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Hawthorne council tables traffic ordinance after extended neighborhood debate
Summary
Council members debated a proposed ordinance revising speed limits and adding turn restrictions on several streets, but voted to table the ordinance and break it into separate items for later consideration.
The Hawthorne Borough Council voted to table a proposed traffic ordinance (introduction number 2,360-325) after extended discussion from council members and residents about potential traffic redistribution and enforcement.
The ordinance would have amended Chapter 505 (speed limits and turn prohibitions) to add lower speed limits on sections of Goffle Road and to prohibit certain left and right turns during peak hours. Council members and the public raised concerns that restricting turns on some streets could shift traffic into neighboring residential blocks and that enforcement had been inconsistent for existing measures.
After a lengthy hearing and a series of technical questions about signal timing and traffic counts, Council President put a motion to table the ordinance. Council voted to table the measure and directed staff to separate uncontested items (for example the speed-limit change and some signal-striping work) from the more contentious side‑street turn restrictions and return them on separate agendas.
Council members and staff noted that the left-turn lane suggestion at the Gothel/Ray intersection (restriping to create a dedicated left-turn lane) could be implemented as a road‑striping project without council action, while no‑left/no‑turn restrictions would require formal ordinance changes and enforcement by the police department.
