Residents Want to Put the Brakes On Speeders

Trestle Road residents in Plum are tired of rush hour speeders, and they're turning to the borough for help.

Residents asked that speed bumps be added to the road at Monday night's council meeting and presented council with a petition.

Trestle Road resident Chris Griffith said that Monroeville Trestle road gets backed up during rush hour, approximately between 4 and 7 p.m.

To circumvent the traffic, many drivers cut down Trestle Road to Pearson Run Road.

"If they'd go the speed limit, it wouldn't be an issue," he said. "I've seen guys that must be going 60 down our street."

This isn't the first time residents along Trestle Road have asked for help, Griffith said.

Previously, they talked to Sean Logan.

The then-senator had an electronic speed limit sign posted for a couple of days, Griffith said. Once it was removed, the speeders started up again.

A police cruiser has parked near the road as well. That also slowed drivers down, but once it left, the speeding resumed.

"It's not intimidating any more once people realize they're not going to get a ticket," said Trestle Road resident Patricia Savinda.

Residents said the problem is nothing new.

Some, like Barb Koszka, remember a number of accidents occuring on the road over the years. She said elderly residents remember accidents even further back.

"It's been a problem for that long," she said.

Residents said the borough has been trying to solve the problem for quite some time.

"I've lived there for 30 years and when my children were 7, 8 and 9, police sat there (to watch for speeders)," Cecelia Henry said.

Residents agree that there is now more traffic than ever, and speeders are driving faster than in the past.

They fear that with a traffic light and Wal-Mart slated for construction just miles away in a few years, the problem will only get worse.

Councilman Michael Dell said after the meeting that the first step to addressing the problem would be for Greg Bachy, assistant borough manager, to start a report on all the options available to address the problem.

"He'll assess, then it will go to the planning commission for fine tuning," Dell said.

Possible solutions could be the speed bumps or designation of Trestle Road as a one way street, he said.

Dell said he hadn't known of the Trestle Road speeding problem until residents presented the petition.

"I'm glad they got a petition—that's the correct process," he said.