Proposed Detour Around Parade Route 'Not an Option,' Councilman Says

A request that northbound traffic on Route 412 be detoured onto Polk Valley Road during the Saucon Valley Spirit/4-County Firemen's Parade Oct. 20 was frowned upon by Hellertown Borough Council recently.

Borough manager Cathy Kichline told council that Lower Saucon Township officials had recommended the traffic detour onto Polk Valley rather than Meadows Road because the weight limit on the Meadows Road Bridge was recently lowered.

Councilman Tom Rieger, however, commented that truck traffic has never been detoured onto Meadows Road and around the parade route.

"Having all that traffic detoured onto Polk Valley Road will be an absolute cluster," he said. "The detour that Lower Saucon proposed…it’s not an option."

Council president Phil Weber agreed, and noted that a Polk Valley Road detour would bring traffic near or through the starting area for the parade, which will be along Walnut Street near the Saucon Valley School District campus.

Rieger suggested that parade chairman Dave Heintzelman and borough public works director Tom Henshaw meet with Lower Saucon Township manager Jack Cahalan to discuss potential detours around the parade and through the township.

A motion requesting that meeting was subsequently approved unanimously.

Photo: The 2012 Saucon Valley Spirit Parade in Hellertown (Patch file photo).