Traffic lights along Route 48 in Monroeville have been approved for inclusion in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s SINC-UP project, which provides upgrades to traffic signals to increase efficiency.
Monroeville officials announced the project at their council work session on Tuesday.
It’s the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at fostering better coordination and moving traffic more efficiently.
Last summer, the municipality received a grant from the state’s Green Light-Go program, which upgraded signals along the Route 22 corridor.
A traffic light sync was not going to be possible, however, to address a concern raised by Donna Meyer, who lives on Berkeley Way, off Northern Pike. Meyer asked if the signals at Westinghouse Drive and West Patty Lane could be synchronized.
“Traffic has gotten so bad and it’s very hard for us to get out of our plan,” Meyer said. “As you come toward Monroeville Fire Station No. 4, where’s a dip, and then after the station entrance, it dips again. It’s very difficult to see.”
Monroeville Municipal Manager Alex Graziani said sight lines are the main issue with trying to sync the lights.
“The challenge is that those lights (are at different elevations and) can’t ‘see’ one another,” Graziani said. “They kind of have to be able to see one another in order to synchronize.”
Valley Park Bridge
Monroeville Council will vote at its May 13 meeting on applying for a grant to help fund construction of a pedestrian bridge over Turtle Creek.
“We’d like to create a bridge in Valley Park that will connect to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail,” Graziani said. “From the sale of the Bel Aire Pool, we have the matching funds for a $250,000 grant from the state’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation program.”
The project’s cost, however, has risen beyond expectations.
“It’s become much more expensive than when we initially set out to do this project,” Graziani said. “What we thought was going to be a $500,000 project several years ago is much most costly.”
The grant application is due by the end of May.
“We’re going to say to the state, ‘Hey, you’ve helped us, but this turned out to be a lot more than we thought when we initially got approval for the help,’” Graziani said.
Trucks on Jamison Lane
Council will likely delay a vote next week on an ordinance that would restrict certain truck traffic on Jamison Lane.
Solicitor Bob Wratcher asked that council consider holding off a vote scheduled for May 13 tabling a May 13 vote, since municipal staff is waiting on engineering data in order to fully craft the ordinance.
“A traffic and engineering study needs completed to ensure we’re meeting all the criteria to restrict truck traffic by ordinance,” said Public Works Director Paul Hugus.