Speeding On Henry Avenue To Be Addressed At Meeting

ROXBOROUGH -- A followup meeting regarding safety and speeding on Henry Avenue will be held on February 11 at 7 p.m. in the Wolcoff Auditorium at Roxborough Memorial Hospital, 5800 Ridge Ave, State Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio, D-194 said in a press release Monday.

Free parking is available in the Jamestown parking lot on Jamestown Avenue.

Representatives from PennDOT, Philadelphia Streets Department, City Councilman Curtis Jones’ office and local and state law enforcement agencies will attend, the release states.

Also on the agenda for discussion is the Walnut Lane Bridge closure, which is slated for April 1 and expected to last six months.

About three dozen constituents attended DeLissio’s last meeting regarding Henry Avenue in October and gave their feedback to PennDOT officials. At that meeting, PennDOT agreed to review and evaluate the additional community input and to participate in a followup meeting this year.

In August, DeLissio received a petition from about 60 constituents who live on or near the upper part of Henry Avenue. The petition was in reference to the number of accidents that have occurred along this corridor as a result of speeding.

The petition was filed as a safety request and describes that portion of Henry Avenue as a “speedway.” DeLissio said that she would describe almost the entire stretch of Henry Avenue, down to where it intersects with Hunting Park, as a speedway.

Over the past several years, PennDOT officials have reviewed and discussed proposed safety improvements, which are the result of an almost two-year federally funded safety study. During the course of the study, PennDOT presented information at many civic association meetings in the Roxborough area and held a public meeting with their findings Sept. 30, 2014. DeLissio arranged for another public meeting to review those same findings, which led to the meeting in October.

“The speed limit on Henry Avenue is 35 miles per hour,” DeLissio said in a statement. “I have pledged to not exceed the speed limit. Many have joined me in signing the pledge to do the same. I am certain many folks flying past me wonder why I am driving so slowly. My response is, ‘To assist in ensuring everyone’s safe passage.’”

Pledge forms are available in the district office and will be available at the Feb. 11 meeting.