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Lansdale council debates whether to act now on traffic-calming or follow new policy
Summary
Council members and residents clashed over whether to immediately install engineer-recommended speed humps to address dangerous cut-through traffic or to follow a newly presented traffic-calming policy that prioritizes public review and a scoring process.
Council members spent the longest portion of the June 3 work session debating how and when to implement traffic-calming measures after public complaints about speeding and crashes in several neighborhoods.
The public works committee presented a traffic-calming implementation policy that would require a resident request, staff review, a petition, a public meeting, and then a council vote. Van Damme, a public-works staff member, summarized the policy as a way to "prioritize which ones we're gonna pursue and put into place" and to ensure fair use of taxpayer dollars. Council members and residents, however, voiced urgency that the policy not become a barrier to immediate safety steps.
"The only thing stopping us is us," Councilman Gary Herbert said, arguing that the borough has set aside money and has an engineer’s recommendations and should begin installing pilot speed humps this year. Herbert urged staff to present specific recommended locations so council and residents can review them and move quickly.
Other members urged caution. One councilor who lives in the affected neighborhood pushed back that speed humps may not fix the recurrent crashes on Cannon Avenue and recommended targeted enforcement and a more holistic approach: "Speed humps are not gonna stop the crashes on Cannon Avenue," the councilor said, stressing the need to weigh drainage, sight lines and MS4 requirements before permanent installations.
Public commenters supported a faster timeline for interventions. "These speed bumps are going to save people's lives today," resident Dominic Frasilla said, urging the council to use PennDOT's temporary measures and the policy's scoring model to prioritize urgent spots rather than imposing high petition thresholds that delay action.
Council members and staff found some common ground: several said a short pilot of engineered locations, followed by a public forum and a committee review, could let the borough learn what works without committing to a borough-wide build-out immediately. Staff agreed they could return with recommended pilot locations and a plan for public engagement.
Next steps: public works will prepare a recommended set of locations for initial implementation and a plan for public input; the council can then decide whether to pilot installations under operational budget funds and use the policy to inform larger-scale rollouts.
