Residents of Newberry Township, Pennsylvania were troubled by a proposal to construct a large residential development on a windy, hilly rural road. Development of the 13-acre site would generate 691 vehicles trips per day. Due to the location of the site the only access was at a point where drivers sitting at the future stop sign would not see approaching vehicles until they were dangerously close. A safe access would need to be at a point where approaching vehicles could be seen when they were nearly 900 feet away. The “best” access point provided less than 200 feet of sight distance!

CEDS assisted area residents in organizing as the Newberrytown Neighborhoods Alliance. CEDS also created a petition which was signed by 185 area residents. The petition, an aerial showing general signer locations, and a compilation of their reasons for signing is posted at: https://app.box.com/s/qnuserbfdyxhps0aju6klfhkzyoe6gv2.

The applicant’s traffic engineer tried to convince Newberry decision-makers that this amount of sight distance was safe. The traffic engineer recommended by CEDS and hired by our clients, helped the Newberry Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors understand that the applicant’s claim was false and a very dangerous situation was looming. The Planning Commission recommended that the Supervisors deny Special Exception approval for the project, and the Supervisors did deny the development on October 22, 2024.

Newberrytown Neighborhoods Alliance chair Rob Lane did a fantastic job of organizing his neighbors and overseeing the attorney, traffic engineer, and other professionals engaged by the Alliance. Rob succeeded in generating a standing-room-only turnout for each hearing, which may have been more key to success than the professionals. For further information contact Rob at: info@ournewberrytownhome.com.

For further detail on how CEDS can help visit the Traffic, Development & Neighborhood Quality of Life webpage or contact us at 410-654-3021 or help@ceds.org.