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April 26, 2007
Improvements proposed for dangerous Bryn Mawr intersection
By Sam Strike
Radnor and Lower Merion township officials are working on a plan that would improve the notoriously perilous “five points” intersection where County Line Road and Bryn Mawr Avenue intersect in Bryn Mawr. The intersection’s property is ostensibly split between the two townships. Some of the changes currently proposed include dedicated left-turn lanes on County Line, a right-turn lane southbound on Bryn Mawr, and a change in the turn onto Glenbrook Avenue.
To accomplish this, road widening will have to take place, by using right of ways. On the Radnor Township side, a number of private property holders would have to lose some right of way property, like the Wawa, which could lose an entrance, but gain parking spaces. The only impact on the Lower Merion side would be on Bryn Mawr Hospital property, said LM Commissioner Scott Zelov (Ward 10). The intersection improvement initiative recently began during the Bryn Mawr Hospital expansion process.
Towards end of the land development process, in discussions nearing the commissioners’ final vote, the township encouraged the hospital to make meaningful contribution to traffic at the intersection, Zelov said
So, it apparently did. According to Zelov, the hospital commissioned a traffic study, contributed the necessary right-of-ways on their property to allow for road widening, and pledged $600,000 towards the project. They were incorporated into the conditions of approval for the hospital’s then-proposed expansion.
On April 12, Radnor and Lower Merion representatives met with local landowners to discuss the proposed changes. There was consensus that the intersection needs to be improved, said Radnor Commissioner Lisa Paolino (Ward 5). But some Radnor business owners had concerns, especially over the change to the Glenbrook Avenue entryway. The current plan proposes to cut down the entry to the street from two places to one, and add green space there, which would take away some parking spaces in front of a row of small stores. Paolino said they are working on how to provide those spaces elsewhere. In terms of traffic safety, the intersection is often a spot for accidents, mostly involving left turns.
On Radnor’s part of the intersection, in the past three years there have been 27 documented car accidents, according to Radnor’s traffic safety department. Zelov said that the traffic analysis of the intersection “shows significant improvement” if the proposed project is done. There has been no official commitment by either municipality, but there has been interest expressed by both Radnor and Lower Merion, according to Zelov.
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