Traffic study recommends trial stop signs at Middle Road–Wildwood extension after crash warrant met

Bob Katz of Trans Associates presented a traffic evaluation of the Middle Road and Wildwood Road extension intersection to the Hampton Township Council on July 9 and recommended a stepped approach that would begin with installing stop signs on the Middle Road approaches on a trial basis and pursuing longer‑term fixes if problems persist.

Katz told the council the posted speed on both roads is 35 mph and that the study counted 15 reportable crashes in the state database from 2019 through 2023 (two of them resulted in minor injuries). He also said two additional reportable crashes occurred in 2024. The study found two‑thirds of the reportable crashes were angle collisions and that the intersection’s crash history met a Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) warrant that applies when four or more reportable crashes occur in a 36‑month period: "If you have 4 or more crashes over any 36 month period, attributable to correction, if you put those those stop signs in, that would meet a warrant," Katz said.

Katz said traffic‑signal warrants were partially met by volume (a four‑hour peak‑hour warrant) but that a signal may not be the optimal first response. His recommendation: a stepped approach starting with installed stop signs and pavement stop bars on the Middle Road approaches, "stop ahead" signs and temporary red‑lens flashing lights above new stop signs for about 60 days to increase visibility, plus trimming vegetation that currently limits sight distance on the southbound approach. He said the added stop control would reduce delays and severe angle collisions on the Wildwood approach while adding some delay and occasional queues of five to ten vehicles on Middle Road in peak periods.

Council members asked specific operational questions—whether the existing channelized right‑turn islands should remain (Katz recommended keeping them), whether the islands could accommodate fire apparatus (Katz said he saw no evidence of off‑tracking problems), and whether converting the yield control for right turns to a stop would be helpful (Katz said the study can analyze that if the board prefers a more restrictive control).

Council members also pressed on jurisdiction and funding. Katz and township staff noted Middle Road is a county road and the Wildwood extension is a PennDOT road; the county typically must approve and install stop signs on county roads. A council member asked whether township taxpayers should fund work on a county road; staff suggested the next step would be for the council to send the study and a formal request to county public works asking for installation and any pavement‑marking refresh. Katz said the installation of signs and markings would be modest cost ("well under a thousand dollars"), and he recommended any trial take place after school traffic resumes in the fall ("sometime after Labor Day, maybe even in October") so the test covers typical traffic patterns.

No formal motion or vote occurred at the meeting; the item closed as a study presentation and discussion. Katz suggested a longer‑term geometric fix — realigning the intersection so the heavier movement functions as the major street — but noted that realignment or roundabout options would require right‑of‑way, county and state buy‑in and potentially condemnation or land acquisition.

The council asked staff to pursue the county review process if the board decides to pursue a trial stop‑sign installation and pavement‑marking refresh for Bridal (Bridal Road) approaches and to return with county responses or a formal agreement for installation.