Road scholars

A number of people in Chestnut Hill have lately become quite well informed about traffic and transportation issues -- not by choice, in most cases, but by necessity. In accord with best local tradition, a sense of having been let down by city government has led, not to resignation, but to a feeling that if things are going to get done, we'd better make it happen ourselves. Residents from Bell's Mill Road to Ardleigh Street are discussing traffic counts, stop signs, survey work and speeding, and coming to the conclusion that something major needs to be done about the traffic situation here in the Northwest.

Our goals are not necessarily radically different from those of engineers concerned with moving traffic smoothly and efficiently in and out of the city, except that, for us, the "people factor" is paramount. Pedestrian safety and neighborhood character are difficult to quantify and not necessarily a priority for those who map out regional transportation scenarios, but always take first place in any local discussion of how to make our streets safer. To cite an example: from a traffic management standpoint, eliminating the 4-way stop signs at Willow Grove Avenue and Ardleigh Street makes sense, because it would make the residential Ardleigh less attractive as an alternative to Germantown Avenue if cars on Willow Grove had the uninterrupted right-of-way. From a pedestrian standpoint, however, it would be a disaster, turning the thickly-traveled Willow Grove into an impenetrable barrier for much of the Hill's east side.

It is the ability to rectify these two oft-conflicting needs -- efficient traffic flow and effective traffic calming -- that lies at the heart of the quandary for this older community, as it does for so many others. In some cases, the right choice is obvious: we need Cresheim Valley Drive to be fixed, now. In others, the answer is more complex -- what to do with East Bell's Mill, for instance. What's important is that we force those who make the decisions to remember that this is a neighborhood first, and a backdrop to the daily drama of the rush hour commute, second.

James Sturdivant