel says township officials do not want to help with the issues she has raised.

"They dont listen, they hide," she said.