LM Discusses Redevelopment of Philmont-Pine-Tomlinson Intersection

Everyone who lives in Lower Moreland has undoubtedly waited in long lines of traffic at the six-point intersection at Philmont Avenue, Pine Road and Tomlinson Road. It’s one of the most crowded intersections in town and local officials are looking into ways to reduce some of that congestion.

Traffic engineers presented their results from the traffic study they conducted to the Board of Commissioners last week. What they came up with were some possible solutions to correcting the ever-growing traffic issue.

The outcome was that approximately 900 cars travel eastbound in the morning, and 900 cars travel westbound during the evening rush hour. And that was just on Philmont Avenue. Possible solutions to correct the problem included:

1. Widen Philmont Ave. from one to two lanes on each side of the intersection
2. Turning the crowded area into two intersections instead of one. This would redirect Tomlinson Road to Pine each way and the intersections would be 400 feet apart
3. Adding a round-about from Tomlinson to Pine to increase a more steady traffic flow. This would slow cars down about 15-25 miles per hour.

Engineers estimated that the project would total around $2-3 million, excluding the first plan to widen Philmont Ave.

The Board of Commissioners will meet again on Tues., Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m.