By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
Mary Jane Hazell, president of the Somerton Civic Association, didn’t think there should have been a vote. Gary Peterson, a member of the SCA and vice president of the Citizens Alliance of Westwood, agreed.
Even Jim Weldon, another SCA member and president of the CAW, didn’t want to vote on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s latest Woodhaven Road plan at last week’s general meeting of the Somerton group, and he wasn’t even there.
Weldon was out of town. Yet, he called Hazell before the meeting to voice opposition to a vote.
SCA members went ahead with it anyway, electing first to have a vote on the new PennDOT plan — called the Reduced Impact Alternative — then voting in support of it, reaffirming the long-standing divide between those who want to extend the Woodhaven Expressway westward into Montgomery County and those who don’t. Support for the new plan passed by a margin of more than 2-to-1.
Debate among the 150 or so attendees of the March 9 meeting at Walker Lodge 306 grew heated at times as highway opponents accused Hazell of stacking the deck against them and Hazell insisted that a “no” vote might doom the project for good.
“I don’t believe there should be any vote,” the SCA president said. “Don’t change the horses now. We had votes (in favor of the extension) years ago.”
Peterson, whose civic group serves an area entirely within the boundaries of larger Somerton, was against the vote for another reason. He argued that the SCA failed to notify members — particularly those in the Westwood section — that a vote was going to occur. Therefore, fewer opponents of the project showed up for the meeting.
The monthly SCA newsletters never made it out in time for the meeting and didn’t contain any Woodhaven information, anyway. Hazell blamed the U.S. Postal Service for delivery delays. Newsletters have been routinely slow to arrive via bulk mail in recent months.
And Hazell explained that she didn’t write about an impending vote in the newsletter because she had no plans to call for one.
“I’m here just to direct this meeting,” she said.
Motions calling for the votes came from the floor. While attendance for the session was about double the usual monthly turnout, opponents of the project accused Hazell of unfairly packing the audience with known supporters.
Hazell acknowledged distributing fliers to residents of Byberry Road, Worthington Road and Trina Drive, reminding them of the March 9 meeting. Asked why, she insisted that those homeowners are the ones most affected by the decades-old traffic snarls that prompted the Woodhaven project in the first place.
“They’ve been putting up with this for fifty years,” Hazell said.
That logic doesn’t sit well with Westwood leaders. The Westwood section lies in the path of the proposed extension.
“I’m very disappointed they did the vote in the underhanded way they did it,” Peterson said later.
During the meeting, the Westwood VP explained, “People choose to come to the meetings or not to come to meetings based on this (issue).”
Supporters of the extension criticized opponents for not showing up all of the time, because if they did, they wouldn’t miss any votes.
The Somerton meetings are held every second Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) at the Walker Lodge, at 1290 Southampton Road.
“You just answered your own (argument). Come to the meeting,” one man told Peterson. “Come to every meeting.”
Charlie Traynor, who manages the Walker Lodge hall, added, “Every month we have a meeting here. I guarantee you, if we have a vote this month, half the people won’t be here next month.”
After the meeting, some supporters of the project criticized opponents for conducting their own vote during a private gathering at Lower Moreland High School on Feb. 12.
Only representatives from civic groups belonging to the Tri-County Coalition umbrella organization were invited to the session, during which PennDOT officials briefed community activists on the new plan and answered their questions. Neither the general public nor the news media were invited or welcome.
PennDOT arranged the meeting in conjunction with elected officials.
“That was an executive meeting,” Peterson said. “That wasn’t a vote to support or not support PennDOT (unilaterally). That was a vote not to accept that (new) plan.”
Somerton Civic Association leaders, along with officers from the allied Normandy and Parkwood civic associations, also had a private meeting with PennDOT on Feb. 19 at Walker Lodge. No vote was taken during that executive session.
Instead, Hazell chose to report back to the general membership of the SCA during last week’s regularly scheduled meeting, which was open to non-members.
Hazell said she received assurances from the state agency that any businesses forced to move due to construction would be relocated, if possible, within the neighborhood. Also, only businesses on the east side of Bustleton Avenue, from Trevose Road south to the Leo Mall would be displaced. Businesses on the west side would stay put.
“That would be it,” Hazell said. “It would be eighteen businesses, and they’re trying not to have that many. It’s a lot less than (previously planned).”
Also, Hazell said, “We were told (by PennDOT) point-blank, Tri-County went thumbs down on it. We were told if we went down on it, (they) would go to another project. … It will wash out the whole thing.”
Peterson said that PennDOT indicated nothing of the sort at the Feb. 12 meeting and that, if true, the statement should not be believed.
“It’s just a bluff,” Peterson said. “They’ve been working on it for fifty years.”
To which Hazell asked, “Are we willing to take a risk on a bluff?”
Peterson also said that the new proposal still leaves the potential for 151 partial acquisitions of residential properties throughout the project area. That is, as many as 151 homeowners would lose a portion of their properties. According to PennDOT figures, however, the new plan has 57 possible partial acquisitions and one total acquisition.
The earlier Bustleton Avenue Alternative Modified plan, upon which the Reduced Impact Alternative was based, had 151 possible partial acquisitions and two total acquisitions.
Residents on both sides of the issue will have an opportunity to learn more about the project next Tuesday when PennDOT hosts a public meeting at George Washington High School (6 to 9 p.m.).
The state agency will outline and answer questions about current project alternatives. There will be drawings and photos for public viewing, as well as a multimedia presentation in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Some at last week’s Somerton Civic meeting suggested postponing a vote until after PennDOT’s public session. ••
For more information on the Woodhaven Road Project and the March 23 meeting, visit www.woodhavenroad.com
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com