Trees on Allentown's Hanover Avenue median pose safety risk

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Q: Something I've been wondering about regarding the pedestrian-safety improvements installed on Hanover Avenue in Allentown last year: If this was all about safety, why were trees planted in the median strip? The trees are still pretty small, but they're growing, and as they get bigger they could block motorists' view of pedestrians trying to cross at the crosswalks. If they're meant to be decorative, maybe some kind of shrubs or bushes would be better.

— Danny Stettler, Salisbury Township


A: It certainly seems to me the trees could obstruct sight lines on Hanover Avenue, Danny.


They might also serve as physical obstructions for wayward vehicles. The "traffic calming" effects of the $500,000 installation of median strip, crosswalks, painted center markings and other improvements generally are effective. The narrowing effect of the 11-foot-wide median strip results in single, narrow lanes of travel in each direction on Hanover, slowing traffic and eliminating the previous confusion over whether it was legal, or advisable, to pass. The previous road-surface markings suggested a single lane in each direction, but the lanes were so wide that many motorists (including myself) often elected to pass the slow-poke folk.

However, it's not safe to assume the new design will preclude speed demons or otherwise clueless motorists from movin' on down this segment of road. And you're right, anyone who routinely drives in Allentown (or most any city of similar size or larger) recognizes that pedestrians can't be trusted to abide by the very rules designed to ensure their safety. Jaywalking and other violations can be frequent and flagrant.

I was reminded of your question by last week's disclosure that PennDOT had instructed Whitehall Township to remove large planters from the median strip on MacArthur Road between Jordan Parkway and the Sumner Avenue Bridge.

Big Brother's command put a crimp Whitehall Mayor Ed Hozza's tailpipe. He considered the planters, donated by the Lehigh Valley Mall, an aesthetic enhancement to a business corridor the township is promoting for development. Hozza had the planters taken away, but made state officials plainly aware of his displeasure.

PennDOT replied that the large planters posed a threat to highway safety. The raised concrete median on which they rested is only a few inches above the road surface, and it's bounded not by vertical curbing but by "mountable curb" — basically, short ramps that lift vehicles smoothly onto the median should it become necessary to get off the roadway for any reason, including breakdowns, to avoid accidents, or for other emergencies.

Vehicles going onto the median could hit one or more planters, causing vehicle damage and possibly injuries to drivers or passengers, and possibly sending a planter into the opposing lanes of traffic, PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown said.

I suppose there's some logic in that, though while they're at it, PennDOT might want to mention that township police cars also represent dangerous obstacles to wayward vehicles or to those needing to enter the median. I've seen cruisers parked there several times in the past year or so, inducing motorists to slow down, and though the tactic is effective, there's a downside based on the state's immovable-object safety concern.

But back to Hanover Avenue, its median east of Irving Street is a car of a different color, according to Allentown Public Works Director Rich Young. Regarding the trees as physical obstructions themselves, unlike in Whitehall, "We have a vertical-face curb; a vehicle would have to jump that curb first" before hitting a tree or trees, Young said.

In addition, the city engineering department secured advice from parks personnel on a suitable type of tree to provide an aesthetic enhancement while never attaining the kind of oak-like proportions that would create substantial physical or visual obstacles, Young said. Cherry trees were selected for their relatively small size even when fully grown, and for canopies that generally grow more vertically than those of some other species, he said. "If you look at the branches, they grow up, they don't grow out," Young said, adding that trunk diameter should not exceed 6 to 8 inches.

For those reasons, the cherry trees will not grow into substantial visual obstacles for motorists, whether to block their view of pedestrians or other vehicles, Young said. Those issues were considered in the decision to plant them.

Another key difference compared with MacArthur: Hanover Avenue is a city street, while state-road MacArthur puts greater PennDOT scrutiny into gear.

The city installed the traffic-calming measures between Irving Street and Club Avenue in response to statistics showing that this portion of Hanover had some of the worst pedestrian accident and fatality rates of any city street. Some motorists (myself included) worried that the "improvements" in 2012 would cause problems by slowing the overall flow of traffic too much, particularly during rush periods. That doesn't appear to be the case, at least to my knowledge in the early going (which is not to say there haven't been long queues at rush hours; only that chronic jam-ups haven't seemed to materialize).

Despite my skepticism, the traffic-calming measures appear to be working pretty well. I agree with you though, Danny: Had it been my decision, I would have gone with low-growing shrubs, or flowers, or something along those lines. Or even just a plain, raised-concrete median, the heck with the decorations in this particular case.

I consider myself pretty much of a tree-hugger, but I cannot tell a lie: These cherry trees aren't really necessary.


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