Ross to Install 'Local Traffic Only' Signs on Washington Boulevard, Spruce Street

The Ross Township Board of Commissioners voted 8-0 Monday to install “local traffic only” signs along Washington Boulevard and Spruce Street at the request of neighborhood residents who hope to discourage use of the streets as cut-throughs to Route 19 and to Interstate 279.  

The cut-through allows drivers to avoid the clogged intersection of Route 19 and Sewickely-Oakmont Road. While traffic has always been bad in the warmer months, according to the residents in the neighborhood, they said it appears to have gotten worse since a May landslide temporarily closed Sewickley-Oakmont. 

“They fly up there, and of course they’re talking on their cell phone,” said Shirley Adams, who lives at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Spruce Street, with a prime view of the streets from her porch.

She said she has seen near-miss accidents and her neighbors out for walks start as the cars and trucks pass too close.

On May 9, Adams presented a petition with 85 signatures to the Board of Commissioners asking that something be done to discourage people from using the roads. Since then, she has continued to appear before the board with her request, as have several others from the area. Monday, after expressing frustration to the board about a lack of a vote on the issue, the board agreed to the "local traffic only" signs. The exact number and locations for the signs were still to be determined as of Tuesday afternoon. They will replace seven "watch children" signs installed in the area Friday. 

The signs are not enforceable, said Chief Robert Bellan.

He said he is sympathetic to Adams’ concerns, but doesn't have the traffic data to back her request for more stop signs — which are enforceable — in the neighborhood. Bellan said the department monitored the area for speeding June 28 and saw no violations.

Commissioner Dan DeMarco, before voting in favor of the signs, said he would agree to it because that’s what so many of the neighborhood residents wanted — but he didn’t think it was a solution to their problem.

“I know that is not going to do anything to remedy the problem,” he said. “I’ll vote for a sign that says [local traffic] ‘only’ but that’s a complete, utter, false sense of security.”

Commissioner Lana Mazur, who represents the nearby Highland Pines neighborhood in Ward 4, said she too voted in favor of putting up the local traffic only signs because that’s what the residents wanted.

“Do I believe that will help their situation? No,” she said.

Commissioner Grant Montgomery, who represents Ward 9 and the Perry Manor neighborhood, said he was pleased with the Commission's decision. He participated in Monday's meeting by phone. 

"It's something that needed to be done," he said. "Even if it's a small step, it's a step in the right direction." 

Commissioner David Mikec was absent Monday. 

Mazur said the problem of traffic cutting through neighborhoods is a problem throughout Ross Township and that it has been exacerbated recently because of major road construction projects that started this summer.

“They will find the easiest pathway with the least amount of traffic every time,” she said. “Signs are not going to stop the issue.”

Instead, she said, she is hoping a meeting this week with representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will lead to long-term solutions, particularly to the Perry Highway and Sewickley-Oakmont intersection. 

“What’s going to help us is talking to PennDOT," she said.