As Whitehall searches for Water Street speeding solutions, temporary closure looms

WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Whitehall Township Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr. knows the what, but not the when.

The "what" is the mayor’s publicly stated intention to temporarily close Water Street in the Darktown section of the township while a long-term traffic safety plan is developed to address the decades-long problem of speeding vehicles on the unusually narrow street.

Exactly when that closure may take place, however, is undetermined.

“I can’t make a prediction, but we’re 70 percent there,” Marx said Tuesday, of plans to transform the street into a cul-de-sac, not a thru-way.

Marx at a board of commissioners meeting in February stated his intention to temporarily close the street.

The speeding issue on Water Street returned to the fore after Edward D. Tomcics, 75, was struck and killed by a vehicle on Dec. 25 while crossing the street outside his home in the 3200 block.

An investigation into the incident continues. No initial determination was made as to whether the driver of the vehicle that struck Tomcics was speeding on the street, which is posted at 25 mph.

Preparing for a closure

Marx said he has had “extensive meetings with Peter Terry, our traffic engineer, and Frank Clark, our township engineer, and Jack Gross, our solicitor."

“Terry is working on a letter to PennDOT as a courtesy to let them know what we’re planning. We don’t need their approval to close the street; we’re doing it as a courtesy. He’s also working on the signage and verbiage we’ll need there.

“Frank is dealing with the turnaround on Water Street if we do this. Jack is working on legal aspects and the documents needed.”

After a review of information from the aforementioned experts, plans to implement a temporary street closure must be posted to inform street and area residents.

Also, detour signs at Lehigh Street, near Eberhard, must be posted to alert motorists on how to proceed.

“We would first need to get all that signage in place,” Marx said.

Among the strategies for temporarily closing Water Street are installing a donated and PennDOT-approved railroad crossing gate at the end of the street near Eberhard Road.

The possibility of a temporary closing has been approved by township police, fire and EMS departments, Marx said.

'Traffic calming ... township-wide'

After Tomcics was killed, angry and concerned residents packed the subsequent February commissioners’ meeting to urge the board to address the issue.

Marx has met with Brian Hite, transportation planner for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, about the issue.

He also met with members of the Local Technical Assistance Program, or LTAP, a state organization that offers local governments on road closures, installation of speed bumps, platforms and tables for guidance.

“LTAP suggested we create a traffic study in the township by committee,” Marx said. “They said we should create a traffic committee to look at traffic calming not just on Water Street, but township-wide.

“We can create a committee of citizens, board members and experts to study it. I’ll leave it up to the board to create the committee.”

The possibility of a temporary closing of Water Street has been cleared by township police and fire department, Marx said.

A petition directed by Marx and circulated among Water Street residents regarding a temporary street closure to address the problem garnered 70% approval.

“A closure is going to be inconvenient,” he said. “But when the bridge was built, the street was closed for three years. Life went on."

Double, triple the speed limit

An analysis of traffic on Water Street over the past five years indicated some vehicles traveling two and nearly three times the speed limit, Marx said.

A 2020 analysis from July 8-14 showed some vehicles traveling as fast as 67 mph. An analysis from Jan. 3-9 this year detected some cars at speeds of 57 mph.

Those analyses also showed an inordinate number of vehicles using the road, often as a shortcut to Lehigh Street. A total of 14,900 cars were detected in the 2020 study, while 16,186 were counted in the January study.

Marx has also spoken with Whitehall Coplay School District Superintendent Christopher A. Schiffert and Transportation Supervisor Jeffrey Bauder regarding the safety of school children waiting for bus pickup.

Currently, children living along Water Street must walk to Lehigh Street to get the bus. The street closure would allow for bus pickup on Water Street.

Water Street measures about 17 feet wide, with residences no more than 2 feet off the berm.

“Water Street is almost like a colonial cartway,” Marx said, comparing it to the unpaved roads or paths used by horse-drawn carts during the 17th and 18th centuries.

“When it was built, there were no rules or regulations in place. The width of the cartway doesn’t fit into township standards today.”

'You realize what's there'

Marx said there are concerns that would accompany simply installing speed bumps along Water Street to slow traffic.

“People mention speed bumps,” Marx said. “But there’s a liability issue here too, with frontages right up against the road.

“Someone driving could hit several speed bumps, lose control and hit someone. The township has a fiduciary to protect everyone, not just people who live on the street but the drivers too.

“It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback and a pseudo traffic engineer until you realize what’s there.”

Until Marx and the township gather all the pertinent information, the street closure is on hold.

“I don’t know if this is a forever fix,” he said. “Water Street is complicated. It’s about everything down there, not just a tragic death, as awful as that was.”