A new traffic study offers suggestions for improving safety at bustling intersections in Wrightstown.
The Wrightstown Board of Supervisors reviewed the study at its public June 12 meeting with Township Traffic Engineer Matt Johnston of Pennoni Engineering, who performed the analysis.
The study reviewed the Durham Road (Route 413) intersection with Brownsburg Road and the Second Street Pike (Route 232) intersection with Penns Park Road.
On the bright side, said officials, Johnston’s analysis determined that both intersections perform at a service level “B.” Service level grading ranges from “A” to “F,” so a “B” means “both intersections are performing well,” said Supervisor Chairman Chester Pogonowski.
Still, there’s room for improvement.
The study determined that Second Street Pike/Penns Park Road experienced 51 vehicular accidents between 2018 and 2023, with 90% of all collisions being a result of a driver making a turn at the intersection when there was oncoming traffic.
“There was a small increase in accident frequency during the six months that PennDOT was detouring traffic due to construction work at the intersection of Route 232 and Swamp Road,” Pogonowski noted.
To improve visibility and motorist awareness at the intersection, Johnston recommends installing “STOP” pavement marking on Penns Park and signs that state that “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop.”
Improvements on Second Street Pike – a state road – would require the permission of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Johnston suggests that those upgrades include pavement markings that denote an intersection warning, extending the center double yellow lines and adding dashed-line edge lines through the intersection. A “Cross Road” sign for Second Street Pike could also be in the cards.
For Durham Road/Brownsburg Road, the analysis suggests removing vegetation within the right-of-way looking left from Brownsburg Road to further improve sight distance and possibly installing a Cross Road sign on Route 413. Any Durham Road/Route 413 improvements would also require PennDOT’s blessing.
Said Pogonowski: “Matt will be working with township staff to get work on Brownsburg and Penns Park roads done in-house – and will be working with PennDOT to determine what improvements on Durham Road and Second Street Pike can be made.”
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