March 12, 1999

The Honorable Noah Wenger
Senator, PA 36th District
1248 W. Main Street
Ephrata PA 17522-1415

Dear Mr. Wenger,

Thank-you for responding to my letter regarding traffic at the 222 /772 /272 Brownstown intersections. I'm glad that you have had the opportunity to witness the situation and that you are hopeful that in the future such a project will be considered by PADOT.

Unfortunately my hope (and evidently the township's) is tempered by how unresponsive PADOT has been to the township regarding the issue. We must do more than just hope, or I am certain that PADOT will not initiate the project until the situation is so bad that there will be no good solution remaining, especially since as more time passes less land will be available to correct the problem. In my first letter I asked what our formal representation is with the PADOT projects. I would greatly appreciate it if you could please provide information regarding this request.

Also, it appears that the timing of the 772 light was changed about a month ago. It does not seem to be helping and in fact may be making the situation worse. This is because the back-up is often reduced by kind motorists on 772 leffing traffic merge/cross when they are stopped past the intersection, but with the longer light, there are less instances when this occurs. Tonight there were at least 15 vehicles waiting to turn right and some dangerous road rage occurring behind me trying to turn left.

This situation must be further addressed before the truck traffic increases due to the opening of the bottling plant at Schaum's corner! I understand that regulations required that the township provide area(s) for each type of development including industry, but it is ironic that at the same time they are effectively prevented from providing the infrastructure necessary to support the mandated development.

About 8 years ago when the county was developing its comprehensive plan, one of it's stated objectives was to control development by improving existing roads instead of building new roads. That is partly why we moved to Brownstown from Millersville (we travel northeast to visit family). We now live very close to a major roadway and in some ways the congestion is worse than ever. I travel 90 miles a day (roundtrip to Boyertown) due to a job change, and this is the worst intersection on my commute by far.

Again, I respectfully request that you represent our concerns in this matter. Thank-you for your continued attention to the situation.

Sincerely,

Dave Noyes

9 Groffs Dr. Box 514 * Brownstown PA 17508 * 717 656-4194 * dlnoyes@desupernet net