Penn Valley Civic Association

LMSD proposed bus parking in the former St Justin’s parking lot of Welsh Valley Middle School

Meeting Minutes - Special Penn Valley Civic Association (PVCA) Meeting 1/16/2020 

From LMSD:

Jim Lill - Director of Operations

Ben Driscoll - School Board Director, Co-chair Facilities Committee

Peter Lee - School Board Director, Co-chair Facilities Committee

From the Township:

Commissioner Mike McKeon

Commissioner Dan Bernheim

Officer Farrell, Lower Merion Police Department - Traffic Safety

PV Civic: 

Michelle Detwiler, president

Stephen Filippone, vice president

Jennifer Kelly, treasurer

# of attendees: 50 people

Presentation by Jim Lill

• LMSD buses > 9,000 students to approx 125 locations (10 public, 89 non-public, 27 special needs). LMSD has 125 buses including 18 spare buses, 5-6 of which are generally under repair). Info updated based on the 2/11/2020 ISC meeting presentation by LMSD Transportation.

• Total LMSD enrollment is approximately 8,800. LMSD transports 7,800 students to/from public schools and about 1,100 to/from non-public schools.

• 10 buses have been added since 2012-13 and they have been squeezed into Matsonford Rd parking facility

• Currently there are 25 buses at Harriton High School (HHS), 24 at Lower Merion High School (LMHS) and 74 at Matsonford Road.  HHS and LMHS are capped.

• With the potential change in start times, a 2-tier bus model would require 40-50 buses; a 3-tier with modified order would require 12 to be able to maintain the shuttle system to non public schools

• Any bus storage area has to be fenced for security purposes b/c you can’t lock the buses (federal regulation)

• Not enough room at the new middle school for bus parking

• Proposing parking at St. Justin's of 12 buses plus 12 spaces for bus drivers in existing paved area.  6’ high, black chain link fence and gates would surround the parking area. The new parking area would remove 33 public parking spaces from that portion of the lot.  13 parking spots would be added at the front of the church. (See the image below)

• St. Justin's and WVMS are one combined parcel

• Church is in disrepair - currently used for storage

Officer Farrell - Traffic Safety

• Officer Farrell has not studied the situation at length, did a quick review in advance of the meeting and thought it was actually better than the streets around a lot of the other schools

• Officer Farrell offered to take an inventory of resident concerns

PVCA presented photos of the area including:

• Satellite view of the area

• Congestion due to buses, cars, and semi trucks all entering one entrance to the school on Tower Lane

• Photos of buses parked in the St. Justin’s lot and on the side of Tower Lane

• Photo of an ambulance having trouble getting through the congested intersection of Hagys Ford and Conshohocken State Road

• The proposed parking area, on an exposed hill where it would be visible for blocks down Hagys Ford Road

• Photos of Lower Merion High School bus parking which is not visible from the road. Buses at Harrison are also hidden from view.

• A 2014 LMSD presentation slide publicly promising (during the last land development process) not to use the St. Justin’s parking lot for bus parking 

• PVCA president, Michelle Detwiler made a statement saying that buses symbolize safety and service for our children, but the proposed bus parking lot would be inappropriately exposed on the edge of Hagys Ford Road.

Resident Traffic Safety Concerns:

• Longtime resident at Conshohocken State Road and Hagys Ford Road says it sometimes takes 20 minutes to exit his driveway because of traffic backup from WVMS

• Tower Lane/Rosemary Lane: kids running across the road, cars turning around during pickup and dropoff

• Tower Lane/ Tower Lane East: single lane and tight; lane reduction due to cars and buses pulling over to park on the side of the road; issues with walkers and visibility, safe crossings

• Tower Lane across from baseball field: buses park along the road and idling causing exhaust build-up on neighboring homes, double parking, lane reduction/lane elimination due to parents using road for drop off

• Hagys Ford between Tower Lane and Conshohocken State Rd: Traffic backs up during peak times such that residents can’t exit their driveways (15 minute wait sometimes)

• Hagys Ford and Conshohocken desperately needs turn lanes onto Conshohocken.  One car needing to turn backs up traffic in that direction.

• Parent of a student walker from Walsh Lane: “School bus almost hit me.” Parent now insists child walk in the grass or be ready to get into the grass quickly; no sidewalk

• No safe places to cross on Tower Lane

• Need for sidewalk on school property on Tower Lane

• 40-year Hagys Ford resident emailed after the meeting to emphasize that she’s never seen traffic as bad as the current state.  She attests to seeing kids dart between cars and buses, parents texting in their cars and chaos during bad weather when it is difficult to see with a driving rain or snow banks on Hagys Ford Rd.  She had a terrible experience trying to get out of her driveway for an emergency hospital visit during recent school traffic.  She allows walking school children to walk through her yard and hopes that safety concerns will be considered.

Traffic Study:

• C rating is not considered to be that bad

• PennDOT controls the intersection of Hagys Ford / Conshohocken State Rd 

• Any modification in terms of signal changes, turn lanes, crosswalks would have to go through PennDOT

Resident Q & A:

Is parking required even if start times don’t change?

Yes.  Need 12 buses and associated parking regardless of start times 

Is there a max number of buses planned?

No, District cannot say that they will never park more than 12 on the St. Justin’s lot

Which way do the buses exit the lot?

There would be many route options, turning both left and right onto Tower Lane

Have buses been purchased yet?

No

When would this parking occur?

September 2020

Can’t the Commissioners stop it?

The LMSD plan does not require land development -- there is nothing they are doing that requires approval and thus it will not even come before the Board of Commissioners

Could some buses be parked at private schools since LMSD buses to these schools?

LMSD has not approached private schools to ask this question.  Parking buses is not permitted in residential areas. Stand-alone parking is not allowed.  There are issues with accessory use, and it’s likely to be fought by neighbors. Commercial areas are technically permissible but not preferred by the Township.  LMSD interprets that the only place they are allowed to park right now (per zoning) is LMSD school campuses. Other schools don’t have room or already have max # of buses.

Comment: Buses could be parked at colleges, churches, synagogues

Could buses be parked further into the WVMS campus - swap out fields for paved area and use back circle to reduce stress on Tower Lane entry/exit

What about outsourcing?

LMSD has put out an RFP for 40 routes and is expecting bids to come back in March.  When the District receives bids, it will assess the pros and cons of using contracted buses.

Comment: Could a taskforce from the greater LM community work together to solve this problem

Concern: Loss of property value in the near neighborhood

How many buses currently serve WVMS?

29

Would lighting of the parking lot be required.

Yes

Doesn’t LMSD need to get permits for painting lines, lights, fencing?

Uncertain.  Permits could be required for lighting and fence.

Could more buses be parked at Matsonford facility?

PennDOT has ruled that they cannot expand parking at that facility.  District says it was designed for 60 buses and currently parks 74.

Ira Katz:

Penn Valley already bears burden of traffic associated with 2 schools and 1,700 students, the most of any neighborhood in Lower Merion.

Penn Valley as a neighborhood is burdened not just on school days but traffic related to non-school use of fields, expressway and Synagogue traffic.

Bus depot “out of character” for the neighborhood.

Janet Krafchik:

Traffic will go from twice a day traffic to ALL Day Traffic

Resident comment: Need for alternatives, more consideration for the neighborhood, proper setbacks and trees

Do buses have to be parked in Lower Merion?

District prefers buses to stay in Lower Merion

Why can’t buses be parked on Rock Hill Road?

LMSD property there is already being used.

Has the District looked into the privatization of busing?

The District has not presented on this option.

PVCA comments to LMSD after the meeting:  The proposed buses are parked within the front yard setback.  Our zoning code should prohibit this but never anticipated bus parking in a residential area.  Due to the layout of the parking lot, the buses would unlikely be able to be adequately screened by vegetation in this configuration.  The need for the 12 buses is still unclear. PVCA thanked LMSD representatives for their presentation and for offering to continue the conversation.