Birdsboro considers speed humps to slow traffic

Birdsboro Borough Manager Aaron Durso said at the Nov. 5 Borough Council meeting that the borough will look into the feasibility of temporary speed humps to help slow the traffic on East 1st Street.

The speed humps would most likely be placed along the 500 and 600 blocks of East 1st Street while traffic on borough roads is more congested due to the construction of the Route 345 bridge over Hay Creek, scheduled to be completed in May 2013.

This step comes after Birdsboro Borough Council received complaints and concerns from residents about the speed of traffic along that stretch of East 1st Street, which has been characterized as very dangerous. The problem occurs at all times of the day, and not just when school lets out. Residents have said that with it now getting darker earlier, they fear it will become more of a hazard.

Birdsboro Police Chief Ted Roth did not argue with the complaints that vehicles are going down 1st Street fast, but stated that the readings from the speed signs that his department have set up along the road to get drivers to be more conscientious about slowing down have shown that most vehicles are under the speed limit.

After discussing a number of options, the council decided that temporary speed humps would be the best solution to the problem.

Borough Council also unanimously passed a motion to advertise a finalized 2013 Birdsboro budget without a tax increase for residents. Cuts that have been made to expenses in order to help balance the budget include one shared employee between the borough and the Birdsboro Municipal Authority, and one police car, along with the reduction of money allocated to the following line items: police equipment including rifles, police overtime, snow removal, sidewalk repairs, borough vehicle repairs, borough equipment repairs, and office supplies.

Helping to offset some of the police equipment cuts in the 2013 budget, Berks County Attorney General John Adams presented Birdsboro Police Chief Ted Roth with a check of $9,316.06 as a donation to fund the department’s rifle project. The money, which came from drug forfeiture funds, will pay for a rifle for each of the borough’s three marked police vehicles, and the ammunition that will be needed for the officers to train and become proficient in using the rifles.

“We understand that municipalities throughout our county have trouble these days meeting budget requirements,” said Adams. “So when we can use our drug forfeiture funds and take bad guys’ money, put it to good use by giving the financial support so that you have the proper equipment for your people, it’s very satisfying.”

Adams had previously funded a replacement of the department‘s aging pistols two years ago. One-thousand dollars had already been donated to the department by the Women’s Club of Birdsboro for the rifle project.

Boy Scout Troop 595 member Kurt Gheer, was on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate his Eagle Scout Project, a retired flag drop off location stationed outside of Birdsboro Borough Hall. Mark Pellicciotti, Commander of American Legion Post 626 in Birdsboro, which helped with the project, and many members of Troop 595 based out of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, were on hand to help cut the ribbon.