PennDOT & Residents Discuss Arcadia Traffic Access/Egress Options

On September 9, 2021, Francis Hanney, Senior Manager - Traffic Services Division/ADA Coordinator at PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) - hosted an online meeting with residents to discuss road improvements to facilitate access and egress to the proposed Arcadia Green development at the intersection of Newtown Bypass and Buck Road. At least 4 options with variations have been proposed by the developer and by residents in the neighboring communities. For an explanation of the options, read "Controversy Regarding Proposed Arcadia Newtown U-Turn Option": https://bit.ly/3CaZju2 In this 21-minute audio snippet from that meeting, Mr. Hanney explains why he is opposed to all the options other than the U-turn option at Mill Pond Road. He also discusses criteria that must be met before the limited access restrictions on the Bypass may be lifted. Mr. Hanney offered a more detailed summary of PennDOT's rationale for the above position in a September 16, 2021, letter - https://bit.ly/PennDOTresponseLtr - sent to the Township and participants. The letter responds to the community's concerns and clarifies why certain alternatives are not acceptable and provides additional information about each alternative and reasons for why it is or is not acceptable. Mr. Hanney hopes this response is understandable by lay-people so that they might better understand and accept PennDOT's position. He also implored the community associations to work with Mr. Duckworth to reach a solution to the access issues, including re-looking at the Millpond connection (which would cut through Eagle Ridge property and which is strictly prohibited by the settlement agreement) and what could be done by Arcadia to mitigate the communities' "various concerns."