Residents urge board to preserve Farmingdale J‑turn, cite 2008 agreement and ask for recusal

Kathy Ashworth, a longtime Farmingdale Road resident, urged the East Hempfield Board to preserve the neighborhood’s J‑turn traffic configuration and said removing it would violate a contract the township entered into with a developer in 2007–2008. Ashworth said the earlier agreement required construction of a double cul‑de‑sac and a traffic-control design intended to keep through traffic out of the neighborhood; she told the board any change that removes the J‑turn must be accompanied by written PennDOT approval under 67 Pa. Code §212.5.

Ashworth also requested that Supervisor Johnson recuse himself from further involvement in the issue, stating she had heard that he had privately requested traffic data before a recent public comment; she said private conversations create an appearance of impropriety. Neighbor Keith Wright spoke immediately after and reinforced the neighborhood’s safety concerns, saying the majority of residents support the J‑turn because it reduces through traffic and increases safety.