Plan Shelved for Traffic Light at Polk Valley Road, Rt. 412

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional information.

Citing the fact that Hellertown no longer supports the project, Lower Saucon Township Council recently voted 4-0 to shelve a plan for a traffic light at Polk Valley Road and Route 412.

The installation of a traffic light at that intersection—which is on the border between the two municipalities—has been discussed since 2005, engineer Jim Milat told council.

Hellertown Borough council members said in May they think the light is no longer needed because of upgrades made to the Walnut Street intersection to the north.

In a phone call Wednesday, borough council vice president John Bate said concerns about how the light might affect traffic at the McDonald's restaurant at 14 Main Street—a major employer of local residents, and teens in particular—were also taken into consideration.

Borough council is not opposed to the light per se, he said.

A "paper alley" that runs behind the McDonald's and an adjacent Lower Saucon Township business could help with traffic flow around a traffic light, but would require cooperation from both municipalities in order to be developed, he added.

Approximately $83,000 has been spent on engineering over the past eight years, Milat told Lower Saucon Township Council.

"A lot of that time and effort was spent trying to work with adjacent property owners," he said.

"There was quite a bit of time and effort spent on bringing this whole project together, with Hellertown’s blessing," he added. "Unfortunately, now we’re stuck with having to make modifications...without the benefit of a team effort." 

After councilman Ron Horiszny made a motion to drop the project, council vice president Tom Maxfield said he was troubled by that idea given that a traffic light is expected to improve safety at that intersection.

School buses carrying Saucon Valley students pass through it, although they also reach the district schools via the signalized intersection of Main and Walnut streets in Hellertown.

"I think the safety issue is not going away. It’s always going to be there," Maxfield said, adding, "I'd hate to see the money that was spent, spent in vain."

"It doesn’t seem like we have the support for it," Horiszny countered.

Councilwoman Priscilla deLeon noted that the traffic counts that are being used to help engineer the light's configuration are already somewhat dated, as they date to 2005.

Milat recommended against withdrawing the application for the light entirely, which he said could make it more difficult to restart the PennDOT approval process in the future, should council have a change of heart.

A motion to table action on the proposal indefinitely was subsequently approved.

Council president Glenn Kern was absent from the meeting.

Photo: An aerial view of the intersection of Polk Valley Road (right) and Route 412 on the border between Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township (file photo).