Penn Valley Civic Association
Meeting Notes
3/14/2019
1. Welcome
The president of the Penn Valley Civic Association, Michelle Detwiler, welcomed everyone to the meeting and made the following announcements:
* Community Tree Planting – Michelle began by announcing that the PV Civic will hold a community tree planting on April 27th.
* Street Tree Request – She also informed the group that anyone can request a street tree from the township. Contact Joe Marco, Township Arborist at 610-726-7141 or jmarco@lowermerion.org She added that she can send an email to share his information.
* PECO/Asplundh – She also talked about the tree cutting/trimming that is being performed for PECO. Higher voltage wires are being installed. She let everyone know that they can negotiate to save trees on their property.
2. Introduction of the Speaker
· Michelle then introduced the speaker for the evening, Dan Bernheim. He is the Commissioner for Ward 1 and the President of the Board of Commissioners for the township.
3. Speaker, Dan Bernheim
· Trees – He began by commending Michelle and the community for working to save the trees from the PECO trimmings. He also noted another issue related to the local plantings are the noxious weeds and bamboo. He noted that bamboo is a serious problem and that residents would be required to remove any bamboo that grows onto a neighbor’s property.
· New Draft Code – The township is now rewriting the code with the goal of preserving open spaces and revitalizing commercial areas and the new draft zoning code is available for review. The latest draft was available on Friday online. After a series of review meetings with any revisions, the goal is to adopt the code by July 31, 2019.
· Gladwyne Acme – He mentioned the closing of the Gladwyne Acme. The existing tenant has another two years on the lease. Someone is marketing the property, but currently there are no takers.
· Speeding – The number one complaint in the township is speeding. The state does not allow municipalities to use radar. There was a pilot for street humps to reduce speeding, which had some positive outcomes. A petition would have to be signed by the affected neighbors in order to apply for speed humps or other traffic calming measures. The petition can be found online.
· Dangerous Intersections/Traffic Control – We discussed several dangerous intersections like those on Montgomery Ave. at Meeting House Lane and Woodbine. Commissioner Bernheim will find out when pedestrian crossings will be upgraded per the most recent CIP. He will also look into the possibility of edge line striping on Bryn Mawr Avenue to slow traffic and provide a margin of safety for cyclists etc. We discussed pilot programs for sidewalks close to the school. A new protocol is in place to request speed tables near schools. It was suggested that the director of the Traffic Safety Department be invited to attend a future PV Civic meeting.
· Neighbors near Woodbine Avenue mentioned that flooding has been a problem in their area this past year. They will contact Commissioner Bernheim following the meeting to look into the issue.
4. Adjournment
· The meeting was adjourned.